| Meet Some of the Just-A-Buck Franchise Family |
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| Eileen Caccavone and Jan Pitman met at Exxon conventions. Their husbands, Jimmy (Caccavone) and Harry (Pitman), each owned service stations in New York's Hudson Valley region. Eileen and Jan sometimes helped out at the stations...other than that, they had very little work experience. |
| Actually, to say that they had very little work experience would be an exaggeration - Eileen never had a job...and Jan had some experience in retail before having children. |
| Back in the 1980s they were both full-time moms. In the early 1990s, when they were ready to start a business, their friendship was ready to blossom into a solid partnership. |
| Their lack of experience made them an unlikely bet for success...and compounding the odds against them was their choice for a business venture - a franchise from a new dollar store chain that had no other franchises up and running. Plus, it was hardly the best-of-times for dollar stores. Competition was tough and many chains were closing. |
"They were completely honest and open with us about every aspect of the business." |
| Just-A-buck's founders felt the chain could survive and prosper even in the lean times if each store maintained quality merchandise, operations, and service. But it was difficult to find managers who were sufficiently motivated to follow the concept to the letter. |
| Eileen and Jan needed the franchise relationship, and Just-A-Buck needed highly motivated entrepreneurs. It was a win/win proposition. |
| "What sold us on Just-A-Buck was Steve, Rochelle, and Bob," says Pitman. "They were completely honest and open with us about every aspect of the business." |
| They opened their first Just-A-Buck in Vails Gate, New York, in a busy shopping center. |
| Today they own five stores in New York's Hudson Valley region. Each one consistently ranks in the top ten on the chain's weekly list of highest average sales per customer. And as for their husbands, they've sold their service stations and have gone into business with their wives. |
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| Usually when a woman returns to work after raising a family, it's at an entry level position...but when Kwan Hakim, owner of a Just-A-Buck franchise in Memphis, Tennessee, decided to go back into business, she wanted to be the boss and didn't want to wait. |
"When I look back on things today, I realize I could never have made it without the franchise relationship." |
| Kwan came to the United States in the 1970s on a full scholarship to study communications at the University of Memphis. After graduating, she became a TV assistant operations manager. She held the same job for 13 years. "back then it was difficult for a woman to have a family and a career too," Kwan remembers. |
| This time it would be different. Sure she would still work long and hard...but not for someone else. She was in search of the American Dream. Franchising would be the answer...for her, her family, and her extended family as well. |
| She researched many different methods of running a dollar store. She considered being an independent operator. After all, she had plenty of contacts in Hong Kong. She also considered buying a business opportunity...but she had difficulty researching the officers' background. |
| She learned that business opportunity licensees are not regulated as strictly as franchises. Nor are there trade organizations representing this business group. When she met the founders of Just-A-Buck she felt confident that they would have her best interest in mind. They were young and needed every franchisee to succeed. |
| "When I look back on things today, I realize I could never have made it without the franchise relationship. Not only did they help regularly with purchasing, they also helped me promote my store." |
| Today Kwan is a spokesperson for the International Franchise Association on opportunities available in franchising for women and minorities. |
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| Imagine how difficult it is to come to this country with the hopes of getting a decent paying job in corporate America - especially when language is a difficulty. Many people who would have held professional positions in their native lands are forced to find jobs that pay little and demand a lot of hard work. |
| Some new arrivals invest their savings in businesses like taxi medallions. They are, therefore, forced to live in cities where life is difficult and expensive. What's more, just at the time when the family needs emotional support, the wage earner must spend long hours away from home. |
| A Just-A-Buck store can be opened in a large city...or in small town...wherever the owners choose to live. That's why an increasing number of foreign-born residents are finding that a proven successful franchise like Just-A-Buck can be the beginning of "The American Dream." |
| When Moe Al-Quadah and his cousin Cal Al-Quadah came to America in 1988, they didn't want to waste time in entry level positions. Initially they worked at service stations and convenience stores. Eventually they purchased a number of these outlets. |
| They liked the dollar store concept. After meeting the founders and talking to a number of franchisees, they opened their first Just-A-Buck in Garnerville, New York. The store is 3,750 square feet and is located in a strip mall where parking is convenient. Soon the partners purchased a second location, this time in an indoor mall in Edison, New Jersey. |
...an increasing number of foreign-born residents are finding that a proven successful franchise like Just-A-Buck can be the beginning of "The American Dream." |
| They quickly learned that each Just-A-Buck store has an entirely different character and often caters to completely different customers. The customers who shopped at the enclosed mall bought different kinds of merchandise than those who came to the strip center. |
| Through the purchasing department at Just-A-Buck, they were able to identify their customers and buy items to fill their needs. Today the partners are in the market for another store. |
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