Location: Central Florida Franchise Owner Since: 2008 Family:
I have an amazing support system within my family. My wonderful husband Don has totally embraced this concept and our new business. Our three young adult sons and our parents are all helping us in so many ways. They offer valuable guidance and input, volunteer an enormous number of hours during sales, help spread the word about this great opportunity, and provide more enthusiasm and support than I could have ever asked for.
Experience:
I have been working since I was 11 years old and have always been a bargain hunter!! I love to shop but really hate to part with my hard earned money! Consigning has been a natural extension of both those passions my whole life with my mom, my friends and my kids. A great deal is the best kind of retail therapy! I have always been a volunteer in many aspects of my life and “giving back” is just an integral part of who I am (much to my husband’s chagrin at times! He often says he is going to tie my hands down so I can’t raise them to volunteer!). I have worked many years in the corporate world and have been blessed in my career by many opportunities including building great teams, developing strong interpersonal and communication skills, and working with some very special people who have enhanced my life and my family’s.
Why JBF and how did you find out about JBF?
After working so long in the corporate world and having raised our sons into amazing young men, my husband and I have been looking for an opportunity that would provide us several things:
1. A source of income that belonged to us
2. A business that spoke to us with what it was, what it stood for, was highly professional, and had great growth potential.
3. Was something we could work on as a team
I believe I was led to find JBF because, unlike most of the existing JBF franchisees, I have never been to a sale since this is brand new to Florida! I found out about JBF one morning while getting ready for work and watching “Good Morning America” (YOU can see the segment on my website!). It instantly spoke to me and I immediately called my husband. Don is the logical one between us and while he was supportive, he cautioned me to do my due diligence. We took our time to examine many aspects of JBF and everything we uncovered continued to convince us that this was our opportunity. Every one of our family and friends wholeheartedly endorsed the concept and have been the best supporters anyone could possibly hope for. I am so incredibly excited about everything JBF stands for and I know you will be hooked as well!
| Goals:
One year: Our goal our first year is to be able to spread the word to everyone possible in Central Florida so that the two events we hold in 2009 bless everyone who attends! Our greatest hope is that everyone who attends will be asking “When is your next event?” We hope to benefit our charity partner as much as possible from both the consignor perspective and the community awareness perspective.
Five Year: We hope to see the JBF Central Florida Event become the most anticipated children’s and maternity event in the community and surrounding areas. We want JBF to be a household word and to grow to a point that people are anxiously anticipating each event. As we grow, our sincerest wish is that everyone touched by JBF from our families to our consignors and shoppers to our charity partner will continue to feel joy by being a part of this business.
Interests:
Don and the boys and I love to travel. When the boys were younger we took some memorable RV trips which were perfect with a young family and dogs. We love to spend time with our boys and I am also passionate about animals and helping to educate people about how to live together with wildlife. We live in a reserve area that has many Florida Black Bears as well as many types of wildlife. I work with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission as a “bear liaison” in our neighborhood and have raised and released baby squirrels from a local wildlife rehabilitation center. I truly believe that our boys have benefitted from living with many types of animals and have developed a compassion for living beings because of the work I have done. In any spare time I can find I love spending time with my family and friends and am an avid reader!
How did the current economic situation affect your decision to buy JBF?
The current economic situation affected our decision in a couple of ways. The first way was whether we wanted to risk the investment dollars at this point in our lives. The second way was that this seemed like the perfect time to invest in a business that not only had a relatively low investment requirement, but could truly help so many people in this current economic environment. This is a business that is virtually recession-proof and honestly seemed a low-risk financial investment. We believe so strongly in this business and believe that we will be bringing many blessings to our community and to ourselves.
Contact Information:
Lauri Davenport
LauriDavenport@jbfsale.com
407-574-4005. |
