Lancaster - 15 January, 2007 -

Conflicting emotions pulled Gary Arena toward opposite career paths. The former entrepreneur was reluctant to try to open another company because he'd had to close an earlier venture. Yet the jobs that the Manheim Township resident had held in the five years since ? working as an employee, not an owner ? left him frustrated. "I wasn't happy. I just felt I wasn't meant to work for somebody else," Arena recalled. "Finally, my wife said, ‘Just go and start a business again. You can do it.' She encouraged me." The nudge was all he needed. Arena bought a Ductz Air Duct Cleaning franchise and opened it last June, acquiring peace of mind too. "You get out of it what you put into it," he said. "So far, I'm real pleased." Arena's journey from entrepreneur to employee to entrepreneur again illustrates much about the risks and rewards of owning a small business. It also sheds light on the challenges of finding a small business that suits a person's specific skills and interests, yet is profitable. Arena, now 54, was president and majority owner of Dutch Country Fancy Veal, a Mohnton-based veal slaughtering, cutting and processing firm that grew to 18 employees. But in 2000, the small firm's inability to add a rapidly emerging technology cost it dearly. Unable to afford the $250,000 needed to install a new "case-ready" meat-packaging system, Dutch Country saw its two biggest customers, Weis Markets and Giant Food Stores, defect to a rival supplier that had it. Revenues slumped further after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which decimated another major customer ? New York City restaurants. "So I had to shut my doors," said Arena, noting that he paid all of the Dutch Country's bills in full ? "every penny I owed" ? by taking $75,000 out of his personal savings. Arena went to work for a competitor, then for a food-service distributor. While he realized that being an employee left him unhappy, Dutch Country's demise left him unwilling to be an owner again. "I was afraid, because in one year's time, I had lost everything I had built over 15 years," he said. Finally, at his wife Carol's urging, Arena decided to try business ownership anew. He talked to FranChoice, a consultant for potential franchisees, about what kind of operation would suit him best. "I realized my strength was in servicing my customers, making sure everything was right and if it wasn't, fixing it ... making sure everything meets their expectations," he said. From there, FranChoice whittled the list of possibilities for him. He looked at a window-cleaning franchise, a foundation-repairing franchise and the air-duct cleaning franchise. The air-duct option "hit a chord with me right away." Arena remembered when his son Drew was a toddler, Drew's allergies were lessened after their home's air ducts were cleaned. Arena then went to a convention of the National Air Duct Cleaners Association in Dallas and came away impressed by the members' commitment to professionalism and education. Arena took the plunge. After receiving three weeks of training and earning his air-systems cleaning specialist certification from the NADCA, he invested about $50,000 in franchise fees and equipment to open his office. Including expenses to lease his truck and East Petersburg office, to date he's spent about $75,000. Joined in the 5984 Main St. business by his other son Jordan, who got the same training and certification, Arena has grossed $55,000 in the Ductz franchise's first seven months, "a little better than I had expected. It's really taking off in a positive way." Arena's franchise works mostly on homes. It also does some commercial jobs; he and his son are getting four extra days of specialized training to help them expand this niche. The Ductz franchise uses brushes and high-pressure air to dislodge dirt inside ducts, uses suction to remove the dirt, then sanitizes the ducts. Other services include cleaning dryer vents. The cost of an air-duct job can range from $450 to $1,600, depending on the size of the home. Typical jobs cost $600 to $800 and take three to five hours. Besides Jordan, 25, and Drew, 20, a sophomore at Shippensburg University, Arena's other children are Kylie, 22, of Manayunk, an employee-benefits specialist, and Gabi, age 10, a fifth grader at Bucher Elementary. Ductz, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has more than 45 franchises nationwide. It's a member of Service Brands International, which also has Mr. Handyman, Molly Maid and Restoration Dry-Clean franchises in its portfolio.

This article has been read 974 times .