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A belief in the power of batteries charged this couple up for franchise ownership.
The word "battery" may conjure up images of dirty,
greasy car batteries, but visit a Batteries Plus franchise, and
it's clear that they energize a lot more than just cars. After
all, batteries make watches tick, alarms ring and cell phones
jingle. "It's amazing all the things that are
battery-related," says Susan Manwaring. "You take
[batteries] for granted until you're in this
business."
In 1992, Susan, 46, and her husband, Dan, 55, opened the very
first Batteries Plus franchise. Dan first heard about the company
through a friend and was intrigued by the concept of a store
devoted primarily to selling, installing and even customizing
batteries. As soon as Batteries Plus received its license to
franchise in the Manwarings' home state of Indiana, the couple
was charged and ready to go. They opened their first store in Fort
Wayne in 1992, and opened another store in Mishawaka and four in
Indianapolis in the next two years. "We believed in the
concept," says Susan. "We believed if we worked hard, we
could make a success of it."
For more information on Batteries Plus, visit Entrepreneur.com's
Franchise Zone. The couple did work hard-while Susan juggled operating the
franchises with raising four children, Dan worked a separate job
for the first four years to bring in extra money. Now, 12 years
later, they're still going strong-two of their sons are
involved in the business, and they estimate 2004 sales for the six
stores to reach nearly $5 million.
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The Manwarings stay busy day in and day out. Susan deals with
commercial selling and works hands-on in the business, while Dan
focuses on goal setting and strategic planning. Through it all,
their interest in batteries just keeps going and going. "You
learn something new every day," says Susan. "It's
never stagnant. It's never the same widget day after day that
you're putting out."