Today we’d like to introduce you to John March.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have always had an ambition to own my own business because I like the satisfaction that comes with seeing my ideas become reality. When I lost my corporate job during a recent acquisition, it provided a different perspective to life, I knew the business I started would have to replace my corporate income as we were not ready to settle in for retirement. We hired a franchise consultant who interviewed us to understand what we liked. The consultant recommended a few franchise opportunities that we evaluated and eventually we decided to jump in on the ground floor of Art Recovery Technologies, a relatively new franchise that showed great potential for growth in the Houston area. We chose a franchise because it had tested all the processes and procedures making it easier to start a new business. We also felt there was no other business like this in the Houston area and the market was underserved.
My wife is my key employee. She serves many roles and is my most trusted advisor. She runs the daily operations in addition to assuming the role of Business Development and Marketing Director. She is always looking to meet new people in the business because the business is very relationship based. We currently have one technician who has a master’s degree in fine arts. The technician is responsible for evaluating the damaged art, recommending the required treatments, and performing the restoration work.
The most fulfilling part of the work is seeing our customers happy when we deliver a piece of art work back to them fully restored to pre-peril condition. In most instances, our clients thought the piece could not be restored so it is like a miracle happened.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We found that there are a lot of steps to starting any business, and we learned a lot. We are still learning every day. When we started, we felt like we were taking three steps forward, and two back. However, we learned from our mistakes and were able to launch our business in early February 2017. Our biggest challenge today is finding new customers. Once our customers see what services we can provide, they are instantly attached to using our services again.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We specialize in cleaning and restoring art that has been damaged by fire, water, smoke, or vandalism. The art can be a variety of mediums, such as paintings, works on paper, sculptures, photographs, fine antiques, collectibles, taxidermy and sentimental items. We handle both residential and commercial losses.
Our restoration process uses proprietary techniques to restore the art work to pre-peril condition. We have an extensive cleaning process which includes many steps and we always replace the hardware and include a dust cover. Upon delivery, we wrap and package the art to prevent any damage during the delivery process. We also offer hanging services in our clients home or business.
Finally, if someone is interested in a new frame or matting, we offer Larson-Juhl products at competitive prices.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up on a dairy farm in Northeast Ohio, so I have a strong work ethic. No job ever went undone regardless of the time of day or night. I have two siblings, an older sister, and a younger brother. My father passed away when I was 16, so I decided to pursue a career outside of farming. My mother was able to scrap enough money together to allow me to attend Ohio Northern University and graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Later I obtained my MBA from Ashland University while working full time. Both of these degrees have helped me start and build this new business.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6125 W. Sam Houston Parkway N.
Suite 301, Houston, TX 77041 - Website: www.art-us.com
- Phone: 281-213-0780
- Email: pam.march@art-us.com
- Facebook: Art Recovery-Technologies
- Yelp: Art Recovery Technologies – Houston
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