Hire the right people, give them direction and make sure they understand their deliverables. Then get out of the way and let them execute.”
Paul Flick has 20 years of leadership and management experience in the franchising industry. He is the founder and CEO of Premium Service Brands, and leads multiple home services franchise systems that operate on an international scale: 360° Painting, Pro Lift Garage Doors, and Maintenance Made Simple.
He began a successful corporate career with Coca Cola after graduating from the University of Windsor, but soon felt called by his entrepreneurial spirit to found his own company – a highly successful business that now achieves over $40 million in system sales, a feat accomplished by 93% revenue growth in the past two years alone.
His reputation for success has been earned through realizing and building a proven and effective business structure that supports franchise partners from day one – key principles based in training, support, and comprehensive systems.
Paul currently operates the PSB corporate office and resides with his family in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Where did the idea for Premium Service Brands come from?
The idea came from taking a fragmented industry that is customer service deficient, Technology and software deficient and making it a better customer experience.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
Typical day starts at 4:00 am. By 8:00 am I have checked in and spoken with our executive team. I want to make sure we are all heading in the same direction.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Discussing them with my management team.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Less people are moving but reinvesting into their existing homes.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Waking up every morning at 4:00 am. It is quiet and very productive.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
Toll collector at the Blue Water Bridge. It was monotonous and mind numbing. You had little to no interaction with people.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
Be better capitalized and surround myself with people that bring different strengths to the business.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Know your financials!
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
People. Hire the right people, give them direction and make sure they understand their deliverables. Then get out of the way and let them execute.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Not knowing my financials. Hired a competent CFO to ensure financials where updated daily. 11. What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers? (this should be an actual idea for a business, not business advice)
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Paid $100 (maybe more!) to my kids school cafeteria to clear all the kids that had negative account balances on their meal plans.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
We use Gmail, Qiigo, Intuit, Quickbooks and Vonigo. They are the best in their respective industries.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
“Good to Great” by Jim Collins.
Connect:
Paul Flick on Twitter:
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.