In Latin, it's called consensus ad idem, meaning "meeting of
the minds." In layman's terms, or in the case of Mitch Berliner and Peter
Buttenwieser, it's simply two guys who turned a chance occurrence into an
uber-successful business partnership that has exceeded their wildest dreams.
Although Their Paths Crossed By Chance,
Synergy Has Propelled Biz Partners To Top
Berliner and Buttenwieser are managing
partners of CertaPro Painters of Westchester, NY and Southern CT, which for the
past five years has earned the status of being the No. 1 residential business
within the 400-plus offices of CertaPro Painters, America's largest and
most-referred painting company.
What makes their story interesting is that
neither ever thought he would be in the painting business, but by happenstance
- and most importantly, a lot of hard work - they have turned what Buttenwieser
calls a "very synergistic partnership" into a thriving business that has been one
of the most successful in the CertaPro Painters' franchise system.
"We refer to ourselves as managing
partners vs. owners," said Buttenwieser of the pair, who each hold a 50 percent
stake in the franchise. "While we each have our own areas of expertise and
specialty, we are always seeking the other's advice and consulting in each
other's domains."
In 2004, Berliner was an IT sales
executive when he hired CertaPro Painters to stain the cedar siding and paint
the trim on his home in Somers. When Berliner's general contractor said the finished
work was some of the best he had ever seen, Berliner was so impressed... he
bought the company.
Flash forward to 2005 and Buttenwieser
was an advertising and marketing executive who hired CertaPro Painters to
restore and paint his circa 1908 house in Bedford. Buttenwieser was so
impressed... he called Berliner and ended up buying into the company.
"When I got a message to contact Peter,
my assumption was that he was calling to complain about something. It turned
out he wanted to discuss how we were marketing the company and if I would be
open to selling him equity in the business," Berliner said. "I was initially
hesitant to take on a partner, but in hindsight, I made a pretty good
decision."
Buttenwieser had done his due diligence
on CertaPro Painters and the painting industry as a whole. Three things caught
his attention: 1) it was a relatively low overhead business; 2) the competition
was mostly mom-and-pop businesses with no definitive branding; 3) as people
increasingly turned to the internet to make home-improvement decisions, a
national brand such as CertaPro Painters was well-positioned to capture
internet market share.
Despite their bullishness on the
industry, in the early going neither Berliner nor Buttenwieser quit their day
jobs: Berliner with Hewlett Packard and Buttenwieser with his marketing firm, I
Before E Marketing. "We started out thinking it would be a fun side business
and we might make some great vacation money every year. But things kept getting
bigger and bigger," Buttenwieser said.
That is an understatement.
Today, CertaPro Painters of Westchester,
NY and Southern CT has a management staff of 14 and more than 150 painters and
tradespeople on its team. Two of those team members - Shawn Gallagher and Alex
Ramos - who were the account manager and job site supervisor, respectively,
when Berliner and Buttenwieser had their homes painted, are still with the company,
Gallagher as Senior Residential Accounts Manager and Ramos as Senior Job Site
Supervisor. In 2014, the entire team was honored with the Certa Cup, an award
given to the top franchise throughout the CertaPro Painters' network.
"We are very proud of what we have built
and for how many families we are putting food on the table," Buttenwieser said.
The majority of CertaPro Painters'
franchises are single owner/operator businesses. While there are some
husband/wife partnerships and a few where two businesses have merged
operations, very few have grown organically as Berliner and Buttenwieser have done
with their franchise.
Berliner is general manager, overseeing
all sales and operations, while Buttenwieser manages all marketing and customer
relationship management.
"It is a rare day when we do not speak
at least two or three times," Berliner said. "One of our keys is that we can be
really honest with each other because we trust each other, which really says
something, given that 10 years ago we had never met. It's quite a remarkable
relationship. During this whole time, I can't remember a single situation where
we have had a major disagreement."
That being said, each business partner
knows how to deliver a subtle message to the other when the circumstance
warrants. You know... just the slightest little jab - with a nod and a wink - to get a point across.
"One thing we use with each other is the
'two strokes and a poke' method when we provide feedback to each other,"
Buttenwieser said. "The other day Mitch gave me some feedback on a piece of
promotional literature that went something like this... 'Great job, looks really
sharp; though I believe we discussed adding in a minimum job size, but I don't
see that in the fine print.'"
More than a decade has gone by since
their paths crossed, but the relevance of that meeting has never been lost on
the pair. It's something Berliner certainly didn't forget to mention when
talking recently about his two keys for running a top-tier CertaPro Painters
franchise.
"Follow the system; that is why you
bought into a franchise business. You can tinker here and there for your local
market conditions, but don't try to outsmart everyone else who is doing this
all over the country," Berliner said. "There are a lot of opportunities to take
advantage of and landmines to avoid. And the best way to succeed is to get
yourself a partner."
CertaPro Painters' best-in-class operational
systems and procedures make it the most professional business model in the
industry and its satisfied residential and commercial customers are the direct
benefactors within the estimated $40 billion industry in the U.S. and Canada. CertaPro
has been consistently ranked No. 1 by Entrepreneur
magazine in its category and boasts a customer referral rate that exceeds
95 percent.
Founded in 1992, Audubon, Pennsylvania-based CertaPro Painters is the largest painting company in
North America. With more than 350 independently owned and operated franchises
worldwide, CertaPro provides a customer-driven painting experience for both
residential and commercial properties that is unparalleled in the industry. The
company's stellar service and proven business system have made CertaPro North
America's most referred painting company.
For more information, visit CertaPro Painters
