Meet the Simpsons!
As an independent journalist, Bob MacKenzie writes articles for a number of print and internet
publications. The local and national scope of his monthly articles for the Kingston Business
Journal make them of interest to readers not just in Kingston but across North America. These
articles are reprinted here for your information. All material included in these pages is copyright
© Bob MacKenzie and Kingston Business Journal, 1998. No reproduction for any reason is
allowed without prior permission in writing from the author.
The article below was published in the April 1, 1998 edition of Kingston Business Journal.
Homer, Marge ... Jim & Glenda?
Husband and wife team Jim and Glenda Simpson are both experienced corporate managers who share the entrepreneurial spirit. After 20 years in customer service and supervision at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Glenda has extensive background in the financial and service ends of business. Jim has enjoyed a successful career in marketing and sales management in the automotive aftermarket. In the course of their careers, both Jim and Glenda have gained valuable management and people skills.
Jim and Glenda Simpson are just the sort of people one might expect to make a rousing success of their own business. So why did they opt instead to buy into Mailboxes Etc. a franchise operation? The answer lies in careful research and in the jump start effective franchisor support can give a new business.
According to Jim Simpson, the first incentive to start their own business was Kingston itself.
"When we returned to Ontario, [Kingston] instantly became home, "he says. "I had never seen our son David (15) and daughter Pam (13) take to a place so fast. It was very evident that this was home. Well, that's when it started."
After determining that a franchise operation would give them some advantages they would not have in opening their own start-up business, the Simpsons began a period of research.
"We knew that we did not want to be in the fast food business," says Jim Simpson, "and we wanted a business that suited the economic times. We started our research."
After exploring many business opportunities, the Simpsons settled on a company with which they were already familiar, Mail Boxes Etc.
"While we were in Atlantic Canada, my office was in Montreal. That's when I first found Mail Boxes Etc." According to Simpson, "I needed an office in every city I called, and MBE was the logical solution. Glenda also knew the owner of Mail Boxes Etc. in Moncton, New Brunswick. He proved to be a well of knowledge and advice when we returned to Ontario."
According to Simpson, at the end of the research process, "Mail Boxes Etc. made the most amount of sense. MBE had nothing to do with fast food, but it was the most successful new business after the big fast food choices, falling in the top five."
Based on his own experiences as a sales executive on the road, Simpson was able to see Mail Boxes Etc. fulfilling some specific needs. "MBE, is the office for those who can't afford and office or have lost it due to cutbacks. The person who can't be there because their job keeps them out selling or installing needs MBE. It's like having an office — like having an executive secretary with it." The decision was made. "Our calls to our MBE friend in Moncton started and a meeting with MBE was set up."
When they opened their downtown Kingston Store in April of 1997, the Simpsons had planned that Glenda would manage the store and Jim would continue in his corporate sales position. However, says Jim Simpson, "We set a new sales record for the first month in business for any MBE in Eastern Ontario — and things got better from there. We had to bring in an additional Xerox high speed copier within four months just to keep up with the demand. Our staff grew from one to five in the same four months.
"In the summer of 1997, MBE asked if we would buy the MBE in the township. We did, in November of 1997, and I jumped into the business to manage the store. Now we had to set some structure. While we each manage a store, Glenda looks after the books and I have responsibility for the equipment as well as sales and marketing for both stores.
Simpson says the township store, with its more ample parking, allows them to better serve the greater Kingston area. It is the because of the greater availability of parking, he says, that they decided to offer their newest service, oversized copies for maps and engineering drawings, at the township location rather than downtown. "We did it at the Clock Tower location because commercial customers need parking" he says. "However, we will pick up prints daily from the downtown location and return them as soon as they are done."
When all is said and done, are the Simpsons happy that they chose the franchise route to entrepreneurship?
"I think that we were very fortunate" says Jim Simpson. "Our direction was well thought out. Now, we're thinking about maybe even putting in a third store. Our objective now is to sit down and try to feel out if there is room for more growth in the next two or three years.
"Would we do it again?" he asks rhetorically. "Yeah. But we probably wouldn't lose so much sleep over it."
"I like what I'm doing," adds Glenda Simpson. "I'm glad we did what we did. That's for sure."
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Last Updated March 30, 1998 by Bob MacKenzie