Today's Guest

Charles Bonfiglio is Chief Executive Officer of Tint World®, a retail automotive accessories and window tinting franchise company. Charles is a results-oriented professional with a successful background in building businesses, strong management teams, real estate developments, and a proficiency in creative finance. Charles shared his story with us, how franchising can often be the shortest route into entrepreneurship, and the management style that has helped him find success.

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Episode Summary

My parents owned a small clothing factory in Brooklyn where I grew up spending my afternoons working and learning how to run a business. After I got out of high school my choice was to either go to college or get a job. At the time my father encouraged me to open another clothing factory and so I decided to venture into the clothing business. However, I wanted to have my own brand so I hired a designer, trademarked a name, and made a clothing line. After shopping it around I finally landed a million-dollar retail order. While that sounds great at first as I read the contract I realized not only would I not get paid for the line until 90-days after the order was delivered but most of the risk still fell on me if they weren’t able to sell the items quickly. What I realized, is while I liked having a brand I didn’t like the business model of the clothing industry.

I decided to move to Florida and look for an opportunity to get into the automotive accessory market. After a couple of months, I went to the bank to show them my business plan and ask for a loan. However, I kept getting turned down because no one wanted to take a risk on a new business model. A little while after that I heard one of my cousins had opened a car oil change business in New Jersey. So I called him up and asked him how he was able to get started. What he explained is the business was part of a franchise and they had helped him through the process of building and opening the business. While it wasn’t the automotive accessories business I wanted to open I decided to call up the franchisor and learn more.

After getting pre-approved to open my first store I went back to the bank and as soon as I mentioned it was a franchise they were all about it and helped me secure a loan. That was when I realized franchising was going to be the shortest path to get a business open. In total, I ended up opening 10 stores and about halfway through opening stores, I started buying the underlying real estate to generate another revenue stream. I was doing well but I told my wife I still wanted to do what I had come to Florida for, open an automotive accessory store.

There was a local business called Tint World that I had taken my car into a few times and I thought it might be a good starting point. Fast forward a couple of years and I was able to buy the business and I turned it into a franchise model. We also expanded the product offering which helped create additional revenue streams because there is some seasonality in this type of business. Today we offer a wide selection of automotive and marine styling products and services. We also offer commercial and residential window tinting services.  

Resources Shared

• Tint World Franchise
• Thryv
  

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