COVER STORY
NextGen Great Sealcoating TIM SMELTZ’S PATH TO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS UNEXPECTEDLY STARTED AT home. “I was on my driveway noticing how white it was. It was oxidizing and needed seal-coating,” Smeltz explains. Seal-coating, a relatively inexpensive process, prevents water from seeping through asphalt into a foundation, which could be a costly disaster down the road. But finding a service provider turned out to be no easy feat for Smeltz. He found only one company in his area, and “they didn’t even return my calls.” So Smeltz decided to do it himself. The lack of local options led him to establish NextGen Great Sealcoating™, a family-owned, family-operated business based in New Jersey. Smeltz didn’t stop there. When he entered the marketplace in 2005, there were no environmentally friendly product options, which led him to partner in the creation of the proprietary formula ECOAMIGO™, a safer asphalt sealer that is just as effective and long-lasting as traditional products, Smeltz says. In addition to being non-carcinogenic, it is also friendly to the bottom line. “There is no discernible difference in costs,” Smeltz says. Smeltz expanded NextGen Great Sealcoating into a franchise offering just last year across a region made up of New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York. Smeltz says his company provides franchisees with several advantages, including a call center to handle all customer inquiries, from scheduling estimates to processing credit card payments. “And we offer huge territories compared to most franchises,” he says. NextGen Great Sealcoating also offers recurring income because the service needs to be performed every two to four years. “We equate it to an oil change on your car. It’s regular maintenance,” Smeltz says. “We continue to build upon our existing customers.” For more information, call NextGen Great Sealcoating at 888-2016109 or visit www.greatsealcoating.com. Tim Smeltz
54
FranchiseDictionaryMagazine.com
