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ST. LOUIS
The Source for Business Owners
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Small Business Monthly
February 2012
Legacy His Own
A Day in the Life of Brook Dubman, president of Carol House Furniture
How to Cut Through the Fat St. Louis’ Best in Customer Service How to Create a Budget for Your Business
EDITOR’S LETTER BY JEREMY NULIK
A Legacy of His Own
T
wenty-eight years ago at the age of 18, Pete Kuerschgen went to work for Carol House Furniture. In his tenure there, he has had just about every job imaginable. He has assembled, fixed, delivered, stocked, counted, inventoried and prepped. He’s worked the night shift. He’s worked the day shift. Pretty much everything other than sales. “I think I gained some respect, because I never complained,” says Kuerschgen who is currently in charge of inventory at Carol House. “Even in my early days, I would not leave until everything got put away and the job was done.” He’s never worked anywhere else, and this is not due to a lack of offers. A lot of employers would like a dedicated and intelligent person, an a-player like Kuerschgen who resides in Illinois and makes the long commute each day. “I’ve had offers to work at other places, but I never have considered them,” says Kuerschgen who met his wife of 17 years when she was working at Carol House. “I like the open-door policy here. I can go directly to Brook with any issues, and he always backs me up. He knows that I am his eyes when it comes to the inventory, and he respects me. Also, he let me work part-time for a while so I would be able to get my degree in organizational psychology at SIUE [Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville].” The Brook that Kuerschgen references is Brook Dubman, the president of Carol House Furniture and the son of Nat Dubman, Being Brook for a Day. In following Brook Dubman for a day, the writer observed a man the founder (See the cover story on Brook on page 14). Currently, Brook dedicated to employee happiness and furthering and his sister Amy are the second generation co-owners of Carol his father’s orignial vision. House. And, if you haven’t seen their faces and heard their voices, you have either not lived in St. Louis for the past 27 years or you have been trapped under something heavy. Their television commercials have given them a degree of celebrity in the region and, in some ways, made them the adopted son and daughter of St. Louis. Kuerschgen’s experience working at Carol House is not a unique one. Oftentimes when you say the name of an employee, you will need to specify whether or not you mean junior or senior. Fathers, sons, wives and cousins make up the 135 people that make Carol House work. It is not uncommon to hear of employees that have worked there for over 30 years. Creating a meaningful place to work is not an easy task. An even harder task, however, is creating the kind of place where people don’t feel like they are working - the kind of place where people feel like they are living. And that is the kind of environment that Dubman has been able to nurture. His approach and dedication to employee happiness is a bright spot in a recession economy. And, he has done so in an industry wrought with international competition. While he may be the second-generation business owner of Carol House, Brook is carving out a legacy of his own and leaving a mark in a way that can be seen in the quiet ways in which his employees are achieving their life goals. What is the legacy you will leave? Write me and let me know, jeremy@sbmon.com.
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6 ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / february 2012
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ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / februaRy 2012 7
A DAY IN THE LIFE BROOK DUBMAN
Carving Out His Legacy A Day in the Life of Second-Generation Business Owner, Brook Dubman words by Jeremy Nulik photos by bill sawalich
F
or years, Brook Dubman began each morning by calling his father, Nat, to see if he was going to try to make it in to work. Nat had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a condition that affects the nervous system. And, within a year of his diagnosis, the entrepreneurial, outgoing man who had founded Carol House Furniture in 1965 began having difficulty with mundane activities such as ordering food off of a menu or driving a car.
Despite his father’s protests on the phone, Brook, who was 27 at the time, would drive to Nat’s house. He would get him out of bed. He would help his father get dressed, grab breakfast and get him to work. “Watching my father go through his final years was the worst experience of my life,” says Brook. “He went from being the proud, dynamic businessman who went to charity events, dated and worked out to a depressed guy that sometimes didn’t leave his house. He started to bow out of life quickly after he found out he was sick.” As Nat’s condition worsened, so did his relationship with Brook who had always regarded his father as his best friend. Prior to the diagnosis, Nat had been eager to teach Brook the business – an atypical situation for most second generation business owners. “I thought he was patient with me, and he always thought that I worked hard,” says Brook. “That is why it was hard when the other managers and I started making de-
cisions without getting his input first. He would feel threatened and take it personally. His line became, ‘Leave it alone,’ for all of our problems. But that just wasn’t like him.” As if the emotional anguish of watching your father and best friend suffer through depression and illness were not bad enough, the Valley Park, Mo. store location flooded shortly after Nat got sick in 1994. This was followed by a fire in 1996 and a tornado in 1998 at the Maryland Heights, MO location. It seems the only thing separating the business from Old Testament Egypt was a plague of locusts. With an ailing father and constant battles with Mother Nature, many business owners may be tempted to quit. However, in retrospect, Brook is hesitant to cite this time period as the most challenging time in his tenure at Carol House. “After a while, I began to think, ‘If one more thing goes wrong, I may as well retire,’” he says. “But, I knew what to do to make the business work. I didn’t have
18 ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / FEBRUARY 2012
Brook Dubman, president of Carol House Furniture at his store location in Maryland Heights, Mo.
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COVER STORY much outside of the business. These days, I am spread pretty thin. I try to balance work with my family and charity commitments. Sometimes I feel like I do everything I can, and I still don’t produce the right results when it comes to life outside of work.” Despite his tumultuous first years and the challenges that each new day brings, Brook has grown the business his father, who passed away in 2000, started almost 50 years ago. Today, Carol House Furniture has 135 employees across two locations and $30 million in annual revenue. The company has managed to thrive in a market flooded with competitors and an economy that has many furniture stores closing their doors. Brook attributes much of the success to staying true to the things that his father stood for almost 50 years ago. “If you listen to the ads for some furniture companies, they are more about financing than they are about furniture,” says Brook. “We still have our price guarantee, and we are committed to our service. We also have everything on the show floor in stock. So, I’m not going to jack up prices just to have a half-off the half-off sales gimmick. You will never hear us doing anything too hokey with our ads.” Oddly enough, it is those ads that have
Good morning Greeted by Lola, the family dog, in the driveway.
7:35 AM Wake up Brook answers the door in his robe with wife, Melissa, and Elianna
1
lesson on how to use the CD player to play “Ariel songs” from Elianna. WWW.SBMON.COM
made Brook the adopted son of St. Louis. For 27 years, Brook’s image has been in the family room of area homes. He is stopped at the store, Cardinals games or restaurants with the chorus, “Hey, you’re the ‘because you like nice things’ guy.” He has a confident smile and a handshake in his arsenal for anyone that approaches him. The idea to put Brook in the ads came from Nat who wanted to play up the family-oriented part of the business. “My father was an outgoing guy, but when the camera would start rolling, he would freeze up,” says Brook. “So, at 19, I reluctantly agreed to be in the commercials, and I have done it ever since.” Brook would one day love to see the third generation take on the business. He says this as his children, Garrett (6) and Elianna (4), play with Lexi, their family cat, in the living room of their west county home just before bed time. He believes that sticking to the principles that have led to their success thus far and his commitment to charity organizations will lead to the kind of future that will give his children’s generation a chance at the kind of success. On a chilly December day, SBM was graciously allowed to follow around the adopted son of St. Louis. Herewith are all the devices, rituals and people that make-up the daily life of Brook Dubman.
8:50 AM Crunch time. “All right! We have five minutes to get going,” says Melissa. Brook and Melissa get ready for a commercial at Channel 2. The commercial is a seven-second spot that features the whole Dubman family (Brook, Melissa, Garrett and Elianna).
9:05 AM Everyone in the car Brook drives a CLS500 – Benz Both kids jump in with their Dad. In the backseat, Garrett shows off his pop-up dinosaur book while Elianna shows her mastery of the latest hits on 107.7. 8:25 AM Breakfast Free range farm eggs, scrambled Veggie bacon Veggie sausage Cup of orange juice The Dubmans are vegetarians. Brook cites health reasons as well as his general feelings about animals. He is on the three different nonprofit boards that deal specifically with animal rights and welfare. One of which, Carol House Quick Fix Pet Clinic is a Carol House-backed project that aims to keep the animal population under control. “Try the veggie bacon,” he says. The writer can only tell you that it tastes about like it looks – almost bacon.
10:25 AM The editing room Melissa has tears in her eyes as she watches the final take of the commercial and holds Elianna in her arms.
No texting Brook’s cell phone, which looks like it is from 2005, remains in his car all day. He rarely texts or even gives out the number. “I’m not a techy kind of guy,” he says.
Shooting the commercial
2 6
practice runs
takes “From our family and the big family at Carol House Furniture, we're wishing you nice things this holiday season. <Everyone together> Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah.” The exact wording of the portion said in unison was decided by Garrett and Elianna.
11 AM Arrive at Carol House in Maryland Heights. Brook checks in with the service department. A customer had called complaining about a piece of furniture. “Tell him you are helping me to work it out,” Brook says to his customer service representative. “Let him know we will try to make it right and get him the correct motion group.”
ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / FEBRUARy 2012 19
COVER STORY No time for messages Caption Reads: 1964. Original Carol House on 141 near Marshall
12 0 75 1/3 0
calls received
Brook's Carol House History Lesson #1 On the way up to a meeting “‘Because you like nice things’ actually came about because John McCormick, the overnight DJ at KMOX. His wife was in a variety club and Dad was asked to buy an ad in one of their programs. My Dad didn’t give them much direction, so McCormick just ad libbed that as the tagline. Dad liked it, and it stuck.”
11:15 AM Meeting with Ken Collier, buyer at Carol House, and a Sitcom furniture representative. “I’m a little more into fashion than my father was,” says Brook. “So, I tend to keep up with the trends.”
returned calls
The early years. Nat Dubman, Brook's father is the one on the far left.
Brook's Carol House History Lesson #2 “My father had a job for a number of years working for Carol Clothing and Appliances. He was selling door-to-door. Back in Valley Park, people got to know him so well that, when they saw him coming, they would say, ‘There’s the Carol guy.’ So dad decided to use the name they knew him by in Valley Park when he opened the store.”
1:25 PM Lunch Dominoes Pizza Three slices of veggie pizza in the breakroom at Carol House.
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11:50 AM Finally sits down in his office Brook keeps his appointments and schedule on a monthly calendar in his office – not a techy guy. On his agenda today? Determining of Christmas bonuses for employees.
3
Number of times that “I knew your father” is heard throughout the day. One occasion occurs mid-day in the store. A man tries to use his relationship with Nat as leverage to get a better deal. Brook graciously accepts him and smiles, yet he did not budge on his price. “That’s already a great deal, you know?” he says.
6:07 PM Dinner at church with the whole family Bean salad with rice Toss greens salad (Note: the writer ate the sausage as well.)
hours of meetings on Christmas bonuses Brook met with each of his managers & talked about almost all 135 employees. He used anecdotes from those managers to determine what the employee should get in terms of a bonus. “I suppose I could come up with a more time efficient way to handle bonuses,” says Brook. “But I use this as a time to catch up with managers. It is easy to get a little lazy on performance issues. I want them to say something to each employee when they hand them a check. That way it means something.”
75,000
square feet of showroom space in both the Maryland Heights & Valley Park.
20 ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / FEBRUARY 2012
emails received
deleted
returned Brook was consumed with making certain that the bonuses were done on time. He made little time for anything else.
“The Power of a Whisper” Both Melissa and Brook attend a parenting and family study group based on a series by Bill Hybell’s called ‘The Power of a Whisper.’ Twelve people watch a video, and there is a group discussion on the power of prayer, how to listen for God and how that pertains to parenting.
8:05 PM Arrive back at home. Brook lights up the Christmas tree as the kids get changed into pajamas.
6
The number of times Brook stops on his way through the showfloor to change the angle of a table or center a lamp.
5
Number of times someone walks through his office door…unannounced. “The Sirius radio is out,” “The AC isn't working properly.” Brook says that his open door policy is key in making sure employees are happy. “People here make as good or better salary and get great benefits,” he says. “They also get the flexibility of working for a family business. I expect that people will be responsible and they usually are.”
From left: Nat Dubman, Ozzie Smith & Brook Dubman
5:30 PM Leave office for Salem Methodist Church Brook reminisces about lessons he learned from his father – watching the expenses, making sure employees are happy, being a great merchandiser.
8:30 PM Muffin and snack time The kids split a muffin in the kitchen. Melissa gets them to bed afterwards.
9:20 PM
Workout time in Brook’s basement.
5 minutes of cardio 3 X 15 leg lifts 40 crunches on a bench 3 X 15 lat pulls 3 X 15 bicep curls “I’ve been committed to fitness most of my life,” says Brook. “I don’t ever miss a week. There are some days that it is hard to work it in, but I try to get at least three days a week.” 10:45 PM Bed time
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ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / FEBRUARY 2012 21