DECKING THE HALLS WITH PROFIT; VALLEY POOL SUPPLIER TURNS SEASONAL HOUSE DECORATOR.Byline: Dereck Andrade Staff Writer A San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. businessman is ho-ho-hoing all the way to the bank this holiday season because his commercial and residential Christmas decorating franchise has turned into an unexpected Christmas bonus. Bill Thuesen has seen his revenues skyrocket from his franchise, Christmas Decor, which has grossed more than $100,000 over the past few weeks with only a pair of three-person crews, working around the clock. ``We've been turning away business,'' said Thuesen, who also owns Burbank Pool Supply on West Verdugo Avenue. ``We can still squeeze in some jobs if they want us to put (decorations) up (this) week,'' he said. Thuesen said he has been inundated in·un·date tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. with orders for work this season since he bought Southland franchise rights in the spring for $15,900 from Christmas Decor Inc., based in Lubbock, Texas “Lubbock” redirects here. For other uses, see Lubbock (disambiguation). Lubbock is the 10th-largest city in the state of Texas.[1] Located in the northwestern part of the state—a region known historically as the Llano Estacado . ``We had no idea this thing would take off like it has,'' he said. ``I wish I had an army of crews to handle all of the orders.'' He expects the quirky quirk n. 1. A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncrasy: "Every man had his own quirks and twists" Harriet Beecher Stowe. 2. , holiday decorating franchise to do five times as much business next year. Travis Knowles, a 20-year-old student at College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. in Valencia, has been working weekends for Thuesen putting up decorations. ``I never thought this would be so big,'' said Knowles, a Burbank resident. Thuesen is one of only three Christmas Decor franchise owners in California. The others are located in Grass Valley, northeast of Sacramento, and Porterville, about 50 miles north of Bakersfield. ``We're busier than a one-armed paper hanger paper hanger n. slang for a person who criminally writes and cashes "bad" checks on accounts he/she either does not have or which have no money in them. (See: fraud, forgery) ,'' quipped Valerie Hammer, the manager of the Boulder Creek Boulder Creek may be:
Prices to have lights and garland hung on a home's exterior vary from $150 to several thousand dollars for a customized look with lawn ornaments and hundreds of multicolored lights. ``We did a $10,000 job for a customer on Amhurst Drive in Tarzana whose home had to be worth at least $7 million,'' said Thuesen. Christmas Decor is the brainchild of Texas entrepreneur Blake Smith, 31, whose firm has sold 235 franchises throughout the nation since 1996. Smith, the firm's principal investor, said the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, market apparently is a perfect fit for the concept. The concept is simple: Sell a franchise, offer a three-day course on advertising, marketing and Christmas decorating, then turn the prospective entrepreneurs loose. So far, nearly 200 of the franchisees are landscape or pool supply owners who historically see their other businesses ebb during the winter months. As part of the contract, crews will take down and repackage re·pack·age tr.v. re·pack·aged, re·pack·ag·ing, re·pack·ag·es To package again or anew, especially in a more attractive package. re·pack the lights and ornaments after the holidays. Customers then have the option of hiring the firm the following year, for half the first-time price, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Smith. So far, Thuesen's Christmas Decor crews have been climbing up and down ladders since late October, hanging multi-colored lights, garlands, Santas and reindeer reindeer, ruminant mammal, genus Rangifer, of the deer family, found in arctic and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America. It is the only deer in which both sexes have antlers. , even creating elaborate nativity scenes in many Southland front yards. ``It's a very different thing,'' said Rosalie Caruso, 77, a retired San Fernando Valley business owner who lives on East Grinnell Drive in the tony Burbank hills. Caruso, like nearly a dozen of her neighbors on her block, hired Christmas Decor to help decorate her house and front yard. Caruso over the years has won numerous awards from the local chamber of commerce for her annual festive holiday displays. ``They're really great,'' she said of Christmas Decor, adding they aren't quite finished with her house. ``They still need to come back and put up some more lights.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos PHOTO (1 -- 2 -- color) Rose Caruso of Burbank hired a crew from Bill Thuesen's Christmas Decor Inc. franchise to decorate her house for the holiday season. Some of the dolls from Rose Caruso's large collection appear in a window of her home, custom-decorated for the holidays. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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