The Successful Contractor

Hard Work Made the Toys Possible, Sent the Kids to College

by Kyle Gargaro

April 23, 2010

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Second home in Key West? Check. WaveRunners® for use at the second home? Check. A motor home to enjoy vacations? Check. Those are just some of the toys that Beverly Goshern, former owner of Candlelight Electric in Denver was able to purchase after learning how to run her business the right way from Clockwork Home Services, Inc.

“Not to mention that since I was able to sell the business and retire, I have plenty of time to spend with my kids,” Goshern said. “It’s nice knowing that I have a secure financial future.”

How did Goshern run a successful and profitable business? She did it by having a great general manager in George Donaldson and getting plenty of help from Clockwork Home Services. Goshern, and the man who would eventually become her ex-husband, started the business in 1993. He was tired of working for people and put an advertisement in the local newspaper to get some work on the side. It became busy enough that they decided to make a go of it and, with Beverly answering the phone calls out of their garage, Candlelight Electric was born.

“It was a lot of hours for not a whole lot of money,” said Goshern. She and her husband divorced in 2004, and the company was still somewhat floundering. In the divorce settlement, Goshern got the company while her ex received a monthly payment from the business. It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but little did he know that Goshern, Donaldson, and Clockwork Home Services would soon turn the company into a cash cow.

“It was easier for him to take a monthly payment than to stay and work everyday. I took the company and said I will run it with George,” said Goshern. One of the first decisions she made was a good one. She saw an ad for Clockwork Home Services and decided to take a shot.

“We had been involved in another organization, but looking at the Clockwork training program, it looked like something our employees could benefit from,” said Goshern. “I got tired of spending every waking minute at the office. There weren’t enough hours in the day. I had to be there all the time. It was tiresome and it wore on me.”

Clockwork did not disappoint. “I thought it would be beneficial to us as a company and them as employees; and that absolutely happened,” she said. “They sold better and we had better customer service. When we joined Mister Sparky our customer service went up three or four notches because we learned what we could do to be better for our customers.”

Soon the company was growing by leaps and bounds. In addition to being a Mister Sparky franchise, the duo also added One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, and Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. Goshern and Donaldson grew Candlelight into a $10 million company.

“George was a huge factor,” Goshern said. “With my husband gone, George and I made decisions we would not have made with him there. By making those decisions we were able to grow it in a way that was most beneficial. We did a lot of reinvesting in the company. We added benefits that increased our employee security and employee loyalty. Employees stayed with us for years because George and I treated them very, very well.”

Many of those decisions were made based on the advice Clockwork Home Services provides. “Their training programs really work. They provided so much — the scripts as far as the selling program, the appearance of what were standards in the organization, and uniforms and booties on your feet — and everything like that,” recalled Goshern. “Those items contributed to us making huge strides in our reputation in Denver and what we stood for. Up until that point we tried to look nice, but we really didn’t know what the next level looked like. The organization showed us what that next level looked like. It was a step up and made us better than our competition.”

In addition to this type of nuts-and-bolts information, Clockwork also provided the owner and general manager training on how to do their jobs better — mainly in managing people. “My training allowed me to better train the staff and hold them accountable,” said Donaldson. “The biggest thing they teach you is to better manage everything. They provide a lot of great marketing ideas. Events they have like Focus on the Future were always very helpful.”

Goshern agreed. “We went to a lot of management meetings and the influence of Jim Abrams in a lot of those meetings was huge. We both learned a lot from him and his knowledge and philosophy of business. The employee training classes were awesome but the management classes — the quarterly meetings they had — were all very influential in what we became.”

With the company doing great, the business became very attractive to potential buyers. It would be safe to say that when Goshern received an offer she could not refuse, she decided to sell the business.

“I knew I would be hard-pressed to sell that size of a company at the price they were offering me, again. I thought it might be a once in a lifetime deal and I needed to take it,” she said. “Also, I have two daughters, a 16-year-old and 14-year-old that I was raising by myself, and they needed their mom more than I was giving them.”

Include the fact that Goshern loves to travel and the selling of the company became a no-brainer. She has been able to take her two girls to places their friends have never been to before, like the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, and Mexico.

“And the kids college funds are all set up,” Goshern added.

Meanwhile, Donaldson was too young to retire so he is continuing to work within the franchise brand. He is currently a regional vice president at Clockwork Home Services and has also moved out to California and is building another Clockwork franchise — this time as an owner.

“My goal is to buy our $3 million dream house. Obviously that is a future goal,” said Donaldson. “Of course, the ultimate goal is to get the business running very well in a couple years. Then I will replace myself with someone running it so I don’t have to be here every day and someone else runs the day-to-day stuff.”

Goshern has no doubts that will soon come to fruition. So much so that she is a silent partner in his latest endeavor.

“I trust George. He is very good at what he does and very driven and will make anything succeed. I know the organizations are already set up and he will make them flourish. I am excited about it.” TSC

Kyle Gargaro