De Sousa’s shop, Master Window Tinting in Doral, Fla., is known for its professional work and attention to detail. Other local businesses have taken notice. Richard Estrada of High Tech Electronics in nearby Hialeah, Fla., nominated De Sousa saying, “This gentleman is one of the most professional window tinters in all of the U.S. His attention to detail is of the highest standards. I have had the pleasure of working with him for many years and time after time customers request his services.”

De Sousa got his start in the window film business 21 years ago in Caracas, Venezuela, working at a friend of his uncle’s car accessories and window tint shop while he was going to college.

De Sousa stayed in the industry because of his passion for cars. “I like to optimize the vehicles and make them look better than if they were from the factory,” De Sousa says.

Some of De Sousa’s most difficult and unique jobs have involved older cars. “Some of the most challenging projects have been classic cars from the 50′s and 70′s. One I remember was a 1967 VW Beetle and the rear glass on a ‘73 Dodge Dart sedan. Also a challenge was a 100-foot yacht in Coco Plum, Fla. It was tinted and decorated with a picture of the sea.”

De Sousa has many goals for his business and is eager to watch it grow. One of the directions in which he would like to see growth is working on more high-end vehicles.

“I’d like to provide service to exclusive high-end vehicles and the entire public of my community,” says De Sousa. “At the same time I’d like to provide high quality films with high heat rejection, protection of paints and decorating and customizing the exterior of cars. I’m always ready to provide services to our community. They deserve the best.”

De Sousa also dreams of working on cars that are faster than any other car on the road.

“I’d like to provide tear-off films for race cars like those in NASCAR and the Grand Am Series.”

In addition, De Sousa is passionate about protecting and informing his customers about health risks and the benefits of window film.

“I’d like to create programs to educate people about skin cancer and how to prevent it,” he adds.

When De Sousa is not hard at work tinting cars he is a family man at home.

“In my free time I love spending time with my wife and daughter, going to church and going to car races and car shows. I also like to take part in events in the community.”

I was thinking about a subject for this blog edition when I received a call from a prospective client who owns an established Martial Arts academy. During our assessment interview, I jotted down a few notes specific to the status of his business.

After the call, I noticed that I had drawn multiple thick circles around 3-bulleted items and they were, “declining market size”, “too much competition” and “slipping tuition revenue and margins”. I took these notes directly from his statement that went something like this:

“When I started my business there was no competition, yet today there are 10 schools within 20 minutes from my location and they all compete for the same students. How do I convince people to select my academy over the others?”

Sound familiar?

No matter how different selling window tinting may seem from selling Tae Kwon Do classes, the reality is that most small businesses face the exact same challenges, which are too many fishermen, fewer numbers of fish and lower prices for your catch.

The moral of the story is that you can prosper, although to do so, you’ll need to identify what makes you the better choice over your competition. Then you need to find a clever way to deliver your better choice message to a more precisely targeted prospect list – prospects that you already know have a greater probability of favorable response to your offer. And finally, you’ll need to be relentless in your marketing and promotional messages, including expanding you reach and increasing your impressions.

When my new client responded to my question about what makes him different, he stated items such as, 20 years in the business, impressive list of awards and accreditations, hands on training, centrally located–recently updated facility and most important, a long list of testimonials from kids, parents and mid-life crisis folks who thought he was the best…

OK, I think you get the point, so are you inspired yet? And have you started your mental list of reasons why prospects should choose your company over the competition? And do you know who your high probability prospects really are?

For my Martial Arts academy client, we’re going to target birthdays, gender, household incomes, schools and families with children at ages that we know to have an interest. We are even going to install a referral program that rewards existing students for taking an advocate position, referring prospects to the school. We are going to try everything, because this client will not give up because he is a fierce competitor and he wants to thrive – not just survive.

No matter what segment or category your business may be in, odds are good that the “pie” is a bit smaller these days, but if you are a fighter like my Martial Arts client you’ll discover that there’s a long list of things you can to do to ensure prosperity by publishing that you are the better choice.

The Riverside Co. in Cleveland, which purchased SunTek Holding Co. (Commonwealth Laminating & Coating Inc. [CLC]) in 2006, has sold its interest in the company. Jennifer Phillips Shorr, CLC vice president of sales and marketing, told WINDOW FILM magazine that the company has now partnered with two new investors, Transportation Resource Partners, which is associated with the Penske Automotive Group, and Fenway Partners.

“These two firms will replace Riverside and put CLC in a financial position to double in size over the next three to five years,” says Shorr. “CLC/SunTek’s current management team, including Steve Phillips our president/chief executive officer, will all remain in place. This is a very exciting time for all employees and we will continue to focus on providing the trade with innovative and competitive products, as well as exceptional customer service.”

“Riverside played a crucial role in a remarkable expansion at CLC that allowed us to take market share and prepare for the future in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns in modern history,” says Steve Phillips. “Riverside’s capital, support and appetite for growth allowed us to expand our production capacity while increasing our number of distribution centers and broadening our manufacturing capabilities. Riverside has been an exceptional partner.”

Shorr adds, “The Riverside Company has been the principle investor in CLC/SunTek for the past four and half years. They have done a terrific job supporting our strong growth and expansion in both North America and other parts of the world.”

Stephen Dyke, Riverside partner, adds, “CLC was a great company when we invested in it in 2006, and we’re leaving it in an even better position today. Our efforts to increase revenues by investing in growth at CLC have paid off. Today, CLC offers more products to more markets while still retaining its hard-earned reputation for exceptional quality and value. The company is very well positioned to continue its strong growth trajectory for years to come.”

The announcement notes that under Riverside’s stewardship, CLC made capital investments that significantly boosted the company’s production capacity and invested in a new dyed film line that improved product quality and strengthened its competitive position. The company expanded its international presence during Riverside’s ownership period by opening three new international distribution centers and relocating a fourth. During this time, CLC also expanded its product line, including flat glass applications in residential and commercial buildings.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

This will take you through the process of naming your page and creating the basic layout. Spend some time here and fill in all the information that you can regarding your business. Also, post some pictures of recent jobs, your shop, employees, etc. to give the page some initial content. Make the page look presentable, because the next step will be to suggest that your friends on Facebook follow the page. You will need to get 25 friends to follow the page before you can move to the next step which is to register a username for your page. By registering a username for your page, you will enable people to find your business more easily on Facebook and other search engines by integrating the chosen username into your Facebook URL. Registering your page name is similar to the vanity URL we discussed in my last blog for your personal page.  There are guidelines regarding what your username can be, so go to the following link to find out more.

http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=900

Once you have a page and have locked in a good username, it is time to begin using the page to market your business. Try to keep the status current and change it often so that the page does not seem stagnant. Then begin promoting your presence on Facebook by having your Facebook URL on business cards and marketing that you do. As you begin to build a following, your page will enable you to inform the page followers of new products that you are carrying, specials that you might be running, jobs that you recently have completed, etc.

So what will all of this do to help grow my business? This page will allow you to stay in contact with pleased customers from the past as well as give them a convenient way to share your information with their friends. More and more people are resorting to asking their friends on Facebook for recommendations on restaurants to eat at, painters for their house, lawn care services, etc. By having a page on Facebook, you enable a follower to easily share your company information with their friends. It is like having all of your followers carrying a business card for your company at all times that they can give to friends.

As with business in general, good word of mouth is your best advertising. The key to using this tool to help your business is to make sure past and current customers are happy with the service that you provide and give them an easy way to share how pleased they are with their friends. Having a page on Facebook is just one of the newest ways to tap into the power of positive word of mouth in 2010 and beyond.

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Morris says, “He leads by example and keeps the team focused and hard working. He gives 100 percent and expects no less from others, but is always ready to show his gratitude for your efforts.” 

Morris continues, “Jonathan is a really exciting boss to work for. He is always coming up with new ideas and manages to make everyone smile.” 

“The knowledge that I’ve gained over the years and improvements in the film industry have spurred me into wanting to grow the business and continue in this industry. The satisfaction of seeing that my customers appreciate my hard work and gaining repeat business by word of mouth makes it all worthwhile. I’ve built up a great team that works alongside me and they all care about the business as much as I do,” says Longhurst.

Since starting his own company Longhurst has focused on automotive tinting, but is interested in expanding his business in the future.  

“I would like to move more into the residential and commercial side of the business as Autoshades has predominantly focused on the auto tinting side,” he says. “I would eventually like to set up a UK network of true professional window tinting dealers to be able to offer a nationwide service,” says Longhurst.

Morris notes that Longhurst’s dedication to working hard for his customers is the key to his success.

 “His attention to detail never fails to impress his individual customers and dealerships alike. He maintains a personal service of high quality and customer satisfaction. He really is excellent at his work and is passionate about the benefits it brings to his clients,” says Morris.

Throughout his career Longhurst has worked on all kinds of projects, including tinting cars on film sets where time is of the essence. However, the one project that he dreams of being a part of is something much different than a film set.

“Having worked closely with schools, I would like to work on a project developing schools for the future where I feel window film could significantly improve the working conditions for future generations of students and teachers alike,” he says. “With ever increasing demands for the latest technology in the classroom such as interactive whiteboards, it is also important that the classroom is suitable for these developments, so that the schools can really benefit.”

In his free time Longhurst enjoys traveling, visiting theme parts, exploring the countryside with his dogs, running, and most importantly spending time with his two young sons.

Do you know someone whose efforts stand out above the rest? Then we want to hear from you with your nominations for “Tinter of the Week.” E-mail Ellen Rogers at erogers@glass.com your nominations.

For those that are unfamiliar with the project, Pepsi is awarding grant money to great ideas from online volunteers. Any regular person, like myself, can go on the website and submit a great idea and with enough votes from other viewers, like you, they are awarded money to make their goal a reality. The projects range from creating low-income housing to saving animal shelters to raising money for medical research.

I can’t help but think of the recent news from the DOE. When the DOE announced the projects and companies that were being awarded grants to advance energy-efficient building technologies I felt like it was a great story for the industry. Companies with great ideas were awarded money to better the country and included in these companies were some window film companies that we are all familiar with (CPFilms, 3M Company, Pleotint LLC, Southwall Technologies).

I wrote in my last blog about validation for window film and yet here I see it again. The U.S. government is recognizing window film as a valuable game-changer in the fight to save energy and make our country green. However, this is where my questions begin. Are there companies or ideas that were not awarded grants that should have been on the list? In the spirit of the Pepsi Refresh Project, what would you submit to the DOE as your energy-efficient idea?

Follow the links here to find out more about the Pepsi Refresh Project  and the DOE’s awards.

Also, be sure to check out Window Film magazine’s page on Facebook. It’s brand new and will bring you updates on what we are doing at the magazine and what is going on in the industry. Be sure to “like” us to receive those updates straight to your newsfeed.

In order for homeowners to qualify for the rebates they must have window film installed

on at least eight exterior doors, windows or skylights, or 75 percent of the total exterior square footage of glass in a home, whichever is more. The films must be certified by the National Fenestration Rating Council and have a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.43 or less with a visible light-to-solar heat gain coefficient of at least 1.1 for installations in 2009 International Energy Conservation Code climate zones 1-3; or a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.43 or less with a visible light light-to-solar heat gain coefficient of at least 1.1 and a U-factor of 0.40 or less as installed in 2009 International Energy Conservation Code climate zones 4-8.

Homeowners can receive $1,000 per measure and the maximum rebate for a home is $3,000 or 50 percent of the total cost of the installed measures.

If this bill passes in the Senate it will likely go to a congressional conference committee work out the differences between the House and Senate versions for joint agreement.

The International Window Film Association (IWFA) was heavily involved in getting window film included in the bill. IWFA president John Parker and executive director Darrell Smith responded to the Senate’s plans to discuss the legislation. “As the U.S. House of Representatives has already recognized the benefits of window film and passed Home Star legislation (H.R. 5019), it is more important than ever for the Senate to embrace measures that allow homeowners to receive rebates for the installation of high performance window film products.”

The statement continues, “The window film industry stands ready to work with Congress to continue to advance common sense, responsible policies that recognize highly efficient window film as a critical and effective energy savings measure.”

Well, hopefully the information above is enough to convince you that if you are not currently involved, you need to be. In this blog I would like to cover the basics of getting set-up with Facebook personally and as a business. First, if you do not already have a Facebook account, register as an individual. The process is fast and free. As you set up your account, pay particular attention to the privacy settings. If you plan to use this tool for both business and personal, you may want to be careful about what information that you post and who can see that information. The default settings are for Facebook to be wide open. That would mean that anyone, whether connected on Facebook with you or not, could view everything that you have posted. The privacy settings allow you to tightly control all aspects of your content and only give access to parties that you choose. This is important as you may not want to have a business client to have access to a photo album showing you doing something you might be embarrassed about. I do believe in being as transparent as possible when using these tools, but some good judgment here can save you a bunch of headaches.

Next, you want to change your default Facebook url to what they call a “vanity url”. This changes your randomly generated numeric Facebook ID to some version of your name. This change makes your page much easier for search engines to find. It also is easier for friends to find you on Facebook if you have a url closely tied to your name. Vanity urls are given out on a first come, first serve basis, so the faster that you do this, the more likely you are to get your desired ID. If you have a unique name, you may be in luck as the vanity url is likely not taken. However, if you have a common name, you may have to come up with a unique spelling or orientation as the basic format is likely taken. I was lucky, my Facebook ID is Patricfransko. However, I could have also gone with “Patric F”, “PFransko”, “PJFransko”, etc.

Facebook is a huge social media tool right now and it gets bigger by the day. I often encourage friends that don’t want to be involved at this time to at least take the time to register for an account and lock down a good vanity url. At least at that point, you will have the foundation in place when you decide to use this tool. So, I hope that this month’s blog at least convinced you to take that step. In the next blog, we will cover how to set up a Facebook page for your company and lock down a vanity url for that as well. I hope that all is well with you and the summer is treating you and your business well.

Chris Welker, national sales manager of ASWF commented, “We are pleased to welcome Beth to the ASWF team and believe that her many talents and proven sales ability will greatly benefit our customers and facilitate the continued growth of our operations within Florida.”