The screen repair business isn’t where Jack Kelly ever imagined himself being.
The veteran of IBM, 30 years, already retired from his career in the computer industry, leaving he and his wife to a quiet existence in Sarasota. But in 2004, as the housing market boomed, Kelly said he began itching to get back to work — and the construction business was certainly a lucrative field to consider.
“A friend of mine had done some screens, and it seemed like interesting work,” Kelly said. “Then one night I was looking at some Web sites and stumbled across Screenmobile. The rest, as they say, is history.”
Screenmobile, a family owned mobile screening company based in Thousand Palms, California, has nearly 100 franchises across the country, most of them out West. The Screenmobile concept is simple: all necessary screening gear packs into a “mobile screen-store” trailer that is driven to the job location. It’s a shop on wheels. Before us, Screenmobile never had a franchise in Florida. Kelly would start the first in October 2004.
“I thought if I’m going to do something completely outside my comfort zone, a franchise is probably a good idea,” he said. As it turned out, the folks at Screenmobile would learn almost as much from Kelly as he did from them when it came to what Floridians needed in their screens. Suffice it to say, the dry coastal climate of California is a different world from Florida’s own west coast. “Much of what we do here in Florida was completely foreign to them when we originally started talking,” Kelly said. “I asked how they do pool cages and they gave me this funny look and asked, ‘What’s a pool cage?’”
Five years later, the housing boom has now long since ended and the downturn has meant disaster for many businesses tied to construction. But Kelly said he is still booked at a two-week backlog, partly because people unable to sell their homes are increasingly looking to keep up the ones they have. Housing essentials, like doors and windows usually involve screens get lots of attention from homeowners.
Kelly has no office overhead to pay for because his mobile office is parked in his driveway. “Everything is on the trailer,” he said. “It does make it easier.”
Being mobile also has other advantages when it comes to customer service, which is a vital factor in getting customers in a down market, he said. “Homeowners enjoy the instant gratification I provide for them when I pull up to the door and I can do everything they need, right there on the spot,” Kelly said. “I don’t need to take their sliding screen door to the shop in order to fix it, I do it right there in front of them. They can see the quality of the repairs that we do.” The fact that when Kelly is driving around town in his truck, the Screenmobile trailer itself essentially acts as a huge rolling billboard for his business also doesn’t hurt.
“It’s amazing how many times my wife and I will be sitting at a traffic light, and we’ll look to the car next to us and see them look at the trailer. They almost always have a curious look on their faces and they’ll take out a cell phone to call us,” Kelly joked. “Then suddenly our phone rings. I’ll pick it up and the guy will say ‘I’m driving around and am right next to one of your trucks, I thought I’d call’ — so we’ll just roll the window down and say ‘Hi there, how are you?’. It’s such a thrill.”
Certain types of screens are proving popular these days, especially so-called “sun control” or “solar” screens, which reduce glare and increase energy efficiency. In climates like Florida’s, the energy savings can be quite noticeable during the summer, and these days every penny counts. Though Kelly said most of his customers who purchase sun control screens enjoy the benefits of glare and heat reduction most of all.
“Many clients simply see the energy savings as an additional benefit,” he said. “What they’re looking to do is knock down that glaring early morning or afternoon sun, so they can better enjoy the section of their home that’s basically being cooked.”
Contact Jack Kelly and his screen repair team at (941) 377-3894. And if you see him driving in Parrish, Ellenton, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota, Venice, Northport or Englewood, roll down your window and say “Hi!”