We all have heard that couples that play together...stay together. But what about couples that work AND play together? That adds a whole new level to the relationship. We sat down with four happily married couples who also own local businesses to find out the secret to their success.
1 - Scout Turner and Dylan Ritter, Certapro Painters of Nashville and Middle Tennessee
Scout Turner and Dylan Ritter are newlyweds who grew up in Murfreesboro and moved to Nashville to be closer to work. Scout has a background in
sales and human resources, and Dylan worked in sales for Certapro for five years before he and Scout bought the franchise. Both of their parents own
small businesses and they grew up dreaming of running their own companies one day. They are passionate about building a company culture that feels more like a family and creating opportunities for workers who want to grow professionally. They say that one of the keys to their success is the fact they each have different strengths, which helps them to achieve the outcomes their customers want. They bought Certapro, a professional painting franchise, in April of 2021.
How did you acquire your business?
"Dylan was an employee and enjoyed the culture of the business. There are 360 Certapro franchises in the U.S. and Canada, and ours is in the top
five in sales and customer satisfaction. We had the backgrounds necessary to run the business and already knew we loved the work.”
Tell us about your typical work day.
"Before we had the business, we rarely hung out together during the week because we were in different sales jobs. Now we spend the whole day
together in the same office – Scout painted it navy and pink!” Dylan focuses on marketing and sales, while Scout handles human resources, and her favorite part of the business, team building.
What do you like to do on your days off?
“We really have to plan for time off, otherwise we’ll end up working. We like to golf, go for dinner and drinks, visit Scout’s parents’ lake house, and play with our dogs, Cash and Whitley.”
What’s a challenge that you’ve faced since opening your business?
“Making the transition from employee to owner was bumpy but that’s expected. It would’ve been easier in some ways to start a business from scratch, because ours was already running and we needed to jump in and go right away. Luckily, I was already in the business and Scout was experienced with the back-end work."
What are your plans for the future of your business?
"We get enjoyment from providing a good experience for our customers and creating opportunity for our employees. We’d like to own more businesses
to offer more family work culture and growth. Some of our subcontractors have been with us for thirteen years; we want to support them, support our
team, and support each other in doing what we love to do.
Certapro.com/nashvillesouth
2 - Dr. Matt and Brooke Kasiar, “The Practice” Dentistry Office
Matt and Brooke Kasiar grew up in rural Illinois and attended rival small-town high schools. Theirs is a cute homecoming king meets the homecoming queen from the next town, love story. He took her to Applebee’s for their first date, and now they’re married with a three-year-old son and one-year-old twins. In 2016. they moved to Tennessee, where Dr. Kasiar practiced dentistry in Antioch and Franklin and Brooke was a speech pathologist at Williamson County Medical Center. He runs the dentistry side of the business and she manages the design and construction. “The Practice” opened in May of 2021.
How did you acquire your business?
"We searched for four years for the right location and were able to buy this piece of land from Walker Chevrolet. It used to be a parking lot for their vehicles. We did two years of prep work to make sure we could be up and running once we left our previous jobs. It was always our dream to have our own practice."
Tell us about your typical work day.
Matt: “I’m up at 5:00 am to work out, give the twins their bottles, leave at 7:00am for work and am home by 4:30pm. Brooke has the kids all day! On Wednesdays, they come to the office and eat lunch with me.”
What do you like to do on your days off?
“When you have little kids, there’s something to do every moment of every day! We have a great staff; they allow me to leave work at work. Matt’s parents have a lake house close by, and we love to go boating.”
What’s a challenge that you’ve faced since opening your business?
“We had construction delays and had already hired our staff, then our twins were born at the exact time as the business was set to open. We didn’t know
if we would have patients and worried about how to manage it all. Our parents stepped in to help at home and our patients found us. It all worked out.”
What are your plans for the future of your business?
"We’d like to expand and operate multiple locations. We want our kids to have memories of running around our practice. Maybe one of them will be a dentist! We want to continue our “Second Chance Smiles” giveaway program with Brittany Aldean. Matt loves dentistry so much and says , 'It doesn't feel like work. I get to do this every day?'"
ThePracticeTN.com
3 - Pam and Gary Jordan, Eat Gather Love Nashville
Arriving at the home-based business of Pam and Gary Jordan is like entering a fantasyland of southern living. Rocking chairs on the porch, green acres with a barn out back, a bright, airy kitchen you don’t want to leave. Pam and Gary know how to create the welcoming spaces customers crave for hosting family and friends. Their aptly-named business, Eat Gather Love, transforms kitchens from dreary to dreamy. They met in 1986 when Pam hired Gary to install a jacuzzi tub in her Memphis bathroom. “He pulled up in a Corvette! Thirty-three years of marriage and raising a family prepared them to run Eat Gather Love, that they opened in 2019.
How did you acquire your business?
Pam designed closets for a national closet company while Gary had a contracting license, owned a tile company and worked in the corporate world. “We wanted to do something together. We love to gather our family, and we want to help others create happiness in the heart of the home, the kitchen.” Eat Gather Love started in the UK and expanded to the U.S. The couple were one of the first to sign on and they own the Nashville North and Nashville South territories.
Tell us about your typical work day.
Gary and his crews leave for their work sites at 7:00am. Pam starts her day with phone calls, then goes to client consultations. “Monday is my office day and Friday is my design day.”
What do you like to do on your days off?
“We have three beautiful grandchildren who we don’t get to see enough of. They live close by, and they come over to gather with us in the kitchen or on our back porch.”
What’s a challenge that you’ve faced since opening your business?
“We opened in 2019 and a year later we went through four months where clients didn’t want consultations in their homes. We didn’t know how long that would last. Because of that, we learned how to do virtual consultations, which we can still offer. The other challenge has been finding skilled labor, which isn’t easy these days. We only hire workers who truly care about craftsmanship.”
What are your plans for the future of your business?
“Our goal is to help people re-imagine their kitchens and love them! We also own two franchises – Nashville and South Nashville, and we have two
children. We want to give our children an opportunity to own a business should they decide they want to take it over. We want it to be a legacy for them and for our grandchildren when we’re ready to step down.”
EatGatherLove.com/contact-us/tennessee-nashville
4 - Mindy and Tim Bledsoe, Tailored Living, Featuring PremierGarage
Mindy and Tim Bledsoe say one of the reasons their business is successful is because they make good partners in life. Married 36 years, they’ve raised three children, built three houses, and supported each other in their careers. Today, they’re running their first business together. Mindy was a designer for a major closet company for over thirteen years, and Tim comes from a sales background. Together they run Tailored Living, helping clients transform their homes with custom storage solutions, including closets, home offices, pantries, and garages. At the beginning of 2021, Mindy and Tim’s business was recognized as the fastest-growing Tailored Living franchise in North America. They serve customers throughout Middle Tennessee.
How did you acquire your business?
Five years ago, Mindy was ready to make a change and the couple worked with a business broker to find the right opportunity. “We visited a Tailored Living franchise in Kentucky and were impressed by the quality of the product. It was a natural fit with my background in closet design, and the timing was right.”
Tell us about your typical workday.
“We respect each other’s roles in the business, and we’ve established healthy boundaries that allow us both to be efficient and productive on a daily basis.” Mindy handles sales and operations, while Tim takes care of all things financial. They collaborate on human resources matters and long-range planning.
What do you like to do on your days off?
[Laughter] “We don’t take many days off. Running a small business is a lot of work. Fortunately, we love what we do, we’ve been blessed to have doubled our business year-over-year for the past two years. We jokingly refer to our weekends as ‘work from home days.’ We do try to purposefully create time away from work and love to be with our kids and grandkids. When we have a chance, we love to travel, and go kayaking. No phones allowed on the river!”
What’s a challenge that you’ve faced since opening your business?
“Just running a small business can be a challenge and we’ve certainly had our share. Through it all, we’ve learned to adapt to change and discovered that we’re very resilient.” Just in the past year they had one of their trucks stolen, had to evacuate their office/warehouse with little notice, due to foundation issues, and worked to overcome supply chain shortages. “We’ve learned not to panic, and we choose to take on each challenge as it comes. It’s not always easy, but it’s definitely worth it!”
What are your plans for the future of your business?
“We love it so much; we just want to keep growing. One of our objectives in starting our own business was to create an organization that puts people
before profits. We are confident that if we continue to treat our employees and clients with the respect they deserve, our company will continue to
grow right along with this awesome city.”
TailoredLiving.com/nashville
