Good Neighbor Podcast: Palmer
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Palmer. Good Neighbor Podcast Palmer MA hosted by Liz Lemon helps residents to connection with local doctors, lawyers, financial advisors, insurance agents and other business owners in and around Palmer, and other Massachusetts Communities. Helping neighbors to become friends while introducing them to local businesses and charities is my goal.
With 29+ years of hard work, my career began in Graphic Design. Evolving to TV Production, Newscast Directing, Technical Producing, and Filmmaking. In addition, Sales, Marketing, and Advertising across various platforms, while always exceeding expectations. Then transitioning to the Entertainment and Sports Industries, I specializes in Special Events, Promotions, VIP Services, Live Events and Security, expanding Nationally at various Stadiums, and Concert Venues.
Passionate about learning and diverse topics, I love sports, especially the New England Patriots, the NFL, and NASCAR. An avid outdoors enthusiast, I also enjoy swimming, hiking, and exploring new places while photographing, digitally recording each one . Excited about my new role as PPM Area Media Executive at Podcast Plus Media, I'm ready for this new Adventure of a Lifetime, continuing to connect with people and exceed expectations in the local community.
Is your business serving the residents of Palmer? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpPalmer.com or to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Palmer
EP# 65: Building Excellence: Fran Beaulieu's Inspiring Journey from Family Business to Home Improvement Mastery
What makes Fran Beaulieu with Phil Beaulieu And Sons Home Improvement Inc. a good neighbor?
What does it take to turn a small family business into a local powerhouse with a reputation for excellence? On today's Good Neighbor Podcast, we sit down with Fran from Fran Beaulieu and Sons Home Improvement Inc. to uncover the secrets behind this 55-year-old family-run gem in Western Massachusetts. Fran shares the remarkable journey of how his father made the bold transition from working at Fisk Rubber to founding a thriving home improvement company, now moving into its third generation. You'll learn about their specialization in exterior remodeling—think top-notch roofing, siding, windows, and decks—and the common misconceptions that can trip up homeowners. Fran also gives us a peek into his life beyond work, including his passions for golf, skiing, and the tranquil retreats he enjoys in Florida and New Hampshire.
This episode isn't just about a business; it's about resilience, risk-taking, and the power of family. Hear how Fran navigated the turbulent waters of the 2008 economic downturn by making the audacious move to buy out his father's business, investing everything he had to expand it. Discover how Fran Beaulieu and Sons Home Improvement Inc. has built exceptional customer retention, with a major chunk of their projects coming from loyal, repeat clients. Fran also shares the benefits of subscribing to their high-engagement newsletter, loaded with valuable home care tips. If you’re inspired by stories of local business triumphs and the human stories behind them, this episode is a must-listen. And don’t forget—nominate your favorite local businesses for future episodes by visiting gnppalmercom or calling 413-414-5940!
To learn more about Phil Beaulieu And Sons Home Improvement Inc. go to:
https://beaulieuhomeimprovement.com/
Phil Beaulieu And Sons Home Improvement Inc.
(413) 246-0586
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Liz Lemon.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of some home improvements? Surprisingly, it might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your neighbor Fran, with Phil Bowyer and Sons Home Improvement. How are you today, fran?
Speaker 3:Hi Liz, how are you?
Speaker 2:Great, we're excited to learn all about you and your business. So please tell us about Phil Bowyer and Sons Improvement Company.
Speaker 3:Yes, second generation working on a third generation. We've been around 55 years.
Speaker 2:How did you get into the business?
Speaker 3:My dad, my parents, my mom and dad, came here from Quebec. My dad worked in Chicopee at Fisk Rubber and Fisk Rubber went on strike so he went to start hanging aluminum siding with his cousin and he never went back and he started a really successful Western Mass Home Improvement Company. And we're on a second generation. My brother and I have been running it with 58 employees and now my daughter is our general manager in the office and my nephew works with us as well. So we're working on third generation.
Speaker 2:That's amazing, we're carpenters.
Speaker 3:We're Canadian carpenters.
Speaker 2:Right. What are the myths and misconceptions within the home improvement industry?
Speaker 3:Well, we fight a lot of them because a lot of people in my industry for years have been bandits. We try and focus on we don't sell anybody anything they don't need. First of all, we're an exterior remodeling company so we do predominantly roofing, siding, windows, doors, decks, porches, things like that. That's our forte. Some of the misconceptions is it's a great trade if you take it professionally, like you would any other trade. You answer people's calls, you call back, you do everything professionally, you stay insured, you stay licensed, everything. You can do a really good job and really provide a really good service for everyone. Honestly.
Speaker 2:That's good. Outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:What do I do for fun? I'm a golfer, I'm a skier. I have a little place in Florida that I like to escape to. I got a place up in New Hampshire in the lakes region that I like to go to. I'm a dad. I like working on my house. I got a house that I'm taking a lot of pride in, so I put my tool pouch on and work on my house.
Speaker 2:That's great, and you definitely have all the locations, all the great locations, covered, for sure.
Speaker 3:So I do, like I said, I have a partner in business which is my older brother. We own a lot of property together as well, so we've had the benefit, I think, that a lot of people other people don't have that we have the ability to fix things that need a lot of work that you would generally buy a piece and have to hire someone like me, where we can just buy it and do the work ourselves, which has really been beneficial. So, yeah, that's what we do. I mean, we do 750 projects a year residentially. That's a lot. We have a serious operation.
Speaker 2:That's a lot. And keeping it in the family, that's a lot. We have a serious operation, that's a lot. And keeping it in the family, let's change gears just for a moment. Can you describe? One hardship or life challenges that you rose above and can now say because of it, you're better and stronger. What comes to mind?
Speaker 3:Um 2008,. I was a home builder. I did not work for my dad, I was a carpenter. I left working for my dad when I was young. Um started my own business was building homes out in Belcher town, had two little kids and the economy was bad and I was like, oh boy, what the heck am I going to do for the rest of my life? I can't build houses. No one's buying them. The heck am I going to do for the rest of my life? I can't build houses. No one's buying them. So I took a risk and bought my dad out of his business and put everything I owned into. It had nothing after I bought it and just started getting up early in the morning and grinding and making it happen. So that's my biggest work challenge. Thank God it's not as challenging as other people in their lives with health issues and so forth. Thank God I've been able to stay healthy. But as far as a career challenge, that was the greatest.
Speaker 2:But you stuck with it, you rose above it, that's for sure, and you've been going strong ever since going strong ever since.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, my dad had a great reputation to start with, but it needed to grow, and that's what we've been able to do since 2009. We bought it. It's the funny thing about our businesses we're the largest local company nobody knows about, and what I mean by that is you would know probably if I mentioned a couple of major local home improvement companies in Western Mass, because they're all over TV. We don't have to advertise on TV. We get what we call retention. So we do almost 800 jobs, 760-something projects last year, and 71% of them were past customer. So that's what we're proud of. The phone rings off the hook from people that we've done work for before. So we don't have to advertise. So we do a job for you once and you're going to hire us again.
Speaker 3:Projects have become so expensive that people peck at things, so we used to go in and sell a whole house full of windows. That's very rare nowadays. Nowadays it's two or three. The bedroom window is giving you problems or the back patio door needs to be replaced, and we'll do that for you this year and then next year you call us back, maybe to put a roof on your shed and fix your deck. So that's kind of how we've been able to build our business. Projects are smaller and they're more frequent. More frequent, um, so creates you have to do a good job of customer service and you can't sell anybody anything they don't need because that'll just come back to kill you in the future and kind of.
Speaker 3:We have a unique business model. I guess just doing it right, literally doing it right, not just smoke and mirrors. Doing it right, really doing it right, like really training our people to do the right thing, and that's, you know, it's growing. But it's hard to grow because we ask a lot of our employees. We have, you know, really skilled people and it's hard to find really skilled people. So we can only grow as fast as we can find or train skilled people, if that makes sense.
Speaker 2:Right, that does make sense. What is the one thing that you wish our listeners knew about Phil Boyer and Sons Home Improvement Incorporated.
Speaker 3:Kind of what I just summed up that we are your greatest value, and I mean that honestly. We really study the products that we're going to use in your home to try to bring you the best value. We're not going to sell you junk just because we can make an extra 40 bucks. We're going to really try to give you and educate you. We really don't go around selling anybody things. We try to really educate you and give you good decisions. Sometimes you'd be amazed at some of the conversations I have on homeowners, like how long you plan on staying in this house. That's a good, that's a great question. If they're telling me listen, we're only going to be here four or five years. Maybe you don't need the best sliding door, you just need a good sliding door. I'm not going to sell you junk, but maybe you just need a good product. So those are the kind of decisions we kind of have. Not to mention, what do I want people to know? That we're a family-run business, that we really stick our neck out to do the right thing.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic. How can our listeners learn more about Phil Bollier and Sons Home Improvement Incorporated.
Speaker 3:The best way is to go to our website bollierhomeimprovementcom. You can find us there. We're also known in some markets as PBHI, which is an acronym for Phil Boyer Home Improvement. The best thing is to go on our YouTube page, our Facebook. Look us up on Facebook and Instagram. We post on the daily there fun projects we're doing or employee spotlights. You can go on our website. Another great thing is you can sign up for our newsletter, which you don't hear this from everybody. We get 70% opening People open. 70% of the emails, the 3,400 that we send out, 70% of them actually get opened because we put good little tidbits to help you take care of your home in there.
Speaker 2:Right, that's important. For sure, you guys care, and it's a family owned business, and that is fantastic. Do you have a phone number that you'd like to share?
Speaker 3:Sure, you can call us anytime, 413-592-1498. And that rings in our showroom in Chicopee and we have four to seven people, depending on what's going on, ready to answer your call, make an appointment, answer your questions, whatever we need, whatever you need.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely Well, fran, it was a pleasure and thank you so much for being on the show today, and we wish you and the business the best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Liz, I appreciate this. Thank you Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppalmercom. That's gnppalmercom, or call 413-414-5940. 3 4 1, 4, 5, 9, 4 0.