Return to glory

Husband-and-wife team LaMont Hess and Kimberly Rowe want to restore their once million-dollar company to its former level of success. Outdoor Expressions was originally founded in 1990 but suffered a significant downturn, dwindling from a $3-million, award-winning company to a $200,000 company in 2017. Hess and Rowe bought the company in July, and now they want to turn it around.

“Having inherited older vehicles and equipment has necessitated unanticipated capital expenditures which have reduced our capital resources which were planned to be allocated elsewhere,” they wrote in their application. “Providing we secure new contracts for 2018 we will need to efficiently budget for the right equipment and manpower for the new year.”

But just like taking over a job from someone, the couple has inherited a few problems – namely skeptical employees and old equipment.

“Our crew members, they haven’t had any supervision for the last four to five years,” Rowe says. “The first week that we were here they­­­­­ said, ‘We have seen more of you guys than we have the previous owner in the last four or five years. So, they were just working unsupervised. So, it was like a breath of fresh air to have us come in and show them we are there to help them and to make their lives better. I think they really appreciated that.”

Bill Arman and Ed LaFlamme say the couple are networking well and have established strong relationships with successful business people who can refer considerable business to them.

In order to improve, they need to give their facility a good cleaning and paint job. They hey also need to analyze the gross profit margin on each job so we know which jobs to drop, raise the prices or reassess in other areas. They could also use some help finding and retaining quality, long-term employees.