When Steven Eisenberg and his wife, Billie, were looking for business opportunities, a Stained Glass Overlay franchise seemed like the perfect fit. Franchisees buy pre-cut stained glass pieces from Stained Glass Overlay, and then attach those pieces to a single sheet of solid glass, resulting in what looks like a traditional cut-and-soldered stained glass pane. The Eisenbergs enjoyed their business, but found that expanding it was difficult because Stained Glass Overlay offers only one product. But the company allows its franchisees to sell other products, in addition to stained glass. Approximately three-quarters of franchisees take advantage of this opportunity and set up shop with other businesses, most often in the window and glass, interior design, or home renovation fields. Steven Eisenberg spoke with Alexa Apallas about the challenge of growing from a one-product business to a full-service home fashion provider.
In 1981, we bought a Stained Glass Overlay franchise in the western San Fernando Valley. The product was beautiful and was both art- and business-oriented. Marketing and selling one product wasn’t enough, though, because of the ups and downs of the marketplace.
Our customers would ask, “Well, what else do you do?” But stained glass was it. So in 1986, we added other glass services such as beveled glass and etched glass. But that still wasn’t enough, so we moved to a bigger showcase and began offering all sorts of window coverings, from blinds to shades to full draperies.
We used a combination of savings and loans to finance our expansion. Also in 1986, we decided to acquire an additional selling area for Stained Glass Overlay, so we got the territory that covers most of the San Fernando Valley, from Universal City to Westlake Village. Then in 1992, we decided to expand again and bought franchises in West Los Angeles and Venice.
Finally, in 1997, we opened a full-service showroom in Calabasas called Billie’s Home Fashions. We are still a factory for Stained Glass Overlay work, but stained glass is just one of the products that we sell. In addition, we do window coverings, beds, bedding, and all types of furniture.
In the past, the customer would buy maybe one stained glass window or one shower door from me and that was it. They had no need to come back. But now that we are full service, we’ve created a reason for the customer to come back.
Customers will still come in for a stained glass window, but now they say, “Oh, well, I could use some drapes for the window,” or “You know, this wall could use a tapestry.” We’ve created a market that the customers can come to for all their home decorating needs.
