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Feb
20
2019
STORIES

Franchise Spotlight: Brandon Phillips on the Benefits of Owning a The UPS Store Franchise

Franchise Spotlight: Brandon Phillips on the Benefits of Owning a The UPS Store Franchise

There are several common traits you’ll find at pretty much every The UPS Store across the country - 

There are several common traits you’ll find at pretty much every The UPS Store across the country – the logos on the employees’ uniforms, the signage displayed in the stores and the similar services offered by our locations. But each of our locations also has a fair share of distinct characteristics. One of the reasons for this is our franchise business model that empowers owners to run their stores based on their strengths and the needs of their community.

But, more than that, it’s the unique qualities of our franchise owners that bring this personalized feel to locations across the country. Each of our owners has his or her own management style, personal background and life story. Some of our owners followed the typical path to entrepreneurship, while others forged less traditional paths on their way to owning a business. Brandon Phillips is one such owner. A 20-plus-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department, Brandon has juggled owning a The UPS Store with his original career as a firefighter for the past decade and a half.

As far as careers go, fighting fires and owning a business are both demanding ways to make a living. Straight from the source, here’s how Brandon makes it all work.

Franchisee profile

Name: Brandon Phillips

Store location: Laurelton, (Queens) New York City

Owner since: 2005

Building a family business

When opening his franchise, Brandon chose the community where he grew up – the Laurelton neighborhood of Queens in New York City. Owning a business close to home has given Brandon the opportunity to balance two full-time careers while still getting to spend time with family and friends.

“I opened the store in my community so I still see childhood friends who have moved and come back or never moved,” Brandon says. “(And) I work with my family. My mother is my partner, and my daughter works there so it's a nice family environment with three generations working in one store.”

This community environment at his store feels so much like home that it even reminds the life-long New Yorker of a famous Boston establishment.

“Our customers have become like family. It’s a wonderful feeling when the regulars walk in, almost like in the TV show Cheers,” says Brandon. “Everybody walks in and everybody knows your name. I like that feeling, and the customers appreciate it as well.”

Growing his business

According to Brandon, one of the most important elements to growing his business has been investing in the latest technology to power his store’s services.

“To grow my business, I invest in my business. I have purchased and leased many pieces of equipment,” says Brandon. “I like our store to stand out from the rest so I stay on top of all the latest technology and equipment.”

With a base of more than 4,000 customers in the average month, Brandon takes advantage of that traffic by putting his technology acquisitions on full display. His dedication to innovation has made an impact on his customer-base and his fellow franchise owners, especially when it comes to printing.

“We are the number one printer in New York City. And I share that expertise with other franchise owners by printing for seven other The UPS Stores as well.”

Finding his niche

Establishing his store as a leader in printing was no accident. Working within The UPS Store’s framework, Brandon developed a strategic business plan aligned with the needs of his customers and the strengths of his location.

“Every neighborhood has a niche. You just need to find out what the niche is in your neighborhood,” says Brandon. “Where I brag about having a huge printing service, stores in Manhattan don't have that luxury because their stores are small, and the rent is too high. But these stores can still knock it out of the park with mailboxes or other services.”

Having the flexibility to excel at different services, according to Brandon, is one of the many key selling points of owning a The UPS Store.

“I think what makes this franchise successful is the strength of the brand name, the number of locations in the network and the number of services that we can offer to our customers.”

Learning from his peers

For Brandon, The UPS Store franchise network also presents some amazing learning opportunities for owners.

“Going to the franchise conventions is huge for owners. The conventions are great, the workshops are fantastic, and the vendor show is great, too,” he says. But, for Brandon, the learning opportunities aren’t limited to formal instruction.

“In my opinion, you learn just as much – if not more – from your fellow franchisees by mingling and networking in between the workshops. You can do that locally without going to a convention; just visit a few stores, talk to the other owners and pick their brains,” says Brandon. Engaging with other owners, can be an efficient way to gain insight about best business practices among a variety of franchises.

Offering advice to new franchise owners

When it comes to dishing out advice for new franchise owners and potential franchisees, Brandon stresses how important shared learning is as you build and grow your business.  

“A new owner getting into the market really needs to visit other franchisees and get ideas and thoughts from them – both good and bad,” Brandon says. “You have to learn your neighborhood and find out what works best.”

“You'll learn in time that picking the brains of other The UPS Store owners will give you a great head start.”

Want to learn more about becoming a franchise owner with The UPS Store? Talk to a representative from our franchise development team today or sign up for one of our weekly webinars.

2023 Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 Top Rated for Veterans badge

We Proudly Support Our Veterans

Participating partners with the VetFran program, The UPS Store offers qualifying veterans $15,000 off their franchise fee to start their new business. To learn more, contact The UPS Store Franchise Development Team.

Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 Ranked #4 in 2023 badge

Ranked for over 30 Consecutive Years

The UPS Store has been ranked #1 in the postal and business services category for over 30 years and remains in the top 5 overall for the seventh consecutive year according to the Franchise 500 list.

Kristin Howard

Franchisee, Michigan

The reason my husband and I decided to go into franchising and specifically with The UPS Store, is the different opportunities we're given with the business. The UPS Store has name recognition as well as opportunities to expand.

Debbie Adams

Franchisee, Kentucky

What I enjoy most about being a The UPS Store owner is working with my customers. We are the solution specialists for our customers.

Jim George

Franchisee, Illinios

My favorite part about The UPS Store network is the camaraderie with other franchisees. Everybody loves to help everybody else. You’re really part of a family.

Greg Murray

Franchisee, Florida

The interesting thing about The UPS Store is that when a customer walks through the door there's an extremely high probability that they're coming there to do something that is important to them. So at the end of the day, what we do for customers is very important and they are trusting that we are going to do it well.

See the Full Testimonial

Mariana Huberman

Franchisee, Washington, D.C.

One of the things that I love about The UPS Store franchise system is that you're not ever in this by yourself. The franchisees of The UPS Store network are great.

Heidi Morris

Franchisee, Colorado

The thing I enjoy most about being a The UPS Store franchisee is I get to get up, go to work and know that I'm helping other business owners succeed in what they're doing.

Bob Brown

Franchisee, Tennessee

Owning a The UPS Store franchise has changed my life because it's finally given me the opportunity to engage my customers and my staff and be able to take real pride in what I do. As a franchisee, we get faced with solving peoples' problems every day and we do everything we possibly can to try to help.

Marie Jensen

Franchisee, Oregon

My favorite thing about The UPS Store is the variety. I love the variety of customers, I love the variety of services; getting to know the customers, meeting their needs, finding out how we can help them accomplish what they need to accomplish and seeing how happy they are. That makes me ecstatic.

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Tad Mollnhauer

Franchisee, Florida

With the products and services that The UPS Store provides we can make a difference in people's lives and that is the best reason for being a The UPS Store owner.

Joy Batchelor

Franchisee, Idaho

What makes being a The UPS Store franchisee worthwhile at the end of the day is the customers. The customers treat us like we're family.

Paul Erchinger

Franchisee, Texas

One nice benefit of owning a The UPS Store franchise for me has been that it gives me the opportunity to be more involved in the community. As I make relationships with others it seems like no matter what the environment is, in one way or another business comes out of that and that's not my objective—it's been a secondary benefit to being involved in the community.

Chris Reminder

Franchisee, Ohio

There are several things that I really enjoy about being a The UPS Store franchisee. First and foremost it allows me to get to know the people in the local community and that is a lot of fun. We get to see people on a regular basis. We get to know their life stories. That's a lot of fun.

Bruce Jones

Franchisee, Kentucky

Since we have joined The UPS Store, our life has changed by just having more time to spend together as a family. We've been very fortunate with the stores that we have and we have a great staff that looks out for our best interest and we look out for theirs.

Lonnie Williams

Franchisee, Oklahoma

What makes The UPS Store so successful is it gives each individual an opportunity to grow with the network and just meet the challenges that are brought to them on a daily basis. Every day gives us a new opportunity to help another person, to help another small business, to answer a question and to solve a problem.

Jeff Graham

Franchisee, Alabama

I love my customers. I love my employees. I love every person, every face that comes into my store. I enjoy every day going into work and I can't see doing anything else for the rest of my life.

Stacie Stigar

Franchisee, Alaska

I think that this franchise is so successful because of all of the resources that are available to us as center owners—we have marketing materials, we have so many different opportunities for help from the home office, and it just really makes for a great franchise.

Don Pollard

Franchisee, New Jersey

I think the thing that makes this franchise successful is a number of things. First of all we have an outstanding system, we have a great product, a great brand, and we're able to attract dynamic people to run these centers and run the business. So I think when you put all that together it really provides for a winning combination.

Mary Ellen Nichols

Franchisee, Tennessee

The thing I love about the franchise is that you have the UPS name backing you but yet you also have the autonomy to make your own decisions to promote.

Laura Griffin

Franchisee, Florida

In the eight short months I've owned my The UPS Store it has really changed my life. I've gone from being an employee of someone else to being an employer of my associates. It's a big responsibility but it's exciting every day.

Sandy Scandrett

Franchisee, Wisconsin

Being a The UPS Store franchisee has improved every aspect of my life. It's very rewarding financially, professionally, and emotionally. I have a large number of regular customers who are really, really appreciative of everything we do.

Kristie Robison

Franchisee, Alabama

I would say owning a The UPS Store location has changed my life to where I have more time and flexibility. In owning your own business you get your store up and running and you get employees that you can trust that are going to help keep your store running. This allows me to attend my two boys' ball games and also travel and do things with them so it has really changed my life for the better.