Veterans program frames new career

SOUTHBURY -- In September 2003, Charlie Barber was laid off from a career he had spent 38 years developing, an unfortunate event that was largely offset by two doses of good fortune.

First, Barber was fortunate that by the time he received his pink slip he had already spent several months plotting out his second career.

Second, he was also fortunate to be a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. That allowed him to take advantage of the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative, or VetFran, a program that helps veterans become the owners of franchised businesses.

Barber, who served in the Navy from 1960-64 as a jet engine mechanic and crew member, owns and operates the FastFrame framing gallery on Main Street South . He and his wife, Jane, opened the franchise in April, seven months after Charlie was laid off from his job as an engineering project manager for Siemen's Building Technologies Inc.

Two of his last assignments for Siemen's were to serve as the temperature control engineer for downtown Waterbury construction projects -- at the University of Connecticut 's Waterbury branch and at the Waterbury Arts Magnet School .

Barber, a 61-year-old Watertown resident, first learned of the VetFran program by reading about it in magazines and newsletters geared toward veterans. The concept intrigued him enough to begin seriously exploring his options.

"I wanted a small business without a lot of red tape," he said. "I just wanted a turnkey operation, something my wife and I could run together. What I really wanted was something that didn't involve large payrolls or workmen's comp, or anything like that."

The VetFran program was launched in the early 1990s, during the Gulf War, by the Washington, D.C.-based International Franchise Association. The program faltered during the economic boom of the mid-'90s and was eventually disbanded, but was revived shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent invasion of Afghanistan .

Since its reincarnation in 2001, the program has helped more than 200 veterans across the country become franchise holders. It provides qualified veterans with financial incentives and pricing discounts not otherwise available to other franchise investors, according to the association.

Express Personnel Services, for instance, offers veterans a 25 percent discount off its customary franchise fee, while Lawn Doctor offers a 22 percent discount totaling $4,000. Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. will reduce the franchise fee on a veteran's first location by $5,000 to $25,000, while Rainbow International Restoration and Cleaning will discount its fee by $3,975.

In all, about 142 franchise companies participate in the program, including such well-known brands as Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin' Donuts and Meineke Car Care Centers .

Working with VetFran counselors, Barber eventually narrowed his options to four national franchisers, including a window washing operation, a house painting company and FastFrame.

After weeks of research, which included visiting existing franchises in the Northeast, he opted to cast his lot with FastFrame, a Newbury Park, Calif.-based company that has about 300 franchisee-owned locations nationwide. Barber, who received a 25 percent discount off his franchise fee through the VetFran program, said he chose FastFrame because he liked the idea of building frames and working with wood, and because of the enthusiastic endorsements he received from every FastFrame franchise holder he contacted.

"I just couldn't believe how happy these people were," he said. "I figured this must be a pretty good outfit to get involved with."

Charlie and Jane, who have six children and eight grandchildren, spent two weeks in Newbury Park last January completing an intensive training program before opening their new store in early April. The Barbers' store was the third of what will soon be six FastFrame locations in Connecticut . The first opened in Westport about 18 months ago; the sixth is scheduled to open in Brookfield in a few months.

"We really couldn't be happier," Barber said of the new career he and his wife of 38 years share together. "I enjoy building the frames, I enjoy meeting and dealing with the customers, and my wife and I have discovered that we actually work very well together."