A Model Occupation

Having spent most of his life in retailing, working at various department stores since high school and studying retailing in college, Gary Phillips, 49, wanted to find a business that would combine his enthusiasm for and knowledge of retailing with one of his hobbies, model railroads. Phillips found this ultimate opportunity while shopping at a HobbyTown USA store.

"I was in the Lexington, Kentucky, store and saw on one of their business cards that it was a national franchise. I took the business card and filed it away," says Phillips. "Then, when I got to the point where I was over being in a large corporation and wanted to go out on my own, my little memory cell came back about HobbyTown."

Phillips and his wife, Angela, who's also his franchise partner and a part-time HobbyTown employee, began looking at other HobbyTown locations in January 1999 and spent Valentine's Day at the company's Lincoln, Nebraska, headquarters. A month after visiting the corporate office, Phillips had signed the contract. His HobbyTown store, which features model railroads, radio-controlled vehicles, model rockets, science kits and various toys, games and collectibles, opened in Knoxville, Tennessee, in October 1999.

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By bringing together two of his passions, Phillips has been able to build a franchise business that has far exceeded his expectations. "In November 2001, we more than doubled the size of the store," he recalls. "As a matter of fact, within six months, I realized our business was going to exceed the business plan. By the first year, we had jumped to the fourth year in the business plan." And the business keeps growing--Phillips is currently looking at a second store, located in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Unfortunately, running his own HobbyTown leaves Phillips, who has dedicated half his basement to a model railroad, little time for his hobby. He does take joy, though, in getting other people started on hobbies of their own. "I've seen people go from having just a train set around the tree to a whole garage or attic full of trains, and it was because they walked in to the store and I helped them get started," he says. "Sometimes I have to live vicariously through them, because they've got a little more time than I do to do this."