Janzer Architectural Products
The Post Office might be losing money, but you can still profit from decorative mailboxes.
By Devlin Smith
Inspiration can come from anywhere. Tom Janzer can attest: The
former operating room designer was looking for a new
business-something that would require less time traveling-when one
day his wife asked him to buy a new mailbox.
Simple, right? Nope. "[I] couldn't find anything in
home centers or hardware stores," Janzer explains, "and
then, finally, the lightbulb went off and I said, 'I'm
looking at a great business.' "
Janzer made a mailbox that got the attention of people in the
neighborhood: "In one week, we had six or seven people knock
on the door and say, 'Hey, where did you get that? I want
one,' " he says. From that one mailbox, Janzer founded
Janzer Architectural Products, a Trenton, New Jersey, manufacturer
of mailboxes, porcelain signs and brass plaques. Four years later,
in 1989, the company began offering a business opportunity to
people interested in selling its products.
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Janzer dealers can operate the business full or part time, use
their own business name and sell other products, like swing sets or
gazebos. "We do ask them to have a minimum display of all our
samples so that they can go to a convention and [have] a full cadre
of products," Janzer says. He also suggests his dealers have a
work area in which to store samples, although some dealers have
showrooms.
Back in Trenton, Janzer and his eight-person staff continue
making mailboxes with extra touches, like a tray that slides mail
out of the box. Says Janzer, "It's not just a box with a
door and a flag."