fransfurniture
Furniture dealer builds store on years of service and hard-earned savings
Lexington, KY - It all comes down to service. Many successful people have come by their first work experience through an early job in food service — looking to earn and learn. A restaurant is a great place to hone customer service and communication skills.
Frans Munoz saved enough of the money he earned while working at Mi Mexico restaurant for almost a decade to open his own store, Frans’ Furniture.
“I like to meet people,” he said of his wait-staff experience. He founded his business on a principle of customer service.
“I really do love interacting with people. It’s my talent,” Munoz said. “That’s the successful part of this business. We never get tired of people.”
Another priority for Munoz is providing an affordable product. The signage on his storefront includes the phrase “muebles economicos,” which is Spanish for “affordable furniture.”
Munoz came by his business acumen genetically. His grandfather had a small hotel; his mother owned a grocery store.
“I grew up with business,” he said. “I knew you have to save. My mother always taught me you need to do what you like to do.”
Munoz set out to merge his love of furniture with a desire to own his own business. While working at Mi Mexico, and then at El Toro Mexican Restaurant and bartending for parties, he started buying furniture pieces at yard sales in high-end neighborhoods and estate sales, collecting inventory for his future store.
Born in Génova, a village in Guatemala with a population of fewer than 4,000 people, Munoz won a scholarship to Kentucky State University in 1995. He learned to speak English when he arrived in Kentucky.
“I wanted to be social, so I had to hurry up and learn as much as I could,” he said.
After the two-year international studies program, he returned to Central America for a couple of years of community service, “to pay back for what my country did for me,” he said. Another scholarship landed him in Spain for an 18-month public relations course.
By the early 2000s, his mother and brother were living in Las Vegas.
“It’s too hot down there for me,” Munoz said of Nevada. “I fell in love with Kentucky. I really love this area and this state.”
In 2003, he called the Bluegrass home for good. He found a small space in Eastland Shopping Center and opened Frans’ Furniture in January 2010.
“I had to organize as best I could because furniture takes room,” he said. Before long, the larger storefront next door was available. Munoz is now renting both spaces and has about 3,000 square feet for his showrooms and storage areas.
“We started little by little, and it’s getting better,” he said. In addition to estate sales — not so much yard sales anymore — Munoz finds inventory for his store from auctions. He also makes direct purchases from furniture companies selling living room sets and bedroom sets. When customers are looking for something in particular, he takes it as a challenge to find it.
Loyal shoppers like the little extras Munoz provides, like free delivery within a 10-mile radius of Eastland Shopping Center.
“Delivery is a pleasure to give for free,” he said. “We like to surprise customers. If we deliver it, we polish it before we leave your house. If you buy a bed, we help you install it.”
The most difficult challenge he has faced in the past two years has been picking out a few items based on his “eye appeal,” that haven’t sold, he said.
“And I have to take it back to auction and we lose money,” he said. “Other than that, I would say I’m not scared of anything. I love the risk.”
As with practically all other business owners who make a living by doing what they love, Munoz works long weeks but rarely thinks about it.
“If I put 100 hours in here, I feel like I’m not working,” he said.
Business partner Kevin Ryan helps with the books and taxes. Part-time employee Karla Ramirez is a trusted assistant.
“If I am not here, she’s the boss,” Munoz said.
“My vision, it’s big,” he said. “I want to please everyone.”
Within the next few years, he would like to have enough space to display different styles of furniture, from ornate antiques to contemporary pieces to baby furniture, all at affordable prices for his customers.
“This is step by step,” he said. “I want to do each step very strong.”
Kathie Stamps posts grammar tips at www.facebook.com/GrammarTips.