Local California Closets franchise earns top honors

Jamie Staudenmyer, owner of Califor-nia Closets at 311 S. Union, Ste. 8, was awarded the franchise's Highest Percent-age Growth Award for 2001.

The California Closets 2001 Franchise Awards were presented Jan. 12 in Las Vegas.

Staudenmyer was honored for achieving the highest percentage of growth 63 percent in her category, which is for franchises with less than $1 million in revenue.

There also are categories for franchises with higher revenues.

"The nice thing about that is they used to just do the highest percentage growth of the year, and it's nice that they finally did break it up, because I'm what's called a mini-franchise. I'm in a very small area, with a small territory, and it gave me the ability to compete ... ," she said.

Staudenmyer said her territory is southwest Missouri; California Closets also has franchises in Kansas City and St. Louis. Her staff fluctuates between two and three full- or part-time workers.

California Closets was founded in 1978. The company sells and installs closet organization systems.

The company also specializes in the design and organization of pantries, utility areas and garages.

Staudenmyer has owned the local franchise for the past 15 years.

"I think when I first started this business, nobody in Springfield had even heard of any kind of closet company, so my whole focus had been on educating Springfield about organization and storage systems," Staudenmyer said.

In the years since, she added, the concept has become more well-known, so these days her focus is on finding new customers.

"At least 70 percent of my business each month is repeat referral business, so I'm missing a lot of people who have never heard about me and never known anybody else to get these closet systems," she said.

Staudenmyer credits corporate training and support for much of her success, she said.