We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rafael Briceno . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rafael below.
Rafael, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy running your own firm? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
It is really inevitable to think about the past and the possibility of having taken another path in my professional life. Having worked for established corporations in the past (1999-2014) and experiencing the comfort and benefits of a salary job, no work related concerns after office hours, paid time off, paid vacations, etc., can influence you to feel inclined to keep those conformities, in opposition to the challenge of dealing with the affairs of a business owner priorities: adjusting schedules to support customers, minimizing time off, arranging payments and synchronizing collecting charges, placing orders with third parties suppliers and providers, and so much more. Sometimes you may fall into the idea of having those business responsibilities resolved (by someone else). For example, vacations for a business owner could be stressful, in my case, sometimes I feel the need to come back to work to make sure I don’t miss opportunities for new projects, I worry about starting and finishing projects at the estimated time, I think about responding to customers in a timely manner and other similar matters.
It is at moments like these when I may allow myself to reflect on the idea of previous circumstances when I worked for a company and how I may have all those questions addressed at the time, but it ultimately results in the feeling of being on the right track.
I often consult my wife searching for her feedback, along with my own reflections in either a particular case or even in two or more matters. I consistently end up with the same conclusion: I have never been (categorically) happier in a job, than where I actually am now.
It may be obvious at some point that concerns about the well being of the company in the future (company wise, I’m still in a growing process) and the idea of success can get blurry, but reflecting on these points could result in improvements in one or more areas, and more encouraging ideas may also flourish. Portfolio, finance, inventory, equipment, marketing, etc., are critical elements in the business successful progress and the appearance of challenges in one or more areas may develop into improvement in other areas. Those are the factors that make the life of a business owner more fulfilling and rewarding, and those are the feelings that gives me the enthusiasm of continuing to provide high quality services to a wonderful community that I have the opportunity to serve.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I am often inquired (nothing new here, if you hear my accent or my obvious Latin American look) about my roots and culture. This si something that I take pride in answering and enjoy. The majority of my customers already know that I was born in Venezuela, South America and that I have been living in what is now my country, almost half of my life. After almost a decade living in Miami, I came with my wife and two kids to Raleigh, where my third kid would be born, to work for The University of North Carolina. After about five years, my ambition for success was not getting satisfied, so I decided to take a different path and start looking for an independent professional enterprise. My previous job experiences pointed me in the direction to what in the future would be what is now BP General Services LLC: a local family owned company for residential remodeling and renovations. Today, I can proudly say that one of the most important goals that I set out for myself, I have been able to achieve; and that is to establish both myself and BP General Services LLC as a reputable name in my community and building a portfolio of customers to support with high standards in a relatively short period of time.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
My customers’ feedback encouraged me to pursue a road of personal interaction with them understanding their needs and expectations and transforming them into reality. After two decades dedicated to interacting with customers, I had learned to place myself into my customer’s shoes. Every single customer is a different world, even if they live in the same neighborhood and require the same type of service. Colors, shapes, materials, space concept, are some of many subjective personal interests and tastes that define the individual and their perception of what they want.
Following this line of reason, I focus in understanding this uniqueness in each one of my customers and do my best to materialize this particular view, resulting in satisfied and grateful clients, who become a source for other potential clients.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
Customer’s satisfaction is the key. I focus in ensuring that my customers to become recurrent, to feel no doubt about calling me for any service they may need within my field of work. I make a priority to serve my older clients the same way I do with my new ones, so they always feel appreciated. I do my best to keep in contact with my customers through stories and post on social media, seasonal emails and holiday cards, so they feel they’re part of the BP General Services community.
Community social networking has become a source of interaction between BP General Services and our customers (new and recurrent). BP General Services has become a top local business in one of the most important neighborhoods connection websites: nextdoor.com
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram/bpgenservices
- Facebook: Facebook.com/BPGeneralServices
- Twitter: Twitter.com/bpgeneralserv