Stone People: Not Quite an Exit Strategy

By K. Schipper

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Different generations of the same family don’t always see things in the same way. A good case in point: Brad Jones and his son Romell.

Click photo to enlargeWhile the elder Jones purchased Stoneware Kitchen & Bath in 2001 as a way to move out of the corporate world and – eventually – into retirement, Romell Jones sees the business as a path into the future.

Of course, first the company has to bounce back from the recession.

Still, with some inexpensive marketing techniques and a commitment to customer quality, the younger man is confident Stoneware Kitchen & Bath will get there, regardless of who’s ultimately calling the shots.

HANGING UP HIS SUIT

Romell Jones explains that his father bought the business in 2001 after spending many years as a corporate executive.

“We moved around a lot as his career developed,” says the younger man. “We wondered why he was buying a business when it was something he hadn’t been in beforehand, but he’s a strong-minded man and he figured he could learn how to do it. That’s what he did.”

Romell Jones didn’t become involved with Stoneware Kitchen & Bath until 2004. At that point, he was unemployed and his dad called him up and offered him “a couple dollars for working with me for a couple months.”

“I was only supposed to be here about three months or so,” Romell Jones says. “But, everything was going pretty good, and when the three months were up I went, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t mind staying a little longer,’ and that’s what happened. I’ve been here ever since.”

The addition of the younger Jones came at a time when – like so much of the industry – Stoneware Kitchen & Bath was growing. Working out of rented space in a building in an industrial park, the company was utilizing an older bridge saw, three routers and some polishers to turn out as many as a dozen kitchens per week.

Click photo for galleryAn expansion in 2007 saw the company take over its entire building, buy a digital bridge saw, install a water-recycling system, and add employees. At its peak, Stoneware Kitchen & Bath employed 13 people, including six men in the shop and two install crews.

Today, the operation is down to three people in the shop, a single two-man install crew, a receptionist and the Jones father and son. Romell Jones says his father remains “the big boss.”

“He likes to be heard and not seen,” says his son of Brad Jones. “He’s really behind the scenes. He makes sure everything gets ordered right, does the templating, and keeps all the paperwork together.”

By comparison, Romell Jones says he’s become the face of the business. For instance, after years of corporate schmoozing, Brad Jones sends his son out to attend functions held by the various associations and organizations whose membership is part of the company’s marketing effort. The younger man is also the person handling the education of new clients – and any problems that come up after the fact.

“I’m the sales and marketing director, but a lot of that is taking care of any complaints or comments,” Romell Jones says.

SIGNS FOR SUCCESS

While Romell Jones says part of his job it to attend those group functions – and help sponsor them when the budget allows – one of his preferred methods for selling a fairly simple and inexpensive one: signs. Although some of them are displayed in other businesses in Stoneware Kitchen & Bath’s marketing area – which includes the whole Hampton Roads area, and northwards toward Williamsburg and Richmond — a lot of them are destined for residential areas.

“I go out and scope different areas, such as certain subdivisions,” he explains. “If I see people out walking, I’ll act like I’m interested in buying a house and I’ll ask them about the neighborhood and the neighbors. Once I feel I’ve hit a good area, I’ll go around and put up yard signs, pretty much anywhere there’s an entrance.”

Once he’s gotten a call or two from interested homeowners and sold a job, he’s then able to put a sign in the customer’s yard, which generates even more interest.

“That’s when I’ll get calls saying, ‘I see you’re doing such-and-such’s house; I’m thinking about doing the same thing,” Jones says.