Idea for DVD kiosk rentals stems from Arizona

2008-07-07

ALEX W. SUTHERLAND THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Starting three businesses in a matter of months has been a smooth and rewarding experience for James Rowe, and being able to handle that juggling act is something he learned from his dad.

Since moving back to Bellingham from Arizona in February, James Rowe has started Gone Doody Gone and Clean Cut Lawn Care with his wife, Andrea. Last month James teamed up with his dad, Pat Rowe, to start One Stop Movie Rental.
Gone Doody Gone is a professional pet waste removal service. While getting it started, he kept hearing from customers about the need for lawn care, so he started that business, many times combining the two services.

One Stop Movie Rental is a DVD rental kiosk operation where customers can grab a movie with a swipe of a debit or credit card for $1.59 a day. It’s an idea James Rowe saw in Arizona and decided to try it out here. There are currently kiosks at Silver Beach Grocery and Yorky’s in Fairhaven, and they plan to have a dozen in Whatcom County.

“(DVD kiosk rental) seemed like a great deal in Arizona and I was surprised I didn’t see one when we moved back here,” James Rowe said. “I talked to my dad, who showed interest himself, so we decided to do this together.”

Before he was on the Bellingham City Council and was development director of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Pat Rowe owned a variety of businesses over the years, including an advertising agency, a publishing company and a pizza parlor. “I always had a couple of balls in the air, because I felt it was important to have multiple income streams and services,” Pat Rowe said. “To make it work, though, I can’t overstate enough the importance of fun when doing these things.” James Rowe examines a troublesome DVD pulled from his automated movie dispenser at Yorky’s convenience store in Fairhaven while his father, Pat, a former city councilman, watches on Saturday. The father-and-son team owns two such machines in Bellingham and plans to install more after a 90-day test period. They are able to offer local customer service that their competition (three other machines in town) cannot, Pat Rowe said. The disk pulled from the machine on Saturday represents the first complaint they have received, said Pat Rowe, who suspects a grease spot caused the malfunction. “A woman called us, we gave her three free movies, and she was tickled pink,” he said.

That philosophy became ingrained in James during childhood. As a kid he would draw up contracts to persuade his dad to buy things.
“He was my easiest sale,” James Rowe said with a laugh. “That certainly made it fun for me.” For some people, it may not seem James has picked out some businesses to have fun with. Picking up pet waste off of people’s lawns doesn’t sound like an enjoyable line of work, but it is less difficult than his previous job — working at a zoo — where he met his wife.

“This is 10 million times easier than a day at the zoo, picking up waste,” James Rowe said. “With this business, I’m outdoors and able to do something most people hate, so I know I’m providing a good service.”

When it comes to juggling three businesses, James Rowe said it’s important to stay calm. “When you start feeling overwhelmed, that’s when you start getting disorganized,” he said. Of course, having the help of Andrea and Pat helps, too. She handles much of the bookkeeping work, while his dad is in many ways a mentor, although Pat doesn’t completely see it that way. “I’ve been able to mentor them, but they have also been able to mentor me, especially when it comes to the electronic work,” Pat Rowe said. “What really makes it work, though, is having someone you trust to talk to. That’s something many small-business owners don’t have, but it’s important to bounce ideas off someone else.”

Through the first three weeks, the DVD rental business has been meeting sales projections, Pat Rowe said. Once a week they load the machine with new releases. As the business moves along, customers will be able to purchase DVDs of the older releases for less than $10. “We think it’s a win-win situation where we benefit by being in different parts of the community, while the store will gain by having more customer traffic,” Pat Rowe said. “I think kiosks are becoming more popular in general, especially in neighborhoods like Silver Beach, where they would otherwise have to drive for things like DVD rentals.”