Local Army Veteran Sees Layoff as Opportunity for Freedom

The individualistic, entrepreneurial spirit that led him to business ownership has always influenced Wimberly’s decisions. Before purchasing a Window Genie franchise, Wimberly graduated from West Point, served in Iraq and eventually found success in medical device sales in Jacksonville, Florida. He said, “A lot of my friends who also left the military were going the recruiter route, but me being me, I wanted to figure out something completely different on my own. I’m very contrarian in that if everyone’s going in one direction, I tend to want to explore what’s on the opposite end of the spectrum if for no other reason than to say I did it my way.”

After experiencing a few years of great success in sales, Wimberly’s pursuit of a more challenging position landed him and his family in Austin in late 2013 when he was promoted to global sales trainer. “The best thing that came out of this new position was that it brought us to Austin; we’ve fallen in love with this town. It turned out that my new job required me to travel a lot more than expected, and it wasn’t the lifestyle I wanted given I had 3 young children at home. While passively looking for another opportunity this past winter, I got a call just before Christmas saying my department had been eliminated. While it bothered me that it wasn’t on my terms, the layoff was ultimately a blessing that launched me in the right direction towards business ownership.”

With his new found free time, Wimberly began his search for the right business opportunity. He said, “I finally decided to listen to my inner voice that always told me I could make it on my own. I have a friend who I call a serial entrepreneur and I’ve always admired his drive and envied his lifestyle.” Through networking connections, Wimberly was introduced to Merri Cronk, franchise consultant with FranNet. Wimberly said, “When we met, Merri was able to help me hone in on exactly how I wanted to spend my days. While doing research on my own, I hadn’t been able to nail down exactly what aspects of any given business would support or hinder my ability to be successful, balanced and happy. She helped me weed through the countless opportunities and I was able to focus on gaining the information that would help me make the best, most informed decision for me and my family.”

The individualistic, entrepreneurial spirit that led him to business ownership has always influenced Wimberly’s decisions. Before purchasing a Window Genie franchise, Wimberly graduated from West Point, served in Iraq and eventually found success in medical device sales in Jacksonville, Florida. He said, “A lot of my friends who also left the military were going the recruiter route, but me being me, I wanted to figure out something completely different on my own. I’m very contrarian in that if everyone’s going in one direction, I tend to want to explore what’s on the opposite end of the spectrum if for no other reason than to say I did it my way.”

With his new found free time, Wimberly began his search for the right business opportunity. He said, “I finally decided to listen to my inner voice that always told me I could make it on my own. I have a friend who I call a serial entrepreneur and I’ve always admired his drive and envied his lifestyle.” Through networking connections, Wimberly was introduced to Merri Cronk, franchise consultant with FranNet. Wimberly said, “When we met, Merri was able to help me hone in on exactly how I wanted to spend my days. While doing research on my own, I hadn’t been able to nail down exactly what aspects of any given business would support or hinder my ability to be successful, balanced and happy. She helped me weed through the countless opportunities and I was able to focus on gaining the information that would help me make the best, most informed decision for me and my family.”