Stories and Lifestyle: We are living our dream: with Blackfly Franchise

Frank and Andrea Roski are running a Blackfly fashion store. The Blackfly Company is owned by Thomas Schiller and Manuela Ludwig, whose story you could watch on the German show “Unser neues Leben” (“Our new life”) on the German TV channel Kabel1. In the following interview, Frank and Andrea talk about their new life in the US.

TAD: Why did you decide to go into business with franchise in the US?

The Roskis: Over a period of three years we tried to find a way to permanently live and work in the US (we looked for employment, for business partners, tried to realize a business plan involving solar energy…) And then we just happened to see the story about Blackfly on “Unser neues Leben” on Kabel1. We contacted Thomas Schiller and Manuela Ludwig via email, hoping they might have some contacts that could be helpful for us. They offered us a franchise. We completely rethought our plans and quickly got used to the idea of selling unusual clothes. What was very important: we immediately got along great with Thomas Schiller and Manuela Ludwig.

TAD: What requirements did you have to meet and what official steps did you have to take?

The Roskis: One important requirement was to have sufficient capital to go through with this. Not only enough to buy the franchise, but also enough to live off it for a while. We have been saving for that over the past years. To adhere to all the rules, we had to apply for the B-1 visa. After our first visit to the Schiller-Ludwig family, we immediately applied for the E-2 visa. Since we didn’t want to make mistakes in the bureaucratic process and thus endanger our dream, we decided to ask The American Dream for help. The American Dream had been so helpful to Thomas Schiller and Manuela Ludwig that we didn’t have to think twice. This was so important to us and we were willing to give up the safety of our life in Germany, so we needed experts. We finally saw the chance to live our dream, so we didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.

TAD: How long did it take you to actually move to Texas and set up your business once you have had the idea?

The Roskis: We saw the television show on August 18, 2008. Two weeks later we had made the decision. In October we visited Tom and Manu for three weeks and took care of everything business-related. On November 9, 2008, after we had taken care of everything back in Germany, we moved to the US. So it didn’t even take three months.

TAD: You set up a fashion store in the US. What do you think is different from German everyday business routine?

The Roskis: We personally welcome all our customers and they react in a friendly and open way. Furthermore, we try to fulfill our customers wishes and specifically order the things they want. Quite frequently our customers are thanking us for being able to get all these unusual clothes at our store. Sometimes when you order things from certain companies, you have to ease up a little on the typical German 100% correctness and punctuality. It happens sometimes that only half of the goods are delivered and we haven’t been informed of it.

TAD: How important is advertisement and marketing for success in business?

The Roskis: It is really important!!! Blackfly is a young company and has only two stores in the US, so it is not really well known yet. Many people find us more by accident. We noticed that people started really visiting our store after we distributed some flyers in Austin and every customer who visits our store also gets a flyer. For two weeks now we have been using a shop window of an empty shop in our mall to display our clothes. From the first day we had larger sales. People are coming directly to us.

TAD: Are you still optimistic about the future, despite the economic crisis?

The Roskis: Yes, we are. We are not selling luxury goods. A rock shirt for, for example $17.99 is affordable for Americans even during a financial crisis.

TAD: What advice can you give other people who have plans similar to yours?

The Roskis: Your own capital has to be sufficient and you should have a partner who is in with you 100%. It is also important to learn the language as well as possible.

TAD: If you could go back to the planning stages of your life in the US, what would you do differently?

The Roskis: We would do everything just the way we did. If we had known as children what we would want to do when we were 40/45, we would have started learning English in nursery school or have looked for English-speaking friends. Unfortunately our knowledge of English was mediocre when we came here. We realize, however, that it gets better every day because we have to deal with customers on a daily basis. But that’s exactly what the Americans find cool about us. Two Germans who sell these wicked clothes with a rather bad Texan English. They have fun talking with us. Germany is just so far away and our accent is just so nice.