Being a Batteries Plus franchisee is more than owning and operating your franchise– it’s about giving back to your community.
Multi-unit franchisee, Laura Lewis, has made it her responsibility to support her community in any way that she can.
“It’s my community, they take care of me, and I take care of them,” says Laura.
Before joining Batteries Plus, Laura lived in Pittsburgh, where she worked as a Financial Engineer for six years. Although Laura enjoyed her job, she knew it was time to leave and find something more fulfilling.
Finding A Community-Driven Business
In 2006, Laura moved to Idaho, where she continued to work for the company for two more years before a franchise broker introduced her to Batteries Plus.
“Becoming a franchise owner sounded like a good idea to me because I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel,” says Laura.
After researching, Laura knew Batteries Plus was the right choice because of the ongoing support they offer franchisees.
She opened her first Batteries Plus store in 2008, located in Idaho Falls, ID and her second in 2010, located in Pocatello, ID.
Since then, she’s gone above and beyond as a franchisee.
Caring For the Community Throughout the Pandemic
The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was a tough time for everyone, especially health care workers and first responders.
To give back and show thanks to frontline workers, Laura joined a Facebook group known as “Idaho Adopt,” in which first responders would create Amazon wish lists and people in the community would purchase those items and gift them to first responders.
In addition to giving back to individual first responders, Laura began giving back to groups of people, including the firefighters at her local fire station and health care workers at three local hospitals.
Laura, along with her team at her Batteries Plus stores, gifted bath products, warm socks, Yeti water bottles, and so much more to show their appreciation for their local firefighters. They also bought ice cream for every worker at all three hospitals.
“It felt good to do something for people who take care of us,” says Laura.
Laura’s immense generosity and good works didn’t stop there.
Building A Company Culture Around Giving
To ensure all the kids in her community received gifts last Christmas, Laura reached out to the local Toys For Tots Foundation and put toy donation boxes in both of her stores.
Laura used the donation boxes to encourage customers to donate new toys to less fortunate children. To increase the number of donations, her employees would ask customers to spend an additional $5 to donate AA or AAA batteries for the toys.
Laura’s efforts were successful, as she collected a total of 70 toys between each of her stores.
She plans to continue doing Toys For Tots every Christmas, but her community giveback goes beyond the holiday season.
On Veterans Day and Memorial Day, customers have the option to donate $3 to Veterans Affairs for every watch battery replacement. As a result, the raised money is given to Veterans affairs groups who assist families of Veterans who are struggling financially.
“We do it because it’s the right thing to do,” Laura said.
Make An Impact With Batteries Plus
Our simplified business model and hands-on, supportive corporate team allow Laura to run two successful franchises. Being a Batteries Plus franchisee has allowed her to take care of her customers while simultaneously caring for her community.