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Seminar business booms for ex-Salem council president
So-called baby boomers are the group to target for successful business ventures, the Xtreme Aging promoter said.
SALEM — Got your business up to speed?
If not, you may want to talk to Dave Ventresco.
The former president of city council here, a veteran of the McDonald’s Restaurant expansion, and possibly the only Ohio National Guard cook who won a Bronze Star for meritorious service for making pizza, would like to talk to you.
Ventresco, 57, of Salem, is promoting Xtreme Aging, a two-hour program to help businesses grow.
Businesses of all types are scrambling to get customers through the door during the ongoing worldwide financial crisis.
Ventresco believes he has found the financial target: baby boomers with disposable income.
Heard that one before?
Ventresco said, “There are 35 million Americans aged 55. By 2030, that will be 70 million.”
And, he added, the majority of boomers have 75 percent of assets.
The boomers travel — often across country — eat out, and are willing to spend money after having provided for their children.
Everyone has had a bad experience with service workers who aren’t relating to the customer, Ventresco said.
In those cases, he said, “Ninety-one percent of those customers do not come back to you.”
Ray Kroc took over the McDonalds franchise in 1954, built it up and became a business legend. Ventresco said he had sold his McDonald’s franchises and retired.
But the Xtreme Aging approach is similar to Kroc’s steps to repeat business.
His recap of Kroc’s rules are: Greet the customer, take the order and listen to the customer, try to “upsell” (add something to the order), check and repeat the order, always thank the customer and ask the customer to come back.
Best of all, he said, this area is a great spot to attract the boomers. While Florida and Arizona are well-known for their appeal to boomers and seniors, the next three states with the highest per-capita spending are Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan.
The targeted customers are frugal, wise and have values.
The goal for them now, Ventresco said, “is to enjoy life.”
Ventresco’s travels in presenting the seminars will take him to many cities across the nation this year.
But he will be hard-pressed to top his military foray to the Middle East in 1993, and the pizza that wowed his military customers.
He was in the Ohio National Guard, which also took him to Germany and Alaska.
But he said that while he was in Saudia Arabia, “we would make handmade pizza every two weeks.”
Ventresco said that with limited resources, “we’d use rolled bread, tomato paste for the sauce, and put on some hot peppers and yellow cheese.”
When units out in the field called in their orders, he recalled, “they always ordered extra cheese.”
He gave the soldiers what they wanted, and they came back for more.
XVentresco will do a two-hour seminar for 10 or fewer people at $95 a person. For more information and other rates, call (330) 446-0124.
wilkinson@vindy.com