'A Gideon Moment'

'A Gideon Moment'

ENTREPRENEURS by Jean Gruss | Editor Lee-Collier

What would drive a successful entrepreneur to drop a six-figure advertising budget to buy 10,000 TV spots urging people to find God? Anthony Leeber Sr. is certain he'll reap the rewards.

To hell with advertising your business.

If you live in Fort Myers or Naples, you've probably seen the Cornerstone Kitchens ads with Anthony Leeber Sr.'s picture. After all, with a $750,000 annual advertising budget, you were sure to see Leeber's bearded mug smiling at you from your morning paper.

Leeber's advertising campaign was a big part of Cornerstone Kitchens' success. Last year, revenues for his home-remodeling company were $16.8 million.

But Leeber decided to cancel all of that advertising six weeks ago. Instead, he's going to spend his ad budget, plus another $250,000, on television ads urging people to find God. He's already bought 10,000 TV spots in a six-week period that began recently.

In short video clip commercials that a potential 98% of the Lee and Collier households could see at least 30 times this month, viewers will be told that God is the answer to their needs. The ads will direct them to a Web site, Justlookup.org, which helps people find a church, request a prayer or ask for a Bible to be mailed to them for free. Save for a small "sponsored by" logo of Cornerstone Kitchens, most people have no idea Leeber is behind the effort.

This isn't some guerilla-marketing scheme designed to subliminally drive more business to Cornerstone Kitchens, Leeber says. Since he stopped advertising his company six weeks ago, business is down 40%. He's had to lay off 27 employees so far this year because of the economic downturn and the remaining 150 are anxious. The guys in the shop recently agreed to work part-time just so they can keep their jobs, for example.

The move hasn't gone over easily in the Leeber household. "My own wife thinks she's going to be destitute," Leeber chuckles. He admits it wasn't an easy decision to make, saying he was "frightened to death." But, he insists, "I knew I did the right thing."

His advertising counsel, Teri Hansen, president and chief creative officer of Priority Marketing in Fort Myers, says she's never heard of any business eliminating advertising for this reason. "It's very radical thinking and a huge step of faith to say 'I'm going to do this, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is,'" says Hansen, who attends the same church with Leeber.

"I believe we're in a Gideon moment," Leeber says. He's referring to the Old Testament story of Gideon, whose faith in God gave his tiny army of 300 soldiers a victory over a much larger and better-armed enemy.

Like Gideon, Leeber believes God will carry him and his business through tough times and he will reap even greater rewards than he has already. At a meeting with his senior staff to explain the new strategy, Leeber told them it was going to get "downright scary." But, he adds, "Not for me. I can't wait." Then, acknowledging what some employees might think but dare not say, he says: "Sometimes people think I'm a little crazy."

Building on a prayer

The 60-year-old Leeber, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native, moved to Fort Myers in 1988 after he and his wife bought a vacation condo. "My wife was spending so much time down here I figured I'd better move," he says.

Besides, while his cabinetry business in New York was doing well, it had never broken the $1-million-in-revenue mark. One of the reasons was that advertising in the New York media market was outrageously expensive.

Leeber sold his cabinetry business to his nephew in New York and moved to Florida. He says he prayed for business at church and a week later landed a contract to reface kitchen cabinets for Sears. Pretty soon, he was refacing cabinets for Sears all over the state, from Tampa to Orlando and Jacksonville.

Then, he started advertising his own business, Cornerstone Kitchens. Leeber had good credit, so he could buy the tools and start his business without incurring debt. Instead of posting help-wanted ads for workers, Leeber says he prayed for good employees. Help-wanted ads were useless; "Everybody lies," Leeber says. "Let's just pray and see who God sends."

Every time Leeber prayed for workers or another business need, he says it would miraculously happen. "My whole life has been like that," he marvels. It would be hard to believe Leeber were it not for his business success. Even in 2007, by which time the real estate downturn was in full swing, Cornerstone's revenues rose 25% to nearly $17 million over 2006.

Prayer is so important that Leeber convenes prayer meetings at work every Thursday morning. "Those who love the Lord will show up at 7:30 a.m.," he says. About 25 people usually attend.

Leeber's religious activities also gave him time to think about his business away from the office. He created a nonprofit organization that has built orphanages in South American countries, expeditions that forced him to delegate. And a funny thing happened when Leeber went away: He discovered the business didn't fall apart and nobody missed the boss.

It was while he was on vacation that Leeber thought about expanding into the granite business. He has a fabrication plant that provides him with the granite he needs for his kitchen-remodeling business. Same thing with the wood-door company he started. Both gave him an edge over the competition by lowering his costs for these materials.

While Leeber says his management style is generally hands-off, he says he gets a copy of every customer e-mail and reads every one of them. "I'm like a cop," he says. If the customer is unhappy, he makes employees deliver them a "humble" apple pie. He tells employees to treat their customers like their mother. If they don't, he jokes in his best Brooklyn accent, "I'll threaten to kill them."

A new ad campaign

Leeber doesn't believe in asking people to give money to the church or religious causes. He also tries to keep his church and business separate, refusing to hand out business cards to anyone who asks him in church. "Look me up in the paper," he tells them.

One day recently, his daughter asked for his advice about raising money for a program called Campus Crusade for Christ. He told her she should pray for money, not ask for it. "People will give if they're touched," he told her.

Then, Leeber's daughter asked: "Why shouldn't I ask for money and you advertise for work?" That struck Leeber in the gut: "I decided to stop all advertising."

Leeber owns the company outright, so his decision to cancel advertising was final. Surely some employees opposed his decision? "It's a dictatorship," Leeber laughs. Doesn't he feel that taking such a risk jeopardizes the lives of his 150 employees? "I feel no burden whatsoever," Leeber says. "It's not my job to provide, it's my Father's."

By creating an ad campaign urging people to find God, Leeber believes he will be richly rewarded in life and business. "If it doesn't come to pass they'll stone me," he laughs.

But there's opportunity on the horizon. While the residential business has suffered, the commercial side of Leeber's operation has already doubled this year to $4 million in revenues. He's remodeling hotel bathrooms on the Gulf Coast and he recently landed a hotel renovation contract in Aruba worth $750,000.

Leeber says the Justlookup.org campaign isn't a clever way to use religion to land more business, as some skeptics might think. "If they see it that way, it's their problem," he says. Fact is, business is down 40% since he stopped advertising his business in mid-March. A small Cornerstone Kitchens logo is visible on the television ads and the Web page, but that's been done to encourage other businesses to participate, Leeber says, not to generate business.

Initially, the campaign began on television because Hansen says it's the only medium with sight, sound, motion and emotion. "The emotional component you cannot achieve any other way," she says. The television ads consist of vignettes of people who are facing problems in everyday life. If they turn to God, the ads promise relief. Leeber says he's already spent $280,000 launching the campaign.

After about a week of advertising, the Justlookup.org Web site has received 1,500 hits from 15 countries. Over 30 people have requested prayers and Bibles. Some of the response has been from unexpected sources: "I've heard some business people say, 'I wish I could do something like that'," Hansen says.

So how does Leeber measure the success of the Justlookup.org campaign? "Sometimes you can't measure that kind of success," Leeber answers in a very un-businesslike way. Hansen, who developed the TV and Web campaign, agrees because it's never been done before. "We have nothing to measure it against. We have no model," she says.

Adds Hansen: "He's not trying to meet a business goal."

REIVEW SUMMARY

Company. Cornerstone Kitchens

Industry. Home remodeling

Key. A radical departure from business norms could mean big success down the road.