From all appearances, the success of 2 Turn It On Inc. has a bit to do with
kismet. But Howard Yonce, president and CEO of the company, would probably
attribute his success to good business strategy and getting in on the front end
of a developing industry.
His 23 years of publishing newcomer guides hasn't hurt either. In his role as
publisher -- the guides helped connect new residents and companies with various
services -- Yonce was accustomed to doing business with cities. One day, while
reading an article about deregulation of the electricity industry, he had an
idea: Wouldn't it be great if people could do one-stop shopping for their
utility services?
"Telephones were already deregulated, and the competition was heating up," he
says. "If you put them all in one place, people can put in one application, and
they're through."
Yonce thought the best route would be to set up a call center, but his son
suggested the Internet -- and 2TurnItOn.com was born.
Using patent-pending technology, the site offers one location for consumers to
set up multiple utility connections with just one application. So far, the Web
site offers water, electricity, gas, telephone, Internet services, cable
services and satellite television hook-ups.
Yonce earns his profits through finder's fees. The entrepreneur expects to take
in $1 million this year.
For the first 15 months the site was live, 2 Turn It On offered only
water-connection services to work out any kinks with the system.
The first city to sign up was Prosper. The City of Dallas began offering
water-connection services through 2TurnItOn.com in February 2004.
Yonce says his company is a success because it provides a win-win for consumers
and municipalities. There's no cost to the consumer, and it enables them to
compare and sign up for new services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Cities
don't have to pay for software that would enable citizens to do the same thing
through municipal sites, which could cost up to $80,000. And 2 Turn It On saves
on advertising because consumers are required to go to the site from the
cities' sites to connect their services.
Three years ago, the Town of Flower Mound began providing water connection
through 2 Turn It On.
Flower Mound Mayor Jody Smith says the site is a great asset for residents, not
just to connect services, but also to compare prices.
"It's a one-stop shop. Utility selection can be made a whole lot easier," she
said. "We really do care as a town that people get a good value for their
dollar."
This year, 2 Turn It On Inc. added a chief operating officer to handle the
day-to-day operations so Yonce can focus on new opportunities, including a
recently signed agreement with a Web-development company to add its services to
250 cities across 15 states and Texas.
"There's lot of opportunities to use what we've developed," Yonce said. "We're
looking for the future. Things look good."
sphormillosa@bizjournals.com | 214-706-7156
