“The support will help provide the work, but the ability of the franchise is ultimately up to me.”
One of the things we like most about our floor franchise is how well it suits independent-natured people.
People like our newest Franchise Owner, Jeff Barnwell, from historic Wilmington, North Carolina. Jeff isn’t new to self-employment. He currently works as a subcontractor. He’s also put in time in business operations and small business ownership in the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and chemical industries.
Jeff’s always looking for ways to improve his work and life. That’s one of the reasons he decided to step out of subcontracting and back into business ownership.
“I hope this will help in working with the labor and the quality of work,” he says. Jeff found our floor franchise on his own after putting in a bit of legwork to find a great investment opportunity. “I was looking for small businesses for sale,” Jeff says. “I came across one posted in multiple areas and determined the franchise. I contacted the listing party and started from there.”
Jeff’s Path to Floor Franchise Ownership
Jeff was interested in the home services industry. It’s a little more familiar to him than owning and operating a restaurant franchise. He had a few concerns in mind and saw more advantages in a floor franchise.
“Flooring is something that everyone has and is a basic necessity. It is something that people understand and is not a trendy fad. Flooring changes over time but should never be obsolete,” Jeff says. “It’s more sustainable. Additionally, there’s lower upfront investment along with the potential to still have family time and take vacations.”
Jeff had his eye on what his long-term future would be. Not only in a booming industry but also what his future would be like within our floor franchise.“Running a business and not having a boss is great. At the same time, that can be very hard and stressful since there are no co-workers to turn to or to bounce ideas off,” Jeff says.
“I like the franchise model primarily for the support. It’s a great medium between not having a boss and still having support when needed. Footprints Floors has a great system of support and vision.”
Strong Support = Strong Results
Our floor franchise’s support and vision come from the top down. Footprints Founder Bryan Park is an active leader. He takes the time to individually connect with each new Franchise Owner. Jeff met Founder Bryan during his new owner Discovery Day. During this time, Founder Bryan shared his vision for this company with Jeff.
“The Founder was available and spoke to everyone personally. There is a big difference between being accessible and being too important for the simple Franchise Owners,” Jeff says. “I have worked for companies and always enjoyed and worked harder for those where the CEO would interact compared to those where the CEO felt he was on a different level than the average worker.”
Footprints Floors works as a team. When we refer to ourselves as a family, this is what we’re talking about. Jeff’s experienced how difficult franchising can be when you invest in a bad system or with the wrong people. “In the past, I started with another franchise that could not even provide proper training and no one was interested in picking up a phone to help,” Jeff says.
“Footprints Floors has a large staff available and a great system using the chat rooms to help answer questions and link with others and industry specialists.” Jeff was able to thoroughly evaluate our support structure for himself.
We don’t expect our Owners to take our word for it. His Discovery Day gave him a close look at the ins and outs of owning and operating our floor franchise. “Discovery Day was good in that we saw a very, very quick scope of typical work and met several members of the team,” Jeff says.
“Additionally, I liked being on a Discovery Day with a small set of other potential Owners.My group was three [candidates], including me, and all of us signed on to be Franchise Owners.”
A Different Franchising Experience
This close look gave him the insight he needed to move forward. Jeff saw that Footprints Floors isn’t like other franchises. Owning our floor franchise would be a much different experience. “There are others that I could see myself owning and enjoying, but the marketing seemed to be more up to me than providing support,” Jeff says. “With Footprints, there’s a good focus on marketing and finding leads.”
“The support will help provide the work, but the ability of the franchise is ultimately up to me.” Jeff’s put his success in his own hands. But, make no mistake about it, he’s fully backed by our entire team. And that starts with Founder Bryan Park.
Bryan’s involvement doesn’t drop off once Franchise Owners are invested. He’s right there every step of the way. “There’s accessibility and a strive to keep improving,” Jeff says. “I see him responding to chat questions regularly and I feel like I could pick up the phone and call him if needed. He continues to look for ways to make Footprints Floors the #1 flooring company in the country.”
This isn’t just big talk. Bryan Park is ambitious, with a clear vision to go to the top. He shares this freely with our Franchise Owners and brings them in for shared success. “Metrics are in place and guidelines to overtake the industry,” Jeff says. “The initial proof is from the owner and original Franchise Owners in Colorado, but the guidelines have been proven instead of just guessed to work.”
Floor Franchise Ownership With Time for Family
So, what does this really add up to for Jeff? It’s great that he’s signed on with Footprints early in our journey. But there are still immediate benefits to be gained, for him and his family. “I have the ability to set my schedule as needed to be available for my family,” Jeff says. “Being a small business owner, it is great to be able to move around some of the work to do what you want.”
“You can go eat lunch with your wife and then perform administrative work at 11 PM if you want. I hope to continue the ability to pick up kids or attend events as needed and move around the work. I would rather miss an hour of watching TV than my daughters’ sporting events.” We’re glad to give Jeff Barnwell a way to run his own business while he stays active and present for his family.
Are you interested in business ownership, without the risks of going it alone? Our floor franchise provides excellent support and unmatched schedule flexibility for Franchise Owners. You can invest now, get up and running quickly, and still have time for your daily life. We still have exclusive territories available, but they’re going fast!