During the interview Riley discusses leadership, management, operations, time management, and Fresh Coat goals.
Tara Riley, president of Fresh Coat Painters, sat down with Kerry Pipes of franchising.com for an interview. The article, “A Brush Stroke of Genius. Fresh Coat’s Tara Riley is a one-of-a-kind leader,” is now featured in Franchise Update Magazine issue 3 of 2021.
Below are some excerpts from the interview:
Describe your leadership style.
My leadership style centers around creating a shared vision for the brand and empowering my team to make that vision a reality. Key to this is finding the right people for the right positions, setting clear expectations, and then trusting them to execute their roles accordingly. I seek input from my team regarding the goals we set and plans of action to achieve them, and I strive to support their goals for personal development as well.
What does your management team look like?
I have a strong team by my side. It includes a vice president of marketing responsible for brand awareness and lead generation; a vice president of franchise operations in charge of all things directional to the franchisees; a vice president of sales focused on bringing new franchise owners into the system; and a vice president of commercial and national accounts whose duty it is to acquire relationships to drive business to the franchise owners. We meet regularly to discuss all areas of the business so there is strategic alignment across all the functions.
What can we expect from your company in the next 12 to 18 months?
Explosive growth in the number of franchise locations across the country. We are poised to expand our footprint very rapidly, and we have built the foundation for that to happen strategically and profitably.
Tara Riley has over 37 years of franchising experience, and over 6 years leading Fresh Coat as the brand president. With Tara at the helm, Fresh Coat is planning to more than triple the size of its business in the next 5 years, capitalizing on the momentum gathered during the pandemic.