starting a flooring business

For new Franchise Owner Dean Sandler, starting a flooring business with Footprints Floors is just one of the many changes that he’s planning to make within the next several months as he embarks on a new chapter of life in Asheville, North Carolina. Currently residing in New York City, where he’s enjoyed a career as a presentation consultant for a number of high-profile companies across multiple industries, Dean has spent the last 20 years helping major corporations add some professional polish to their presentations to clients, staff members, and prospects.  “I was a pioneer in the presentation consulting industry, and worked for some Fortune 100 companies ranging from advertising to pharmaceuticals to financial services,” he explains.  

Over the course of his two-decade career, Dean helped major corporations create a user-friendly, branded firmwide presentation template that everybody could use, as well as on-brand, professional-looking PowerPoint decks for future presentation needs. Due to the necessity of having to remain in close proximity to these large organizations, Sandler stayed rooted in New York. As he puts it, “I’m working with the Board of Directors, C-suite executives, major groups in companies directly to optimize important presentations. I’m trying to sell multi-billion dollar concepts or services. You kind of have to be in a big city for that.”

In addition to his presentation consulting career, Dean took a detour into building management, something that first got him interested in home improvement, remodeling, and other renovation-related industries. “I fell into managing the 89-unit condominium building I  bought into, and brought a level of professionalism that was seriously lacking,” he tells us. 

After achieving success as both a presentation consultant and a building manager, Dean was ready to fulfill some long-anticipated personal goals, including a move from New York to Asheville, North Carolina. “I’m focusing on enjoying myself,” he explains. “I wanted to move to Asheville after 35 years. I wanted a couple of dogs. I’ve ordered a French spaniel puppy and a pickup truck. I want to discover a part of myself that I can’t here in New York.”

As Dean became more invested in his move to Asheville, he began looking at possible business ventures that he could undertake in his next chapter of life. “I didn’t want to do consulting so I was looking for an opportunity in the restaurant/bar industry,” he says. He found just what he was looking for in a startup restaurant, Singletree Heritage Kitchen, in the neighboring town of Waynesville. “It’s a chef-driven upscale casual restaurant with a regional focus,” Sandler says, adding, “It’s run by a former junior partner of a restaurant called Corner Kitchen in Asheville- Obama ate there!”

Dean realized, however, that as an investor in the restaurant, he’d still need a source of income. That’s when the Footprints Floors opportunity presented itself. When a franchise consultant reached out with six potential opportunities, including Footprints Floors, Dean began to see how starting a flooring business could fit into the life in Asheville that he had envisioned. “I felt like it had good parameters, that it was doable by one person and that it was flexible. I love the fact that they handle lead generation through their call center. It brings a professional level.”

Sandler had also seen the unmet need for professional flooring services in Asheville and knew what kind of potential starting a flooring business could hold, thanks to his own personal experiences with getting the restaurant off the ground. “I knew Asheville needed more professional contractors because my restaurant construction has been delayed for so long,” he says. “Well-off people are moving there for retirement like I am, and there’s just a huge need for residential and commercial construction.”

Dean pursued the opportunity and began his Education Process, culminating in his Discovery Day at Footprints Floors HQ in Colorado. He found a kindred spirit in Founder Bryan Park, and describes him as “committed and involved and open, transparent.” He also found some common ground with Bryan thanks to their similar good taste in trucks. “His fleet truck is a Ford Ranger, and that’s the kind I’m getting!” he says. Most of all, Dean was eager to invest in a successful company that already has an excellent business model and world-class corporate support. He says, “I’m not reinventing the wheel like I would have had to do if I had started my own company.”

Though Dean signed his franchise agreement back in February, he has elected to begin his Footprints Floors training in August so he can take this time to get better acquainted with his new Asheville surroundings. “My territory is HUGE so I’m looking at introducing myself to all the different neighborhoods and looking at all the different styles of houses,” he explains. “I’ll be renting for the first year in a very popular area- it’s like the Brooklyn of Asheville- very alternative, lots of restaurants.” 

Once he’s up and running this fall, however, what’s the thing he’s looking forward to most? “Making money!” he laughs.

Dean had a dream to leave the corporate life behind and embark on a new adventure miles away from the big city. Starting a flooring business with Footprints Floors is an ideal fit for his new lifestyle, not to mention a major asset to his growing community. We’re proud to welcome Dean to the Footprints Floors family!

Are you thinking about a similar career change that can increase your level of freedom and schedule flexibility? Does starting a flooring business in your hometown sound like a smart investment in your future? We’re currently franchising in territories across the United States, and they’re selling out fast! Now’s a good time to take stock of your future and think about where you want to see yourself in the next few years. If being your own boss in a recession-resistant industry sounds pretty good, let’s talk! Please visit our franchise website to learn more.

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Adnan comes to us from the corporate world, fresh from an 8-year career at an engineering firm where he worked his way up to a business management position. However, he never forgot his fond memories of owning his own business years before joining the corporate workforce. “Fresh out of college I started my own company that lasted for 2 years, and then I was getting married and decided to find more stable employment,” he says, referring to the import/export wholesale kitchenware distribution company he founded. “But I’ve always had that entrepreneurial spirit and have been entertaining ideas of owning a business.” 

Wishing to minimize the substantial risk that comes with starting a business from scratch, Adnan first looked into turnkey business opportunities available for purchase in his community. During an online search, he happened to see an ad for Footprints Floors! Though he had never considered owning a flooring installation franchise, the ad intrigued him enough to fill out a confidential questionnaire. “(Footprints Floors Franchise Development Director) Mike Edwards called less than an hour later,” Alhaider recalls, adding, “ It was kind of an accident that I found out about them!”

Discovering our flooring installation franchise opportunity may have been a happy accident, but Adnan knew a good thing when he saw one- he was fascinated by our outstanding economics and simple, home-based business model and enjoyed the potential for security that owning a business in a recession-proof industry like Home Improvement can offer. “The business model makes the overhead much lower,” he explains. “There’s no monthly rent, no employees that are just there because you’re open, whether you have work to do or not. The whole corporate support system- a call center, appointment schedulers- the percentage the franchise is charging is never going to be more than what it would be to have to hire a secretary and pay for an office.” 

The low initial investment attracted Alhaider initially, but it was the warm, family-oriented business culture that held his interest and made him seriously consider the possibility of investing in a flooring installation franchise. “For nearly the past eight years, I was with an incorporated, family-owned business,” he tells us, recalling, “It had that family atmosphere to it. That’s one thing I kind of noticed right off the bat with Footprints Floors, as I learned more about them and then when I actually got to meet the team in Colorado- they have that sort of culture too! That drew me to them and made my decision easier.”

Seeing the Footprints Floors team as one big happy flooring installation franchise family especially hit home for Alhaider upon meeting our Founder, Bryan Park. “I’ve done my fair share of looking into companies and franchises- I don’t think I can say I’ve found any company where the owner is willing to give up so much of his own time to work with Franchise Owners,” says Adnan. He also received a warm first impression from the rest of the corporate staff and was impressed by the level of support he can look forward to as a Franchise Owner. “Anything you need, someone’s going to give you an answer,” he says. “You don’t have to figure it out all on your own.”

Many years ago, Adnan pursued his dream of entrepreneurship by starting a company from scratch. This time around, he doesn’t have to go it alone- he has the full support of our Footprints Floors corporate team backing him and helping him build a successful flooring business. He’s looking forward to being part of our Footprints Floors network, and we’re excited to have him in the family!

If you, like Adnan, want to take control of your financial future by investing in yourself and opening your own business, a Footprints Floors franchise may be just right for you! We’re gaining serious ground in territories across the United States, and are awarding franchises to people we feel make a great fit for our tight-knit family of Franchise Owners. Investing in the Footprints Floors opportunity means getting to own a company in a recession-resistant industry that will always be necessary for as long as people need floors in their homes! Visit our franchise website to learn more.

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We’re excited to introduce Daniel Wilkinson, one of the newest members of the Footprints Floors family, to our flooring franchise! Daniel was awarded his Cypress, Texas territory back in January, and is on track to begin scheduling jobs soon. We are thrilled to have Daniel on board and look forward to the contributions he’ll make to Footprints Floors by starting a flooring business in Cypress.

Daniel comes to us with a strong professional background in sales and operations management- two fields where organization, attention to detail, and interacting well with people are absolutely necessary. “ I’ve been very fortunate to be in one position and make friends and contacts,” he says about being at ease when networking with others, adding, “Good relationships are key.” However, Wilkinson notes, working for a corporation can be a very different experience from networking with prospects as a business owner. “I appreciate and enjoy what I did, but especially on a sales front it was always limiting to work for someone else- the sky only gets so high,” he explains.

While Daniel enjoyed his 12-year career in sales balanced with 10 years of operations management experience, he has always been an entrepreneur at heart and looks forward to bringing his genuine love of talking with people to his new role as a flooring Franchise Owner.  “I always wanted to go into business for myself,” Wilkinson shares, adding, “I was in the process of going into a cigar business with a friend, but then he brought his brother into the business instead.” 

Though a cigar business would have been a fun and fulfilling way to satisfy the entrepreneurial itch, Daniel was intrigued by the simple operational model and family-oriented culture of Footprints Floors when he first came upon the opportunity. “Footprints Floors made a lot of sense to me,” he says. “I liked the conversations, the success of other Franchise Owners, their work ethic, the culture…all of it!”

Daniel’s discovery of Footprints Floors didn’t come from a search for flooring franchise opportunities, though: he was approached by a franchise consultant with Business Alliance, Inc. on LinkedIn while searching for new operations management opportunities following an unexpected layoff at his last position. “They lost a major client,” Wilkinson explains. “Over Labor Day weekend, the client got bought out by someone else and their contracts got X’d out. Lots of layoffs. [The consultant] reached out and I realized I should be thinking about investing in a company rather than just getting another job.” Daniel’s Franchise Education Process began in October 2019, and by the end of January, he was signing his franchise agreement for a Footprints Floors territory in Cypress.

Over the course of Daniel’s Education Process, he was able to take an in-depth look at our flooring franchise model and speak with our Founder, Bryan Park, during his Discovery Day in Colorado. “Speaking to Bryan, he seems very down-to-earth, humble guy, seems nice and helpful- wants to help,” Wilkinson says. “When I went up there to visit them, I was like, “Yup, this works for me.”

Along with the appealing family-oriented culture of Footprints Floors, one of the biggest selling points for Daniel was the amount of support he could depend on from our Corporate Team. He was excited by the prospect of a franchise that would give him everything he would need to succeed in his business. He was especially drawn to the call center that handles appointment scheduling, customer service, and more. “The bread and butter for me is the telecommunications department,” he says.

Daniel, who got married this past May, lives in Cypress with his wife and three children- a 14-year-old son and two daughters, ages 11 and 6. In the spirit of our family-focused business, Daniel plans on turning his flooring franchise into a family business, enlisting his father’s expertise for help with possible expansion to a second franchise territory in the coming years. “My hope is to bring my parents into it at some juncture,” he says. “My parents are going part in with me on the investment, but it’s only a year or two before my dad’s going to retire. Before sales, he was in construction, so he knows how to work with crews. My hope is to have him run another territory in one or two years.”  Wilkinson also hopes to include his mother in his Footprints Floors business for assistance with bookkeeping. “Mom was an accountant- I hope she can work the books,” he says.

As Daniel moves through our training process and gets closer to scheduling the first jobs for his Cypress territory, he is confident that his considerable sales prowess will help him achieve success in the home improvement industry. “My primary job is staying organized, building customer relationships, and making that sale,” he explains. “If you’ve been in sales before, you’ve heard time and time again, sales is sales. It’s convincing people to choose your product over another.” Daniel’s belief in the Footprints Floors business model will help him connect with customers who are seeking quality flooring services with excellent customer service.

Along with realizing his dream of owning a business, what is Daniel looking forward to most about being a Franchise Owner? “Without sounding too materialistic, the money!” He explains, “I do it for the money, but I also work best when I’m not managed. With me running the ship, I feel confident with the resources that Bryan and Footprints Floors will provide.”

Welcome, Daniel- we are excited to see you succeed with your Cypress, Texas territory!

Want to hear more about the Footprints Floors opportunity? Visit us at https://footprintsfranchise.com. 

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