Our floor franchise has been making footprints across the entire state of Texas, and now, thanks to Mark and Rachel Simmons, we can proudly say that Footprints Floors will be flooring soon in Ft. Worth! The couple is on pace to open three Ft. Worth-area territories of our floor franchise, with additional locations in neighboring Arlington and Denton. With Footprints’ floor franchise territories being snapped up all across the Lone Star State, including several locations in major cities like Austin, Houston, and Dallas, we’re proud to welcome our new Ft. Worth Franchise Owners to the Footprints Floors family and are glad they were able to take advantage of the floor franchise opportunity while it’s still available!

Both graduates of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Mark and Rachel have both had fulfilling professional careers in sales and social work, respectively. “I have been in sales and marketing my entire career since graduating from Baylor University in 1994 with a BBA in marketing,” shares Mark. “I began selling contract office furniture in 1999 and have been doing that for 21 years. In the last 6 years, I have been the Regional Sales Manager for a manufacturing company that builds school furniture.  Recently, I was promoted to National Sales Manager for the East Coast.”

Rachel, who earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Columbia University in 1994, enjoyed a rewarding career as a social worker before putting her professional career on pause in order to stay home and care for the couple’s children. In addition to her extensive stay-at-home mom duties, Rachel has also been pitching in with her father and brother’s small businesses.

Though he found a great deal of enjoyment and success through his sales career, Mark always had a dream to become an entrepreneur. “Since I was young, I have always had the desire to one day own my own business,” he tells us.  “I had hoped that it would happen before now, but the opportunity never really presented itself.  The thought of building something that is my own really appeals to me.”

Mark’s entrepreneurial interests led him to Karl Morningstar, a consultant with the You Network. For two years, Mark and Karl worked to find a business opportunity that would excite him and tick all the boxes for the couple’s entrepreneurial ambitions. Early this year, Karl presented Mark with the franchise he had been waiting to find throughout his journey- Footprints Floors.

What made our floor franchise the one to spark Mark’s interest after being presented with so many other options? For Mark, it wasn’t just one aspect of our business model, but rather the entire package. 

“Footprints Floors offers an opportunity that has low overhead, has a quick ramp-up period, and is very scalable,” he explains. “There is no need to rent a storefront or keep inventory on hand.  Although this industry is competitive, the competition is segmented and disorganized, making a professional, organized approach primed for success.  I really like the dedicated customer relations manager that will be responding to leads and setting appointments.  I think that this is the secret weapon. “Also,” he adds, “the people that I’ve talked to and listened to seem to be very similar to me…hardworking, family-oriented people.”

Mark and Rachel very much enjoyed the family-focused philosophy shared by floor franchise Founder Bryan Park and the rest of the Footprints Floors corporate team, as it aligned perfectly with their own strong family values. The couple is extremely active in their church, with Mark acting as a deacon, teaching Sunday school, and even playing the trumpet in the church orchestra. Both he and Rachel felt strongly about finding a franchise opportunity that would still allow them the flexibility to spend time with their family and keeping up with their important commitments and hobbies outside of work.

Mark was able to attend his Discovery Day in person at our Colorado headquarters, where he met with Bryan Park and the rest of the corporate team- an experience that he says was very helpful in terms of showing him the ins and outs of the floor franchise. “I enjoyed meeting the ownership and management team,” he says.  “I also enjoyed visiting a project and going on some estimates.  This helped me realize that this is actually something that I can do.”

Meeting the Footprints Floors corporate team during Discovery Day helped shed light on how much outstanding support Mark and Rachel could expect as Franchise Owners. “Everyone has been very responsive when I have had questions,” he says.  “I have been provided a checklist of items that need to be completed, but I have not felt rushed or pressured to get that done.”

Mark also enjoyed getting to know Bryan and seeing how his background and experience in the home improvement industry is a major asset for Franchise Owners. “Brian started the business by actually working and installing floors,” he explains. “This gives him a great understanding of how the business works and has allowed him to develop a system that stands out in a sea of mediocre flooring companies.”

As the couple prepares to open their Ft. Worth floor franchise, Mark shares what he feels will make him a successful Footprints Floors Franchise Owner. “I have 25 years of sales experience, which I think will help.  I also have a good work ethic and am pretty good at developing relationships with people.  I have a reputation for being trustworthy and reliable.  The combination of these things will hopefully lead to success.”

As Mark and Rachel look to the future, they can see their Ft. Worth floor franchise growing beyond their first territory into a business empire. Mark shares his ultimate goals as a Franchise Owner: “I look forward to growing my territories and hiring project managers and salespeople to help me out.  In the future, when somebody asks me what I do, I want to tell them that I own a Footprints Floors franchise and I want their response to be, ‘Yeah, I see those trucks everywhere.’  I’m also looking forward to being home for dinner every night!”

Mark and Rachel Simmons aren’t the only entrepreneurs who are looking forward to growing their Footprints Floors empire- our floor franchise opportunity is selling out fast in territories across the United States! With a simple, scalable business model, low overhead investment, and schedule flexibility that invites a healthy work-life balance, it’s easy to see why our floor franchise has captured the attention of aspiring business owners everywhere!

Do you see yourself as a potential Footprints Floors Franchise Owner? If so, we want to talk! Visit our franchise website to learn more.  

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