Meet our New HR Manager, Molly Hancock!

Big news! We have a new HR manager at our corporate office in Denver, Colorado. We’re proud to introduce Molly Hancock and welcome her to Footprints Floors.

Molly’s here to make sure that our executives and corporate employees have an organization that runs smoothly as our flooring franchise company continues to grow.

The Need for Outstanding Human Resources

Footprints Floors is still young, in spite of the tremendous growth and success we’ve experienced over the past several years. Molly is coming on board now to help us get some fundamental HR management practices established before we grow even larger.

“There are things that a small company just kind of does,” Molly said. “But as you grow HR is needed. You get to a point where you need an expert to tell you how to do things in the right format for compliance purposes. And if they decide to add benefits down the road for their employees, that will be a huge thing that I’ll take from the very beginning.”

Molly won’t be working directly with our Franchise Owners. But the effects of her work will be felt by everyone.

Even though her focus is our corporate team, Molly’s been reflecting on everything our new Franchise Owners have on their minds and thinking of how to make things easier.

“It’s not my responsibility as the HR person to make sure that Franchise Owners are compliant,” Molly said. “But I do plan on maybe creating some kind of welcome packet that gives them the ideas of what they actually need to run a business.”

“They just started their own business,” she continues, “And they’re wondering, ‘Am I making the right decisions?’”

“So, it would be an employee handbook to simplify the process. With tax forms and all the things that are important as they bring on employees,” she said. “So no, I will not be having contact, but I do have plans.”

Welcome Home, Molly!

Molly is a Colorado native, but she’s been away from home for over a decade. “I’m originally from Colorado,” Molly said. “I grew up here but then I married a military man and then I lived in Maryland for 10 years, which allowed me to really diversify.”

“Moving to Maryland, which is so diverse was great for me personally and in my work career,” she continued. “I had a daughter over there and then we moved back here in 2019, to be with my family here.”

Molly was able to work remotely after her move, but eventually wanted to put down firmer roots.

“I worked for a Maryland-based company for two years out here in Colorado,” she said. “So, I’m happy to be with a well-known successful company here in Colorado that I can base myself into. That’s probably the most exciting part.”

The Perks of Small Business

Maryland is home to several federal contractors, like Molly’s previous employer. And federal contracting means HR work has to be taken seriously.

“I was with a smaller company over in Maryland, but it was larger in comparison to Footprints. I managed around 85 to 90 employees. I was there for nine and a half years so I really built my career there. It was in a completely different sector,” Molly said. “We did human resources and staffing for the government. We hired fully cleared personnel. When you have a federal contracting company, there are so many more HR laws that have to be complied with.”

“It’s nice to be with a smaller company now where I get to be my own HR person and run the department with the skills that I’ve gained in the last 10 years,” she added.

Molly’s a pro, to say the least, and she’s bringing those high federal HR standards over to Footprints Floors. She has some key objectives outlined for further developing our corporate department.

“They’ve already been doing a great job here. My main goal to start is to streamline the processes,” she said. “They don’t really have these. With new hire orientations, they just send everything through email, have you sign it, and then, ‘Here’s your start date!’”

That’s completely true. Founder Bryan Park bootstrapped this company like a classic lean-running entrepreneur. In the early days, having the formalities of HR in place wasn’t the priority. But we’re growing up fast and ready to get those in place.

“I plan on developing a new hire orientation at corporate, depending on if they’re in Colorado or not, if they’re not in Colorado, I’ll do those virtually. Technology today allows me to do everything,” Molly says. “Just to put a face with the company as they start and get them involved in that way. And then also to define an exit interview process as people leave.”

We’ve started including more virtual services, but this is generally for our Franchise Owners. With Footprints flooring Franchise Owners operating all over the country, we definitely need a way to reach corporate talent wherever they are.

Vision for a Bright Future

Molly is building a solid foundation for this company’s growth. And she has a vision for the long-term future.

“Just streamlining for now. But if they add [corporate employee] benefits, I would be very excited about that,” she said. “And I think that’s kind of why they brought me on because we might be in the realm of adding benefits, but we actually need an HR person here who understands that.”

Well, Molly has free reigns to develop our HR according to her best judgment and there’ll be plenty for her to do later on.

A Warm Welcome

In the meantime, she’s been getting to know our team and has already meshed with us well.

“As an HR rep, my goal is to know every single employee and their families and really give them that personal touch,” she said. “And when I know them personally that makes them feel good, it makes them feel appreciated, and so forth.”

Molly actually does have a personal family connection here. Her brother-in-law is our Franchise Development Manager, Jon Jarvis.

Jon thought she’d be perfect for our new HR role and introduced her to the company. And Molly fit right in.

“It’s been great. I’ve felt welcomed and like I’ve been here forever already. Everyone is just so warm and welcoming. They made me feel like I made the right decision and I’m very happy with coming onboard with Footprints,” she said. “I hope that I exceed their expectations in the HR realm.”

We feel we’ve made the right decision as well. We’re pleased to welcome Molly Hancock into the faith-based, Christian Franchise, Footprints Floors Family. Getting Molly on board is the latest step in our journey to building a thriving national flooring franchise.

If you’d like to learn more about Footprints, how we operate, and what our values are, then please visit our franchise website.

Accountant Brothers Spot a Sound Investment in Our Floor Franchise!

Meet Ben Norton, who, along with his brother Jim, just became our newest floor Franchise Owner! The brothers are all set to launch their Kentucky Footprints Floors franchise, and we couldn’t be more excited to have them in our faith-based, Christian franchise family.

About the Nortons

Ben and Jim come to us from careers in public accounting. They’ve built great careers at top global consulting firms like Ernst & Young.

But accounting is only their day job. Ben and Jim have their hands busy with other entrepreneurial ventures.

“Accounting is my professional experience,” Ben says. “On the side, I work in real estate investing with my brother and a couple of other brothers specializing in mobile home parks. And then I do small multifamily real estate on my own as well.”

Their professions might be white-collar, but the brothers don’t mind doing some hands-on labor of their own (not that they’ll have to with our industry-leading model that takes the actual flooring off our Franchise Owners’ plates!). And even with a growing real estate portfolio, they were still looking for new opportunities to take on together. While Ben will be handling the day-to-day operations of owning a Footprints Floors franchise, Jim will be working in the background to ensure the success of the business.

Discovering Our Floor Franchise Opportunity

Jim is the one who discovered Footprints and presented it to Ben.

“It just seemed like a great opportunity that fell in line with our prior experience with residential real estate,” Ben says. “There were a lot of similar aspects like working with contractors to do renovations and things like that. That’s really what drew us to Footprints.”

Our home services floor franchise was the perfect addition to their portfolio. But we weren’t the first one on their mind. It turns out we had a touch of early competition with another floor franchise.

“I looked at Floor Coverings International and it just seems very large and bulky,” Ben says. “And I had just been coming from E&Y, which is a huge organization. But I was definitely looking for something that was smaller and a little bit more personal.”

Our floor franchise is run like a close-knit family business, even with our rapid growth. But our personal touch wasn’t enough to convince these accountants, though they appreciated the close-knit company culture. 

In addition to a good cultural fit, the floor franchise opportunity had to be financially sound and right for both of their lifestyle needs, which happen to be quite different.

“For Jim, the draw was the ability to create cash flows and being able to take a more hands-off approach to get more flexibility. He needs more flexibility moving forward as his family grows and as they get older,” Ben says.

“I think Jim is more looking at it along the lines of trying to transition away from a more hands-on approach to property management. To the Footprints model where you can either have an owner-operator or an owner and managed by someone.”

So, Jim wants less daily involvement and more family time. Ben, on the other hand, is ready to dive into his floor franchise.

“I’ve always really liked different home improvement jobs. One of my favorite things about property management is getting to do different small jobs here and there. I like to get my hands dirty sometimes, so that’s definitely been an appeal for me,” he continued.

“We’re both technically owner-operators but I will be doing the vast majority of boots on the ground stuff, you know,” Ben says. “I’ll be running the day-to-day and stuff and Jim will mostly be there for support and strategic direction.”

The Footprints Floors Approval Day Experience

Ben and Jim got an experiential preview of what running our floor franchise is like when they came to our Denver, CO headquarters for their Approval Day, also known as Discovery Day, to get a taste of what a day in the life of a Footprints Floors Franchise Owner is truly like.

“Discovery Day was great,” Ben says. “It was great to meet the team and everything. I got to see what it was like interacting with the customers, with the jobs that were currently being run and managed. And I had the opportunity to go on a sales call.”

“It was really good to see how that works in person,” he continued. “You know there’s a little apprehension there. And it was good to see just how that worked and how the team made the pitch.”

The Norton brothers also met Footprints Floors Founder Bryan Park and our executive team. This gave them a sense of where Bryan is taking the company and how he relates to our Franchise Owners.

Ben says, “you know, he’s a really nice guy and a really smart guy. One of the things that I’ve noticed is that Bryan, the rest of leadership, and the other principles are all very active. They’re answering people’s questions and offering suggestions. It’s great to have that kind of support.”

Outstanding Floor Franchise Support

One of the most practical support services is the training our Franchise Owners get for managing the day-to-day tasks of a floor franchise.

See, Ben and Jim still felt a touch apprehensive about certain aspects of management, even with their real estate background.

“One thing that has been our concern is finding good contractors,” Ben says. “We were able to talk to Bryan and Brian [Knuth, Director of Franchise Development] and we feel pretty confident that we’re going to be equipped with the tools and training to go out and find those contractors and be able to manage and interact with them.”

Many of our new Franchise Owners feel the same way, particularly when they come from white-collar backgrounds.

This is why we put so much emphasis on providing a supportive franchise structure with plenty of resources. We let our Owners focus on being energetic, passionate, and connecting with the customers in their floor franchise territory. And they can do this at their own pace.

“I’m very outgoing,” Ben says. “I love meeting people and I love seeing people’s homes and the possibilities.”

“I am looking forward to having a little bit more flexibility,” he continued. “I’m going to be able to decide the days that I work and the days that I take off and I know Jim is looking forward to the flexibility as well.”

It can be tough for business partners to find an opportunity that works for both of them. That’s one reason why our floor franchise is the perfect choice for a solo or joint investment.

If you’re looking for a business with strong profitability potential that’s flexible enough to suit your lifestyle and fit the needs of any business partners, visit our franchise website for more information.