“This was a perfect storm for me.”
Arnett Hudson’s Inspiration for Starting a Flooring Business

The home improvement business is booming. In 2019 the industry was worth over $400 billion, with home improvement sales projected to be $510 billion by 2024. Our flooring franchise is selling out fast in territories nationwide so we caught up with our newest Owner, Arnett Hudson to hear his story and to talk about how he decided that starting a flooring business in his Coatesville, PA hometown with faith-based Footprints Floors was the ideal move for his future.

Arnett’s Path to Starting a Flooring Business

Arnett Hudson grew up in South Jersey and believes that watching his dad work as a carpenter taught him the importance of customer service and ownership from a young age. He had several paper routes as a child and understood that to try and grow the customer base he needed to be friendly, organized, and on time.

Arnett went on to attend university in Pennsylvania, and throughout his time at college, he worked as a shift supervisor/team leader. He realized that he not only enjoyed dealing with the public, but he was also good at it, thanks to his early lessons in customer service. Arnett also discovered that he excelled in managerial roles and enjoyed being in charge of a team. Within 6 months of graduating from college, he was promoted first to Assistant Manager and then to Store Manager, paving the way for a 25-year career working for Fortune 500 companies.

Arnett enjoyed his career and is very grateful for the opportunities that he was given, however, he could never shake off his desire to own his own business. It wasn’t until 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic shook the world, that Arnett was given the push he needed to finally pursue his dream.

Like many others during this time, Arnett was furloughed in April 2020 and subsequently laid off, which upon reflection he sees as having been “a perfect storm.” In his words, “I chose to make this ominous time into a silver lining in my life”. For many, this period was a dark time in their lives, full of uncertainty and worry, but Arnett instead chose to turn this misfortune into a positive, starting a flooring business with a Footprints Floors franchise.

What Made Arnett Choose to Franchise With Footprints Floors?

Arnett’s advice to anyone interested in investing in a franchise is to do their research and perform due diligence to ensure that the company is the right fit for them. He did just that, and after thorough research and a meticulous vetting process, he didn’t have to look much further once he came across Footprints Floors.

So why did a flooring franchise appeal to someone who had never been interested in starting a flooring business? Arnett admits that the reason Footprints Floors stood out to him was, as he notes, “because of its tremendous emphasis on customer service. In my years of managerial experience, I believe there is no better way to maintain a strong customer base than to provide excellent customer service.” Arnett contacted Footprints Floors and was indeed immensely impressed by their service.

In addition to this, further factors which made an impression on Arnett were that no physical building is required, he would have the autonomy to make his own decisions, and Footprints Floors have marketing strategies that are not reliant on cold calling. Also, it wasn’t a business where he would have to be on call 24 hours a day. “The ability to have sovereignty over my schedule was crucial.” Arnett’s first impressions of Footprints Floors were excellent. Our Founder and CEO, Bryan Park came across as knowledgeable and personable, and the corporate team was incredibly welcoming. He says he knew right away that this was the franchise for him. 

Finding Balance Through Starting a Flooring Business

As well as extremely attractive financial incentives, becoming a Footprints Floors Franchise Owner also brings with it great emotional rewards. One of the main reasons people love being a Footprints Floors Franchise Owner is the flexibility; having more time to spend with friends and family as well as time to go on vacation. Rather than being tied down to the monotony of a job with set hours and no flexibility, there is great freedom in being a Franchise Owner, allowing more time to enjoy both yourself and your work.

A strong support team providing initial training and ongoing support such as marketing, social media, and search engine optimization (SEO) means there are far fewer headaches compared to running a traditional business. All the work is completed by subcontractors, so you don’t need to be an expert in flooring to join our team! We have been an established company for more than 10 years now, and have built up an excellent reputation with a strong customer base. For people wishing to run their own business, there are far fewer risks when investing in a franchise with a trusted and established brand, compared to starting a business from scratch. With a low initial investment and a quick return on that investment, the revenues from Footprints Flooring are extremely attractive. No employees, no rent, no showroom, no HR costs, and no inventory make our overheads extremely low! With much of the hard work taken care of, Franchise Owners can concentrate on growing their business and enjoying a flexible, healthy work-life balance.

Why Flooring? And Why Now?

Flooring is an excellent franchise business model because people will always be buying and building houses, and these new houses need floors. The current demand for new homes exceeds new construction, and as a result, many people are choosing to invest in an older home in need of renovation. The main competitors in the flooring business are one-man shows, who often have no backing, marketing presence, or credibility, so customers understandably prefer to pay the same price to an established and trustworthy brand with professional backing such as Footprints Floors. In addition, the larger stores that offer flooring services are considerably more expensive due to their higher overheads.

Arnett Hudson felt that during his professional career he developed a number of transferrable skill sets, many of which would easily translate to being a franchise owner. Not unlike many employees of large establishments, he was unsatisfied at not being able to witness the “fruits of his labor”, working year after year for a company where he received no equity or ability to leave a legacy. In his words “I wanted the opportunity to redirect all of my hard work into my own business.“ Footprints Floors Franchise Owners are fulfilled in a way they never were in previous roles, due to the fact that they are in complete control of all aspects of the business.

When asked why he chose a home service industry over one such as the popular restaurant industry, Arnett observed that although enjoyable, restaurants are a luxury, and based on the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is more prudent to invest in a business more able to sustain a pandemic or recession. He believes that homeowners take pride in their homes and are happy to invest in a service that will benefit their families and home, including upgrades and improvements to continue to grow their investment. Arnett reflects that he is most looking forward to being one of the first Footprints Floors owners in the Northeast part of the country. “I want to continue to build the Footprints Floors brand and help make it a national household name.”

We are very excited to welcome our newest flooring Franchise Owner and look forward to following his progress in Southeast Pennsylvania!

Interested in starting a flooring business of your own? Please visit our franchise website for more information.