Former Corporate Sales Rep Finds Family Time by Buying a Flooring Company for Sale

We’ve posted plenty of New Franchise Owner stories from franchise industry insiders, flooring experts, and fast-paced entrepreneurs on a mission to build a veritable flooring franchise empire.

But make no mistake about it, this flooring company for sale is the perfect choice for anyone looking for self-employment with a great family lifestyle.

Meet our latest Franchise Owner, Nick Valentino, from Medina, Ohio, whose Footprints Floors faith-based franchise has been serving the Greater Cleveland area for over a month!

“The little feet in this picture are the reason for me choosing Footprints Floors,” Nick says.

Nick’s time as a regional sales rep kept him always on-call and away from his family for extended periods of time.

“Ideally, I’ll be able to enjoy more beach vacations with my family because my past positions did not allow for much time, or gave me the feeling of having work-related obligations,” he says.

Industry brokers recognize our flooring franchise’s unique ability to provide our Franchise Owners with a flexible lifestyle while being a great financial investment. And they keep sending more clients our way.

Nick’s broker knew that he needed the relief that a home-operated flooring franchise would provide him.

With Footprints Floors, Nick can work out of his home and not have to worry about going into an office. And his homeowner design consultations and project oversight will fit around his family’s schedule, rather than the other way around.

The Right Support for Every Franchise Owner

We do everything we can to help our Franchise Owners thrive. Part of this means retaining standardization and consistency across all our Franchises by shouldering much of their administrative burden.

Our outstanding support system has put us on the map as a franchise that genuinely takes care of our Franchise Owners while also looking out for the brand’s best interests and staying true to our core values.

What we can’t handle for you on an everyday basis, we teach you to handle on your own. For example, one area that new Franchise Owners sometimes feel apprehensive about is handling subcontractors and crews.

“Understanding how to build the network of subcontractor crews was a bit intimidating but Chris [Curtis, Director of Franchise Support] reiterated the model and helped me gain the expertise that negates that worry,” Nick says.

After going through our process, Nick has some simple advice for anyone wondering if they can really handle our flooring company for sale: “follow the process and it will work… it’s proven.”

And what’s that process? It’s a singularly unique business model with a hybridized corporate-franchise operation system.

Our corporate call center oversees lead generation, marketing, and other programs designed to put you in touch with interested homeowners. Our representatives are also experts at taking incoming customer inquiries and scheduling work. This is stuff we’ve mastered and why Footprints Floors is thriving. We take the day-to-day headaches of marketing your business off your plate so you can concentrate on growing it!

So, our Franchise Owners focus on building up their local Footprints Floors business and taking care of the homeowners in their area. By utilizing subcontractor partnerships and our industry-leading call center, Footprints Floors Owners are able to give each customer the personal attention that independent flooring contractors simply can’t.

It’s a great system that lets everyone focus on what they do best. And it’s why our Franchise Owners enjoy such a wonderful work-life balance while getting fantastic business results.

Own YOUR Future With a Flooring Company for Sale

Nick Valentino is one of many success stories of Franchise Owners who found their ideal business opportunity by taking the first step and inquiring about a flooring company for sale. 

Are you intrigued by the prospect of owning a faith-based, Christian business in a BOOMING industry, yet still having more time for family than you do right now? Get in touch with us to begin your Franchise Discovery Process!

We still have exclusive franchise territories for sale. But they’re going quickly, with several states entirely sold out.

To see what’s still available where you are, please visit our franchise website for more information.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

Get the Inside Scoop on Footprints Floors University with Jon Jarvis and Chris Curtis!

When it comes to home improvement franchise support, Footprints Floors has always been in a league of its own, but now we’re taking things one step further for our new Franchise Owners! This July, we launched a new educational resource, Footprints Floors University for all our Franchise Owners.

Introducing Footprints Floors University

A new online training platform available to all new and existing Franchise Owners, Footprints Floors University takes much of your Owner training process online so you can access it anytime and from anywhere.

It includes our custom New Owner education material, a library of prior training webinars, and courses from leading industry associations.

As part of our Franchise Owner training material, we now provide complimentary access to the entire National Wood Flooring Association’s (NWFA) training library and the National Tile Contractor’s Association’s (NTCA) training library.

As an added perk, we’ve also negotiated discounts on their certification programs.

Usually, the NWFA programs cost $35 per course, $300 for certification, and $50 per year to maintain the award. We’ve brought this down to $0 for a course, $150 for certification, and $25 a year to renew it.

The NTCA’s certification program usually costs over $1,000. We’ve brought this down to around $250.

And remember, you can access all their training programs whether or not you want to go for a certificate.

This is a one-of-a-kind deal. There’s only one other company in the world with access to NWFA training programs. And Footprints Floors is the only company to offer both NWFA and NTCA material.

What are the NWFA and the NTFCA?

Here’s a quick primer for our prospective Franchise Owners who are new to the flooring industry.

The National Wood Flooring Association is the hardwood flooring industry’s leading professional organization.

It’s joined by just about every sector involved in the industry, including manufacturers, distributors, retailers, consultants, and of course flooring home service providers.

It provides industry-recognized technical education with over 200 individual courses and numerous certificates, granting the title of NWFA Certified Professional.

The NWFA also throws regular trade shows and expos, making it a great networking source.

The National Tile Contractor’s Association represents natural stone and ceramic tile contractors and installers.

The NTCA is the leading global tiling association and highly influential in the industry.

It doesn’t throw trade shows, but it does hold regular workshops, training webinars, and other industry-advancing initiatives. These include work safety advice, installation recommendations, insurance programs, and best practice guidance.

The NTCA also provides educational training courses, along with a Certified Tile Installer program.

What is training like through the online university?

Jon Jarvis decided to make our training process even more flexible and accommodating than before by shifting much of the education online to the Footprints Floors University platform.

This way our Franchise Owners can get by with less in-house training at our headquarters, not to mention get a jump on their flooring franchise training even sooner than before. 

Franchise Owners still come to our Denver headquarters for an initial two weeks of training before they launch. But instead of being left on their own, they will have access to our comprehensive online university.

And our Owners can get a head start on training by completing some before they even arrive for their initial session in Colorado.

Footprints Floors University is stuffed with exclusive training material.

Not to brag, but Footprints has great relationships with our industry’s professional associations. That’s why we were able to license programs from the NWFA and NTCA instead of creating all our own material.

Jon says, “it was actually just a call that we had already planned with the NWFA about reducing the annual membership fees for all of our owners. We approached them asking if there was any way we could get access to their training videos within the membership that we already have.”

Jon, Chris, and Founder Bryan Park were able to work out a deal to provide you with their library and they helped us work out an agreement with the NTCA as well.

We encourage our new Owners to go through the NWFA’s Certified Sales Advisor program, which should take around 30 hours. 

With this, you’ll be able to qualify as a fully certified sales professional with deep expertise in the hardwood flooring industry. (Far more than most.)

If you’re coming from a white-collar profession, you can rest assured. With this training, you’ll be well equipped to work with homeowners and able to get a great running start in your business.

We think it would be a great idea for our existing Franchise Owners to take this course as well. It will still be valuable, even for an experienced flooring Franchise Owner.

And just to reiterate, all these education courses are provided free to you. And they are also free to anyone else working within your flooring franchise.

Many of our more established Franchise Owners already have sales professionals working for them. If you do, you’ll be happy to know that all your employees can access the Footprints Floors University as well.

Footprints Floors University doesn’t just bring you up to speed on how to run a flooring franchise. It also offers recognized association with the industry’s leading professional organizations.

How Industry Associations Can Help Your Flooring Franchise

We want you to take full advantage of this resource. There’s plenty of industry content for you to dive into when you have time.

But you can also use our discount to get certifications and place them on your website or use them to enhance your credibility.

Jon says, “It adds a level of professionalism to your franchise. It’s a feather in your cap.”

Chris Curtis says, “We do want our Franchise Owners to become NWFA Sales Certified. Even on their own time. It’s good for us, it’s good for them, and it’s good for the Footprints brand.”

“Even if you’re not the badge type, you can have them on your website and be one of the few certified hardwood flooring guys,” Chris continues. “Most hardwood flooring guys – unless they just have the initiative on their own – aren’t really concerned about the NWFA. They’re more worried about making their next truck payment and those types of things.”

Keep in mind, that we’ve slashed the rates on NWFA certificates. This is a massive advantage over independent business owners who would need to pay the full price for an association’s membership, the training courses, and the certificate itself.

Many simply opt not to and forego the benefits of branded credentials.

An NWFA Professional Certification is an easy way to set yourself apart and enhance our flooring franchise’s brand. As usual, feel free to fit any extra training in on your own time.

You can also use your membership for networking. The NWFA and NTCA certifications carry weight in this industry.

There are many opportunities that are only available for certificate holders. One is simply that you gain entry into the association’s professional network.

If you have an NWFA certificate, the association will list you in its industry guide and its “Find a Professional” search tool. This listing in itself will generate qualified business leads.

The NWFA also provides active certificate holders with promotional materials and endorsement badges for advertisement.

To make sure their certified professionals are on their A-game, the NWFA gives out technical publications with the latest industry updates.

Also, please be aware that certain flooring manufacturers prefer having NWFA certified professionals install their materials. If a customer wants one of these brands, an NWFA badge will up your chances of landing them.

A Footprints Franchise typically does far less tiling work than wooden flooring. But there are still plenty of resources you can leverage from our relationship with the NTCA.

The NTCA focuses heavily on education and furthering member businesses. They aim to give their members practical help and tools. If the hands-on workshops don’t interest you, check out their leading reference manuals, tiling industry business insights, and regional networking events.

You may find the networking events to be the most valuable.  The NTCA is well regarded by those in the home building industry, including architects and designers. Members are listed in the NTCA membership directory which many use as a referral source.

Leveraging high-impact partnerships, relationships, and networking have been key tools in Footprints Floors’ rapid growth.

Own a Flooring Business that Gets You to the Next Level

Certifications through these reputable associations are strategic resources you can use to position yourself and gain influence in your local community. A reputable flooring franchise backed up by third-party badges is a much safer option for homeowners than an independent service provider with no credentials.

These partnerships raise our Franchise Owners to a higher level and everything you need is provided for you, right within Footprints Floors University, once you are awarded a Footprints Floors territory. 

Want to check it out for yourself? There’s just one way to get started- visit our franchise website today to take the first step in your Discovery Process!

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

Stay-at-Home Denver Mom Owns a Semi-Absentee Franchise in Tampa!

Can This Stay-At-Home Mom of 7 Own a Flooring Franchise in Tampa… and Still Have Time for Family??

They say the busiest people are the most likely to get even more done. But owning a flooring franchise, while homeschooling seven children and helping out a children’s theater takes busy to the next level. Who can possibly run a successful home improvement franchise while still having the time to manage a large family and all their activities?

Meet Tiffany Matthews.

Tiffany lives in gorgeous Denver, Colorado with her husband Nate and their seven children. And, as of pretty recently, she owns a plum, faith-based Footprints Floors franchise territory in sunny Tampa, Florida.

Wondering how that’s possible?

Well, Tiffany won’t actually be handling day-to-day operations herself. As a semi-absentee Franchise Owner, she will work behind the scenes to grow her Footprints Floors empire while her brother-in-law Dan Wheeler takes care of the day-to-day operations.

“We’re building a home in Florida,” Tiffany says. “It’s a second home for us. Our partner [Dan Wheeler] already moved down to Florida. So, he’s down there now, full time.”

Tiffany plans to expand her daily role with Footprints Floors in the future when the children are older. But for now, she wants to spend her time with her family and the local community.

“I’m home. So that’s my primary job and I network a lot as a mom,” says Tiffany. “I’ve been a dance teacher and I’ve dabbled in dance ever since. I’m currently helping with our kids’ Youth Theater program.”

Tiffany is pretty active in her Denver community. In fact, that’s how this all came about. Footprints Floors started in Denver, and our corporate office is still headquartered there. It’s where Founder Bryan Park lives with his family. And Tiffany and her husband Nate happen to be close friends with the Parks.

“We’ve actually known Bryan and Kelli Park for over five years. And Kelli runs a theater program where we work together. When my kids are in Youth Theater, it’s with Kelli Park.” Tiffany says. “We really love Bryan and Kelli so much! Just as people I really enjoy them and we’re very involved with their family. I saw her last night and the night before. I’ll see her tonight and tomorrow.” 

A Franchise Opportunity With a Foundation of Friendship

The two families first met at church and have enjoyed a growing friendship ever since. During this time, they’ve witnessed the growth and challenges that Bryan faced while building Footprints Floors Christian Franchise.

“We met them before they started franchising. When we were getting to know them, they told us about what he was doing with Footprints,” Tiffany says.

“As Bryan was starting to figure all that out, he would talk to my husband and work through some of it. And Kelli would tell me about the stresses of the ‘wife’ part of all this and we’d chat about that and pray with her,” she says. 

Tiffany and Nate have had an inside view of Bryan’s development of Footprints, and have literally witnessed the flooring franchise get built from the ground floor up! Naturally, this piqued their interests.

“We’ve known about Footprints for a really long time, and we thought it sounded like such a great, amazing opportunity,” she says.

“We loved everything about the business model. But we’re like, there’s just no way we can do that in our life right now,” Tiffany added. “Until this past May when we were able to talk with Dan, and everything just kind of lined up perfectly – we’re like, yes, we can finally do it!”

Semi-Absentee Franchise…Total Involvement!

Footprints Franchise Owners need to be passionate about their businesses and very involved. But this doesn’t necessarily mean doing all the day-to-day work.

Tiffany’s brother-in-law coming on board to handle the daily, more hands-on work meant that she could become a semi-absentee Franchise Owner without sacrificing her important time at home with family.

“We were all hanging out for our son’s 13th birthday, and Dan was talking about his job, and how he just wanted to do something different,” Tiffany says. “Everything clicked into place within a couple of weeks! We’re just amazed at how everything lined up perfectly.”

Thanks to her close relationship with Bryan and Kelli Park, Tiffany knew quite a lot about Footprints. But we still put her through our structured, New Owner education process. It’s designed to teach new Owners the ins and outs of running a flooring franchise, give them a roadmap for growth, and get them started quickly. 

“We did everything the way everyone else would. We definitely knew a little bit more about it, but Nate and I didn’t know the actual day-to-day [responsibilities]. Finding out the day-to-day of how to run this business just got us way more excited!” Tiffany says.

“The massive amount of support we have is amazing. Every time I learn more, I’m blown away. I just got a call this morning when I was driving my kids to a school program, about Angie’s List leads and things like that. All this stuff is already set up for us, so we really just kind of jump in and go.”

Own a Flooring Franchise With Outstanding Support

Those leads were generated by our corporate support office. Our industry-leading call center is one of many ways we support Franchise Owners and help their business grow. 

Not having to be on-site to do her own business development is one of the things making it possible for Tiffany to be a semi-absentee Franchise Owner.

“We’ve owned rental properties in the past. We’ve looked at doing a franchise before and it just wasn’t a great fit, or we didn’t love the model. We just like that there is so much support with Footprints! I know Bryan and Kelli’s vision behind wanting to be involved and to be mentors, not just sit back and collect a paycheck. We really appreciate the heart behind that.” Tiffany says. 

“My husband has a very entrepreneurial mindset, and he doesn’t ever like to put all his eggs in one basket. I’ve always tried to stay sharp on some level so that if something ever happened, I’d be able to help support our family. So, we’ve always looked at other opportunities,” she added.

The Matthews family has been ready to take this step. They only needed a business opportunity that was practical and feasible for their lives.

Until her family is ready to move to Tampa, Tiffany can keep an eye on things from her home in Colorado. 

“I prefer more of what Dan is doing. But our seven children are still being homeschooled and we’re raising them,” Tiffany says. “We’re still trying to figure out life between Colorado and Florida, how this looks for now, how we can support the business from afar, and how to be there to support in person when we can.”

We Make it Easy to Own a Flooring Franchise that Doesn’t Own YOU!

This is still Tiffany’s franchise. She might not be pulling up to homeowner consultations or overseeing subcontractor crews right now, but she can do quite a bit from afar.

“When I’m in Florida the plan is that I’ll be doing sales and stuff with Dan when I can. We’re just trying to figure out how that looks. A lot of the numbers, bookkeeping, and things like that will be done here, remotely in Colorado,” Tiffany says.

“Dan’s already down in Florida. He’s coming back to Colorado to do more training for a couple of weeks before we officially launch, but they just closed on their house and moved their family out there. And we’re just finishing up the last couple of things before we officially launch.”

Tiffany can take things over whenever she’s ready. Until then, a semi-absentee franchise investment in a different location is the perfect way for her family to prepare for their long-term future.

And after devoting almost two decades to raising her children hands-on, it’s a change that she’ll enjoy.

“I absolutely love construction. My parents were general contractors and were building homes and so I kind of grew up around the housing construction and stuff, and I just love it,” she says. “I love the HGTV channel, I love watching home improvements, and I love everything that has to do with it. It’s my dream to be able to work with my hands and do housing stuff.”

Tiffany isn’t sure when that will happen. But in the meantime, she’s thrilled to be joining her close friends in their business.

“It’s huge to be joined with the company we so strongly align with. We align with their morals, beliefs and everything Footprints stands for.”

“We know the people we’re essentially working with and that’s huge to us,” she adds. “We don’t have fears with them, especially after being there firsthand through the years. We know the nitty-gritty and we’ve talked about it prior to being Owners.”

“Nate and I are actually pretty similar in age to the Parks. I just look at my friend Kelli and have to say how proud we are of them with the company. It’s so great seeing the explosion of the company,” Tiffany added.

“And it’s pretty exciting to be able to hitch our wagon to theirs and just run together. It’s kind of surreal.”

Are you ready to invest in one of our exclusive flooring franchise territories but not ready to do all the daily management yourself? A semi-absentee franchise opportunity might be right for you.

Please visit our franchise website to discover how you can secure your flooring franchise today.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

After Several Exciting Careers, Michael Goff Finds His Dream Home Services Franchise!

We love partnering with faith-based Franchise Owners who share our values of hard work and outstanding customer service, and we couldn’t have found a better franchise partner than our latest Owner, Michael Goff. He’s industrious, great with people, and values good customer service.

Michael was just awarded two of our exclusive floor installation franchise territories, in Akron-Canton and Cleveland, Ohio. Unlike many of our Franchise Owners, Michael isn’t quite new to home services. He first got a taste of the industry as a child, working in the family business.

“Starting at the age of 8 and continuing through my summers while attending college, I worked at my grandfather’s local hardware store which had been in business nearly 100 years,” Michael says. “Not only did I learn all the facets of home improvements and remodeling, I got the opportunity to interact with the public and learn the importance of customer service.”

His grandfather ran an old-school American hardware store, the kind where the owner and workers take time to make a personal connection with customers, going the extra mile to provide excellent service. “I enjoyed the ability to help customers with their home repair problems and seeing the satisfaction when they were able to successfully complete a repair on their own, well before YouTube videos were available for assistance,” Michael reflected.

“As time permitted, I would even go to customers’ homes to help out with projects free of charge since they were purchasing the material and tools from our family business.” His grandfather’s approach to business was right on. In fact, the business was thriving and available for Michael to purchase later on. But by that time, he was already developing a prosperous engineering career.

Life Before Footprints Floors Franchise

“I worked my first six years out of college for an Akron-based Civil Engineering firm involving construction project management of multimillion-dollar telecommunication facilities throughout the US,” Michael said. “Lots of travel and nights away from home. I spent the next six years of my career working in the transportation/freight industry for Yellow-Roadway Corporation (YRC).”

“My career ended with YRC when the Akron-based corporate office was closed with all corporate functions moving to the Yellow Freight headquarters in Kansas City. After a long discussion with my wife, we decided it was not worth relocating given we had two young children and both our families were local.” “Timing worked out well as the natural gas “shale” boom was just taking off in Ohio. I got a job with Chesapeake Energy. I enjoyed this as I got to spend most of my time outside in the beautiful environment of Eastern Ohio, managing vendors and contractors to meet aggressive construction schedules, and interacting daily with private landowners.”

“However, in 2018, Chesapeake Energy sold their Ohio operation to a small firm, and I was eventually laid off in early 2021 due to department restructuring. I took this loss as a blessing in disguise, and shortly thereafter decided to look at options to start my own business where I could personally control the success and outcome of my future, unlike my former roles with large corporations.”

Trading Life on the Road for Life at Home

After years on the road, Goff was more than ready to reclaim his time and bring stability back into his life. “I originally considered starting my own consulting business, home improvement construction company, or purchasing a local company for sale,” Goff said. “However, I quickly realized the benefits of the franchise model and that statistics show the success rate of new franchises is nearly 90% compared to only 20% for new stand-alone businesses.”

And so, the hunt was on. Goff reached out to an industry consultant for assistance. “Footprints Floors was one of ten potential franchise opportunities presented by Marc Camras of MVision Consulting (a franchise consultant) after I completed a detailed Self-Assessment Profile survey,” Michael recalls. “Footprints Floors made the final cut of three to be investigated further.”

Franchise consultants like steering their clients to Footprints Floors. As a solid, affordable choice that almost anyone can step right into without sacrificing their personal life, our flooring franchise has proven to be an ideal fit for Franchise Owners from all walks of life. And with limited floor installation franchise territories available, these opportunities won’t last forever.

“I gravitated towards franchise opportunities in the construction, remodeling, and maintenance space due to my past experiences,” Goff said. “Footprints quickly rose to the top because of its relatively low initial investment cost (compared to other opportunities), low operating/overhead costs, and a great opportunity for a flexible work schedule to improve my work-life balance.”

A Home Services Franchise With a Familiar Feel

We asked Michael why he preferred our industry over alternatives like the restaurant industry. As it turns out, the idea of our home services franchise just felt familiar and right to him. “My background from working at the hardware store along with my experience in the engineering and construction industries,” Michael says. “Also, the home services industry has proven to be one of the very few industries resilient during the pandemic times, something that other industries were not.”

That’s right. Our Franchise Owners get to work from home, on their own time, with no forced shutdowns, sudden layoffs, or irate boss threatening to yank them away from their families and back into the office. It’s the perfect arrangement, especially during this time in history. This might be why Michael wondered if our home services franchise was too good to be true. “I originally struggled with understanding how the business model could be so successful and profitable in such a short period of time,” Michael said.

A Franchise that Fits

Having great personal chemistry is important at faith-based Footprints Floors Franchise. Sure, it’s just a floor installation franchise, but all our executive team members and Franchise Owners work closely together. Before we bring a new Owner on, we need to make sure we’re right for each other. And Footprints Floors Founder Bryan Park still personally meets every potential Franchise Owner.

“Bryan is humble and down to earth. He did an excellent job answering all of our questions in an honest and straightforward manner. He also has a great sense of humor and good comraderie with the executive team, something that is rare in a leadership role,” Michael said.

This is a fast-growing floor installation franchise, but Founder Bryan is still in control and running it according to his business mission. Michael found this unique, well-executed mission impressive. “It’s the ability to expand and replicate a successful business model to markets throughout the US, while using entrepreneurs/owners who don’t necessarily have any experience in flooring or the construction industry,” he said.

Learning about Footprints From Franchise Owners

It was time for our corporate team to step in. Michael first got to speak with his development director, who gave him a full explanation of why Footprints is so successful. Once Brian Knuth walked me through the detailed numbers and I was able to validate the success by speaking with several Franchise Owners, it was no longer a concern,” Michael remarked. “One thing seemed consistent with all my research and discussions, as long as you follow the proven business model, the business will be successful. This was also validated by the success of several Owners who had no previous background in flooring or construction.”

Michael talked with existing Franchise Owners while he considered his investment. At Footprints, our Franchise Owners support each other’s growth and success. This begins before they’ve even signed on. Michael experienced our world-class support throughout his new Owner Discovery Process. And during his Discovery Day, he got to connect with our executive team and see what a day-in-the-life would be like. 

“The executive team was so friendly and personable during Discovery Day, unlike anything I have ever experienced in the corporate world. My wife and I immediately felt welcome and got the sense of a “small family-orientated” business despite the current size and growth of the Company,” Michael said. “Although just meeting the team, our conversations and interactions were similar to ones with family and friends. We enjoyed how the Discovery Day experience mimicked a typical day as a Footprints Owner.”

But what really won him over was Park’s personal vision for American entrepreneurs. A vision that Michael shares: the ability to make a good life for yourself and your family by building a solid business that creates real value for other people. “Owning a Footprints Floors franchise will allow me to go back to my roots, working as a small business owner requiring excellent customer service and helping make homeowners’ dreams come true,” Michael said.

“My past employment roles all had 24/7 operations, requiring me to be continuously on-call during nights and weekends with little to no time away from work. I am looking forward to the ability to have evenings and weekends free without worrying about unexpected phone calls or problems at work.” Owning your own business while getting evenings, weekends, and personal time-off is rare. But Michael has this now, thanks to our floor installation franchise.

“Also, our 14-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter are both actively involved in traveling sports and I am excited to have a flexible work schedule allowing me to attend,” he says. This is what makes Footprints tick. And the values that drive Bryan Park are the same ones that drive all our Franchise Owners. “The ability to control my own destiny will be the main reason for success, something that was not attainable in my previous careers,” Michael said. “And knowing that my dedication, hard work, and effort will ultimately lead to personal and family success, both financially and from a work/life balance perspective.” If you’re looking for a way to get your time back and make a good living, our floor installation franchise might be the right opportunity for you.

Please visit our franchise website for more information and to see what’s still available in your desired area.

From Owning a Christian Boarding School to Starting a Flooring Business – Meet the Brandons!

Some of our top Franchise Owners had no intention of starting a flooring business before discovering the faith-based, Christian Franchise Footprints Floors business opportunity. They were drawn to us by the lifestyle our flooring franchise can provide and the common values we share. This is especially true for two of our newest Franchise Owners, Bob and Susan Brandon from Springfield, Missouri. The Brandons were looking for two things in their life: “flexibility and freedom.” They found that, and more with Footprints Floors. As their son Shea gets set to take on the day-to-day operations of their new territory in the Ozarks, the Brandons took the time to share their personal journey with us and let us know why starting a flooring business was right for them.

Looking For a New Legacy

Bob and Susan Brandon have devoted the past twelve years of their lives to serving others in their Christian boarding school. “For the past 12 years, we have owned and operated a Christian boarding school for troubled boys on our 31 acres in Southwest Missouri,” Susan says. “Bob was also a public-school teacher and football/track coach and then taught in a large co-ed boarding school. In between those two jobs, he installed kitchen cabinets.” Their ministry is a labor of love, but it’s demanding work that doesn’t allow them any downtime. As rewarding as it may be, the Brandons are ready for a new season of life that gives them more time for their personal lives, family, children, and grandchildren.

So, the Brandons started looking for a new business. One they could still do together. Ideally, one they could pass on as a legacy for Shea and their other children. “We initially looked at a small drive-up convenience store. It looked like a great idea and is successful in the East. It sounded like fun!” Susan said.

It’s quite common for people to initially go for something that seems fun or relatable, such as a retail store or a restaurant, when considering business ownership. Fortunately for the Brandons, reality set in before they made the wrong financial commitment. “We quickly realized that this would require both very early and late hours, weekends, employees, a storefront, inventory, and more,” Bob said. “When we first began thinking of starting a new business, we expected to be doing all of the work, so we didn’t totally discount this kind of franchise.”

Finding Footprints

The Brandons needed less stress in their lives, not more. They turned to Franchise Connect Pro for some expert advice. “We connected with Sue Derene about this time and she was able to focus our minds on what we really wanted which was no storefront or inventory, 9-5 and Monday-Friday hours, and few or no employees,” Susan said.

“We had no idea anything like Footprints existed. We assumed it meant Bob would be out installing floors. We are thankful Sue kept steering us towards Footprints. She knew it really fit us before we did.”

Even with our growing popularity, faith-based Footprints Floors Franchise is still something of an insider’s secret. If you aren’t tapped into the industry, you might not be aware of everything we have to offer. But Sue knew that starting a flooring business would be perfect for the Brandons.

 “It allows us much more freedom and flexibility than what we currently have with the boarding school. We wanted a business without a storefront and low overhead. We wanted something our son could do with us and eventually take over,” Bob said.

Great Floors, Great Values

It isn’t easy to build a lasting business from scratch. Especially not if you plan to enjoy your life in the meantime. The Brandons needed to know exactly what starting a flooring business would mean for their lives, and if it would fit their values. They discussed this with our executive team during their Discovery Day.

“We knew we liked the business model and were optimistic about our prospects as owners. So, meeting Brian [Knuth, Franchise Development Director], Chris [Curtis, Franchise Development Manager], Jon [Jarvis, Director of Onboarding and Support], Rachel [Simpson, Director of Operations], etc was very reassuring,” Bob said. “We felt we are like-minded business-wise but also in our view of family and Christ-like servanthood.”

That’s pretty personal. But Footprints Floors Christian Franchise thrives because of the common values we share. Sometimes this is as simple as a mutual belief in hard work, good character, and excellent service. Other times, we get a little deeper.

The Brandons got to know who Footprints Floors Founder Bryan Park is, as an individual and a leader. “Bryan was open with us about his faith and his desire to be a servant to his family, his business, and the owners of all his franchises. That is the kind of man anyone should want to be working with. He is also obviously super competitive which in our minds is a plus,” Bob said.

Starting a Flooring Business With Strong Support

That’s pretty personal. But Footprints thrives because of the common values we share. Sometimes this is as simple as a mutual belief in hard work, good character, and excellent service. Other times, we get a little deeper. The Brandons got to know who Footprints Floors Founder Bryan Park is, as an individual and a leader. “Bryan was open with us about his faith and his desire to be a servant to his family, his business, and the owners of all his franchises. That is the kind of man anyone should want to be working with. He is also obviously super competitive which in our minds is a plus,” Bob said.

Bryan maintains close leadership over Footprints. He directs where this company is going while letting our passionate Franchise Owners handle the day-to-day aspect. And centralized corporate support keeps everything running smoothly. “The growth of Footprints Floors is phenomenal. We are excited to be getting in on this now. Specifically, the call center is not something we saw offered by any other franchises we looked at,” Susan said.

The Brandons had a few concerns about starting a flooring business. But understanding our comprehensive back-end support alleviated those. “The call center immediately stood out as something we would appreciate. The fact that the marketing is also taken care of is very important to us,” Bob said. “We are very impressed with the customer service aspect. We want to provide an exceptional service to homeowners and it seems that’s what Footprints Floors is all about.”

They don’t need construction, marketing, or customer service experience. Bob and Susan already have everything it takes to start a flooring business with our franchise system, and are ready to enjoy owning and operating a much more low-stress business than their previous position. “Running a boarding school for troubled kids is rough. We deal with families in crisis constantly. We did not work with underprivileged and abused kids but basically indulged children with parents who lack the basic parenting skills,” Susan reflected.

“These families are train wrecks and we mostly tried to stay out of the way of the train wreck and do what we could to change the lives of the boys. We feel that doing this work for as long as we have, disgruntled homeowners will be a breeze. Or if not easy, at least not anything we can’t handle.” She adds with a smile, “The homeowners don’t live on our property, right?”

Our Customer-First Approach

Footprints Floors has an excellent customer satisfaction track record. And our call center takes care of most of our Franchise Owners’ customer support. It’s just another thing the Brandons don’t have to worry about. We’ve thought of everything that goes into starting a flooring business, including things that may be intimidating.

“Finding crews was the one aspect that concerned us. We have always run our school without hiring people we didn’t know already and Bob is pretty hands-on,” Susan said. “We are not experienced with the interview process and are not super comfortable allowing others to dictate the success of our business. Having to hire crews is a little nerve-wracking because we are at their mercy to an extent.” 

Fortunately for the Brandons and other new Franchise Owners, learning tips and tricks to hire quality subcontractor crews is just one of the many areas they’ll have support with along their journey. Starting a flooring business is unfamiliar territory for Bob and Susan, but Bryan Park perfected a system that we can plug any hardworking Franchise Owner into. “The fact that Bryan is also an owner of his own franchise was huge for us. When he reassures us that crews are not something we need to stress over, we can believe him because he has done it himself,” Bob said.

The challenges the Brandons have surmounted leave them well prepared for anything that starting a flooring business may bring. “Our business was pretty successful. For most of the 12 years, we had a waiting list. We did it all on our own and with very little advice or any mentors; not to mention a franchise to back us,” said Susan.

Time to Enjoy Life

Our team is dedicated to helping the Brandons start their new flooring business. It won’t take them long to get up and running and, with our famously flexible work schedule, Bob and Susan will finally have some time off. “Bob has worked every Sunday since we opened the school. We take the boarding schoolboys to church with us but he works all day after church, so we are not able to have family get-togethers on Sundays, or if we do, Bob isn’t able to come,” Susan said. “With eight children and 5 grandchildren, those Sunday family get-togethers are the one thing we plan to enjoy for sure!”

This is the Footprints Floors mission at its core: putting faith-based, Christian business ownership in reach for people with full and enriching lives. “Again, Bryan obviously puts his family first and his drive to succeed second. That doesn’t mean you can’t do both well and that’s what we intend to do,” said Bob. “We can’t wait to both be able to spend time together as a family but also run a successful and prosperous business.”

We’re proud to welcome the Brandons into the Footprints Floors family. They’re just some of the amazing people who are making this franchise thrive. Are you interested in starting a flooring business that doesn’t require you to generate your own leads, stock up on inventory, or hire employees? We’re still awarding great people with exclusive flooring franchise territories. If you’re driven to succeed and have an entrepreneurial mindset, you’ll fit right in. Take a look at our website for more information.

Jeff Barnwell’s Top Reasons for Investing in his Wilmington, NC Floor Franchise

“The support will help provide the work, but the ability of the franchise is ultimately up to me.”

One of the things we like most about our faith-based, floor franchise is how well it suits independent-natured people. People like our newest Franchise Owner, Jeff Barnwell, from historic Wilmington, North Carolina. Jeff isn’t new to self-employment. He currently works as a subcontractor. He’s also put in time in business operations and small business ownership in the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and chemical industries. 

Jeff’s always looking for ways to improve his work and life. That’s one of the reasons he decided to step out of subcontracting and back into business ownership. “I hope this will help in working with the labor and the quality of work,” he says. Jeff found our floor franchise on his own after putting in a bit of legwork to find a great investment opportunity. “I was looking for small businesses for sale,” Jeff says. “I came across one posted in multiple areas and determined the franchise. I contacted the listing party and started from there.”

Jeff’s Path to Floor Franchise Ownership

Jeff was interested in the home services industry. It’s a little more familiar to him than owning and operating a restaurant franchise. He had a few concerns in mind and saw more advantages in a floor franchise.

“Flooring is something that everyone has and is a basic necessity.  It is something that people understand and is not a trendy fad. Flooring changes over time but should never be obsolete,” Jeff says. “It’s more sustainable. Additionally, there’s lower upfront investment along with the potential to still have family time and take vacations.”

Jeff had his eye on what his long-term future would be. Not only in a booming industry but also what his future would be like within our floor franchise.“Running a business and not having a boss is great. At the same time, that can be very hard and stressful since there are no co-workers to turn to or to bounce ideas off,” Jeff says. 

“I like the franchise model primarily for the support. It’s a great medium between not having a boss and still having support when needed. Footprints Floors has a great system of support and vision.”

Strong Support = Strong Results

Our floor franchise’s support and vision come from the top down. Footprints Founder Bryan Park is an active leader. He takes the time to individually connect with each new Franchise Owner. Jeff met Founder Bryan during his new owner Discovery Day. During this time, Founder Bryan shared his vision for this company with Jeff.

“The Founder was available and spoke to everyone personally. There is a big difference between being accessible and being too important for the simple Franchise Owners,” Jeff says. “I have worked for companies and always enjoyed and worked harder for those where the CEO would interact compared to those where the CEO felt he was on a different level than the average worker.”

Footprints Floors works as a team. When we refer to ourselves as a family, this is what we’re talking about. Jeff’s experienced how difficult franchising can be when you invest in a bad system or with the wrong people. “In the past, I started with another franchise that could not even provide proper training and no one was interested in picking up a phone to help,” Jeff says.

“Footprints Floors has a large staff available and a great system using the chat rooms to help answer questions and link with others and industry specialists.” Jeff was able to thoroughly evaluate our support structure for himself.

We don’t expect our Owners to take our word for it. His Discovery Day gave him a close look at the ins and outs of owning and operating our floor franchise. “Discovery Day was good in that we saw a very, very quick scope of typical work and met several members of the team,” Jeff says. “Additionally, I liked being on a Discovery Day with a small set of other potential Owners.My group was three [candidates], including me, and all of us signed on to be Franchise Owners.”

A Different Franchising Experience

This close look gave him the insight he needed to move forward. Jeff saw that Footprints Floors isn’t like other franchises. Owning our floor franchise would be a much different experience. “There are others that I could see myself owning and enjoying, but the marketing seemed to be more up to me than providing support,” Jeff says. “With Footprints, there’s a good focus on marketing and finding leads.”

“The support will help provide the work, but the ability of the franchise is ultimately up to me.” Jeff’s put his success in his own hands. But, make no mistake about it, he’s fully backed by our entire team. And that starts with Founder Bryan Park.

Bryan’s involvement doesn’t drop off once Franchise Owners are invested. He’s right there every step of the way. “There’s accessibility and a strive to keep improving,” Jeff says. “I see him responding to chat questions regularly and I feel like I could pick up the phone and call him if needed. He continues to look for ways to make Footprints Floors the #1 flooring company in the country.”

This isn’t just big talk. Bryan Park is ambitious, with a clear vision to go to the top. He shares this freely with our Franchise Owners and brings them in for shared success. “Metrics are in place and guidelines to overtake the industry,” Jeff says. “The initial proof is from the owner and original Franchise Owners in Colorado, but the guidelines have been proven instead of just guessed to work.”

Floor Franchise Ownership With Time for Family

So, what does this really add up to for Jeff? It’s great that he’s signed on with Christian Franchise Footprints Floors early in our journey. But there are still immediate benefits to be gained, for him and his family. “I have the ability to set my schedule as needed to be available for my family,” Jeff says. “Being a small business owner, it is great to be able to move around some of the work to do what you want.”

“You can go eat lunch with your wife and then perform administrative work at 11 PM if you want. I hope to continue the ability to pick up kids or attend events as needed and move around the work. I would rather miss an hour of watching TV than my daughters’ sporting events.” We’re glad to give Jeff Barnwell a way to run his own business while he stays active and present for his family.

Are you interested in faith-based business ownership, without the risks of going it alone? Our floor franchise provides excellent support and unmatched schedule flexibility for Franchise Owners. You can invest now, get up and running quickly, and still have time for your daily life. We still have exclusive territories available, but they’re going fast! Please visit our floor franchise website to see if your preferred territory is still available.