Footprints Floors CEO and Founder, Bryan Park has seen unprecedented success since founding the company in 2008. He recently sat down for a Q&A with 1851 Franchise to discuss his story and some of the secrets to creating the best flooring franchises.

Bryan is not your typical CEO. He has truly been through it all, whether it be serving in the Air Force, selling floors, or getting cheated out of $35,000 during the recession. Bryan’s first interaction with the flooring industry was in 2005. After his time in the Air Force, he and his family decided to relocate to Littleton, Colorado. One evening he and his wife returned home to find the floors of their new home destroyed on account of their puppies. In need of a quick fix, they hired a flooring company to fix the floors. After talking to the contractor about the industry and earnings for some time, Bryan, who happened to be in need of work, talked to the company’s manager and secured himself a sales job. 

Bryan fit in well with the role and things were steady for several years until the recession hit in 2008, when the company stopped paying its employees. He went six months without a paycheck, but remained optimistic. The company still owed him $35,000 in W-2 pay, but after being told, “Hey, sorry, but we’re not gonna pay you,” from his boss, Bryan knew it was time to take things into his own hands. Although he realized that it wasn’t the best time to start a business, he enjoyed working within the flooring industry and believed it could truly “benefit from a more sophisticated approach and higher level of customer service.” He followed his heart and started Footprints Floors in late 2008. 

At first it seemed as if his gamble was a poor decision. For the first 60 days of being open, Bryan and his employees didn’t land a single project. He, his brother-in-law and his father-in-law went around putting flyers on doors in a desperate attempt to secure some kind of business. Finally, in February of 2009, their luck changed and Footprints Floors landed its first job. Another project quickly followed and Bryan decided to start some more legitimate marketing efforts. Suddenly, he and his crew were getting projects left and right! The floodgates were opened and by the eight month mark, Footprints was getting five to six jobs a day. The business was taking off and Bryan knew that he was on the front lines of something big. 

Fast forward to 2019 and Footprints Floors currently has eight franchises across the US, with 12 more expected by the end of the year. The sky is the limit for the company, which is now one of the best flooring franchises in the country. At the same time, it actively remains a flooring company for sale, as more and more Franchise Owners sign on. Bryan has big aspirations, hoping to sign on with 20 more Franchise Owners in 2020. 

While Footprints Floors’ quick success may seem unheard of, Bryan knew exactly what he was doing and that it would have profound success within the flooring industry. In his own words, “We brought an intelligent white collar perspective to an industry that’s been historically blue collar. The flooring industry has really been an industry of old-school guys who didn’t market or use computers, so as a whole, it was lagging behind the times. We’re really on the forefront of introducing proven technology like email to an industry that refuses to adapt and change”. Bryan didn’t just start a new company. He offered a fresh point of view to a stale industry, helping it to quickly become one of the best flooring franchises and ultimately leading Footprints Floor to where it is today. Furthermore, Bryan put an emphasis on providing exceptional customer service, something that keeps its customers coming back. He and his employees strive to not just get the project done but to get it done right.

Footprints Floors is not your typical flooring company for sale. Its direct business framework avoids unnecessary costs and cuts out the middleman, helping Franchise Owners be profitable from the get go. “We also have a business model that positions our franchisees to start earning money immediately after training,” says Bryan. “Unlike competitors, we sell direct-to-consumer so we don’t have a showroom, the need for real estate expenses or storage of materials, and we aren’t limited to any brands when it comes to completing a job”. The Footprints Floors model offers no buildout or HR costs, low overhead costs, and a very low cost of entry. Other companies within the industry simply cannot offer this.

One may think that they would need a construction or flooring background to be a successful Franchise Owner, but the flexible business design of Footprints Floors makes it easy for anyone to own a successful, profitable flooring franchise. “Only two of our current franchisees have a construction background,” states Bryan. “In general, we’re looking for those who are people-oriented—there’s a lot of human interaction in our job between sales and project management—and we want owners who are growth-oriented”.

Bryan’s story proves that franchising with Footprints Floors can lead to a successful, rewarding career and the franchise continues to grow at an unprecedented rate today. If this sounds like something that would interest you, visit our franchising site!

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