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.