6 minute read
Fresh Coat Painters
This Fresh Coat Painters Franchisee
Sarah Ross, a Texas-based owner of the residential and commercial painting brand, has been one of the system’s top performers for two years in a row.
Fresh Coat Painters, the residential and commercial painting franchise under the Strategic Franchising Systems umbrella, offers a low-cost, high-margin business model that trains franchisees on how to find and unite all painters, hire them as employees and provide customers with the security and professionalism they deserve. Since starting in 2004, Fresh Coat has expanded to over 170 franchise locations nationwide and is well on its way to becoming a truly iconic painting brand thanks to dedicated franchisees like Sarah Ross, the owner of Fresh Coat of Marble Falls, Lakeway, Kyle and the Hill Country in Texas.
Prior to franchising, Ross spent most of her career in corporate America, working as a CPA in the Austin area for various start-up companies. “I spent 14 hours a day behind a computer looking at numbers, and I really got burnt out,” said Ross. “I knew I wanted to start my own business, and it was clear I had the time to dedicate to it if I tried — I could put those 14 hours a day towards myself and my own growth, instead of someone else’s.” In 2013 Ross was ready to finally follow her entrepreneurial dreams, but she recognized that she couldn’t do it alone. “I had enough background knowledge to run a business, but I wasn’t comfortable when it came to marketing and sales,” she said. “I was too risk-adverse to start something from the ground up, so franchising was a perfect option.”
With that, Ross said she went franchise shopping and analyzed concepts across a wide variety of industries. Soon, Fresh Coat came across her radar online based on her specific goals, geography and financial metrics.
painting franchises available, Ross noted. Franchisees’ operating costs are significantly lower and their potential profits much higher, with a competitively low franchise fee, small branding and technology fees, royalty minimums and no training fees. For that lower investment, Fresh Coat franchisees like Ross don’t need to be painting experts or focused on reinventing the wheel — the team provides the business model, trusted brand name and support so they can be successful with Fresh Coat.
“Painting felt like an industry that I could learn more about and would be comfortable with,” said Ross. “It wasn’t super-techy, and I knew I’d be able to handle the business model. I was also looking for something that could withstand an economic downtown — COVID-19 actually helped the painting industry.”
Even during market downturns, demand for painting remains strong. Over the past two years, Fresh Coat has proven to be a uniquely pandemic-proof business, especially as homeowners spent more time investing in home services during lockdown. In fact, the brand grew its systemwide sales by 44% year-over-year, saw six record-breaking sales months and opened 30 new locations in 2021 alone.
In terms of standing out in the thriving painting industry, Ross says there were several benefits of joining Fresh Coat. “I liked that it involved background-checked employees and paid project-by-project,” she said. “That encourages the good painters to stick around and protects the owner from unnecessary expenses. I wanted to sell something I could believe in as a homeowner and have a model behind me that could produce good results for customers.”
When it comes to support, Ross said Fresh Coat offered the marketing model and the sales coaching that she was looking for when initially analyzing franchise concepts. The Fresh Coat team is proud to be a marketing company first, and a painting company second. The brand’s goal is to drive more leads than franchisees can handle, compelling them to grow their staff and profits over time. Fresh Coat’s dedicated HQ marketing teams not only drive residential leads, but also provide access to National Accounts that are already signed, sealed and delivered.
Since officially opening her first territory in 2013 and second in 2019, Ross says growth has been strong and consistent, largely thanks to a principle taught by Fresh Coat during training: the rule of threes.
“The rule of threes is something all owners are trained on,” said Ross. “Always answer the phone within three rings, go on the quote within three days and be able to start a project within three weeks. I consistently use that as a principle to know when I need to scale the business. When we got too busy to go on a quote in three days, I knew we needed to hire an estimator. When we couldn’t start a project in three weeks, I knew I needed to hire my next crew. Fresh Coat had the model in place — I just followed it.”
In terms of local marketing, Ross says she did the same thing: simply followed the Fresh Coat model. “We have been doing grassroots networking, reaching out to realtors, interior designers, etc. We built a reputation in the community with referral partners,” she said. “When COVID hit, more people were spending money on their homes, so we continued to get those phone calls and the current real estate market has continued to thrive. We are in a highgrowth area of the U.S. and of Austin, so our population is growing exponentially, and the market always has more potential.”
All of these factors, Ross says, explain why she is currently one of the top-performing franchise owners in the Fresh Coat system. And looking ahead, she says she has no plans of slowing down.
“My goal is to become the first $3 million franchise with Fresh Coat,” Ross said. “It wasn’t my plan to achieve it this year, but based on our trajectory, anything could happen.”
Now, with plans to cross the 200-unit mark this year, the Fresh Coat team is looking to help more passionate and qualified entrepreneurs like Ross to achieve their goals while expanding the brand’s footprint across the country. The Fresh Coat team has identified several markets that are primed for franchise development, including Florida, California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Missouri.
“In order to be iconic, we need to be industry-leading in our customer service, our franchise system, our business model and our size,” said Fresh Coat president Tara Riley. “In five years, we want to be the number-one painting company in the U.S. We know that means we have to find the right franchisees, help them grow profitable businesses and continue to expand our footprint. Now, as we achieve those goals faster than ever, the time has never been better to join the Fresh Coat team.”
The total investment required to start a Fresh Coat franchise ranges from $53,850 to $76,750, including the $44,900 franchise fee. For more information, visit: https://freshcoatfranchise.com/
