---
title: "Business Observer: Former Lowe’s District Manager Turned Batteries Plus Bulbs Owner Brings Business Leadership Lessons to Franchising"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/13f1e97c-c5d3-4fde-8ddf-63fa3fe3825b
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/business-observer-former-lowes-district-manager-turned-batteries-plus-bulbs-owner-brings-business-leadership-lessons-to-franchising-2711958
category: "Specialty retail"
industry: "Retail"
segment: "Specialty retail"
topics: ["People"]
published: 2020-01-03T03:22:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:30:47.342Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/efb99b30172bcd16f8230947b3d08fed847.jpg
---

# Business Observer: Former Lowe’s District Manager Turned Batteries Plus Bulbs Owner Brings Business Leadership Lessons to Franchising

**TL;DR:** Richard Epps, a former Lowe's district manager, has become a Batteries Plus Bulbs franchisee with seven stores in Florida. He brings business leadership lessons to franchising, focusing on helping his employees thrive as a hands-on owner.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2020-01-03. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/business-observer-former-lowes-district-manager-turned-batteries-plus-bulbs-owner-brings-business-leadership-lessons-to-franchising-2711958).*

## Story

**Richard Epps****, a former Lowe’s employee of 25 years who rose through the ranks to become a district manager for the brand, recently made a career change and is getting his first taste of business ownership as a** **Batteries Plus Bulbs** **franchisee. Epps currently owns seven stores across Florida—in Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo and Tampa—and is looking to open an eighth location between Parrish and Sun City Center in the near future.**

**In a recent profile by the Business Observer Florida****, Epps detailed how he has been able to harness his previous work experience in his new role as a multi-unit franchisee. When asked about his daily responsibilities as a** **Batteries Plus Bulbs** **owner, Epps said his love of being on the floor, helping customers alongside his employees, has proved most valuable thus far. “I did all of the things my employees did because I felt like I needed to do them first,” Epps said. “I couldn’t be effective in helping them if I didn’t know what they did on a day-to-day basis.”**

**Epps****’ biggest focus in his transition from Lowe’s to franchise ownership with Batteries Plus Bulbs is on what he can do to help his employees thrive. He is proud to be a hands-on owner.**

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Retail (sector)
- multi-unit ownership (topic)
- Batteries Plus (company)
- career change (topic)
- franchisee profile (topic)
- Lowe's (company)
- business leadership (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/business-observer-former-lowes-district-manager-turned-batteries-plus-bulbs-owner-brings-business-leadership-lessons-to-franchising-2711958). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/13f1e97c-c5d3-4fde-8ddf-63fa3fe3825b).