How LIME Painting Supports Its Franchise Owners Through Ongoing Support and a Robust Executive Team

LIME Painting, the high-end home painting service that delivers custom coatings, restoration solutions and more to luxury homes, was founded on a simple belief: that quality painting services should be about more than the product, but instead center a comprehensive, purpose-driven relationship between client and business.

However, the purpose-driven focus doesn’t simply stop at the customer—it continues to the franchisee. Founder and CEO Nick Lopez infuses every aspect of the business with LIME Painting’s values—easily found within the LIME acronym, which stands for Love, Integrity, Mission and Excellence. From exceptional customer service to thorough and ongoing franchisee support, to Lopez, the franchise model became a way to extend the LIME brand to other owners and foster a business relationship that would allow for collaboration, growth and community for all parties.

Kevin Schramm is one of LIME Painting’s newest franchisees. Schramm, whose background is in car sales and insurance, initially entered the franchising world on the recommendation of a colleague. He had always wanted to own his own business, and an insurance brokerage firm in the area was looking for franchisees.

“I had a background in insurance, and they were able to provide me with connections to insurance companies and associations that I wouldn’t have been able to get without their help,” he said. “While they offered some support with the ins-and-outs of establishing a brick-and-mortar company, they also offered in-house financing, which unfortunately that was their demise.”

Unfortunately for Schramm, while that first foray into insurance franchising didn’t turn into a lucrative business opportunity, it served as a valuable learning opportunity to what he wanted from a franchise.

“It really opened my eyes to what to pay attention to in the future,” said Schramm, who was introduced to LIME Painting by a franchise broker.

Schramm performed his due diligence, and ultimately chose LIME for the chance to be part of an exciting, emerging brand—and because he saw the support model come to life in the way the franchisor designed the business model. The entire research process took about six months from start to finish, but Schramm instantly felt invested in the brand following his first conversation with Lopez.

“I’ve never been in the painting industry, but right away Nick was a crucial resource in understanding the system,” said Schramm. “The due diligence that is recommended is superb and made me feel way more comfortable with the process like I wasn’t being sold anything. Being completely new to the painting business I knew I needed a lot of training and guidance from someone established in this field which Nick has proved he is an expert in both customer service as well as the home improvement industry.”

“The mentorship aspect has been invaluable. There are tons of training resources to continue our learning, and at the same time, I got to know everyone in the organization on a much deeper level,” said Schramm. “I love being able to be on the ground floor of an emerging business, while also having the support and mentorship of an experienced executive team. The management team is a great asset because they know so much about developing a brand.”

But how does LIME—a young brand that just signed its first franchisee this year—provide a full suite of experienced C-level executives to its franchisees? It’s all thanks to Shepherd Brands, a group of franchising consultants hired by Lopez that provides coaching, development and training for emerging brands.

“We’re a robust executive team created specifically to meet the growth goals of our franchise clients and assist them through the onboarding process,” said Rick Grossman, Chief Executive Officer of Shepherd Brands. “It’s not unusual for new franchisors to be faced with things they’ve never seen before. Most companies have to be at 50 to 100 units before they are able to build out a full C-Suite. The benefit of a consulting firm like Shepherd Brands is that emerging concepts with only a few units have access to a team that has been in the industry for decades.”

While Lopez clearly had faith in Shepherd Brands, opting to partner with them in the interest of LIME Painting’s development, the same high regard can be said to be held by the Shepherd team.

“Nick is an amazing leader himself,” said Grossman. “He really believes in being the absolute best, so he did a tremendous amount of work and research before he even started franchising. Nick is the only client I’ve ever had who got a certified Franchise Executive designation before he even started franchising.”

Grossman elaborated, saying that Lopez himself embodies the kind of commitment to due diligence often associated with savvy franchisees.

“Nick proved out his model and its profitability and even drafted his first FDD with a franchise attorney before we even met,” said Grossman. “Once we connected, we were able to start coaching him developmentally and onboarding all his franchisees.”

Consulting groups like Shepherd Brands also provide access to conferences and networking opportunities that new franchisors often wait until they’re out of the brand incubation years to attend.

“One of the franchise brands we work with has only one franchisee, but they are already attending our upcoming annual conference,” said Grossman. “Typically franchisors wait until they have a more sizable team of franchisees before attending their first conference, and something like that can take years. With a Shepherd Brands group, franchisees get exposure to valuable events like this conference from the very start.”

Schramm’s opening isn’t far off, and he feels confident about it thanks to the guidance provided by Lopez and the Shepherd Brands team.

“As we get closer to our opening date, Nick and I communicate more and more,” said Schramm, a stark contrast from his previous franchising experience wherein he lacked the necessary support to make the business successful. “I think Nick and the executive team are only to continue providing the best possible support.”