How Footprints Floors Built a Model Marked by Thirty Percent ROI Amid a National Recession To Become a Premier Flooring Franchise

It’s safe to say that not just anyone could start a flooring company in the middle of the 2008 Great Recession—but then again, founder and CEO of Footprints Floors Bryan Park isn’t just anyone.

After serving our country as a member of the Air Force, Park moved to Littleton, Colorado with his wife and started a family—which included three rambunctious and floor-wrecking puppies and soon several toddlers. Park quickly saw the need for exceptional flooring services, for both his and other families in his community. He began working for a local company in 2005, quickly learning the ins and outs of flooring installation and restoration.

Then the 2008 recession hit.

“In 2008, the company [I worked for] stopped paying all of their people—I went about six months without a paycheck,” said Park. “Finally, they sat us down and told us, ‘We’re sorry, but we’re not going to pay you.’ So I was forced to make a change.”

Park enjoyed flooring and knew how to do it. Despite the challenges he knew he would face continuing in the construction business amid a national subprime mortgage crisis, Park’s Christian faith compelled him to trust that he would succeed—”We named it Footprints Floors after the poem ‘Footprints in the Sand,’” Park said.

Succeed he did: After being unable to land a project for the first 60 days, Park and his team—then consisting of brother-in-law and father-in-law—secured their first job in February 2009. Then another. Within six months, Park was able to build out his craftsmen crew and by the end of year one, Footprints Floors had garnered a net profit of over half a million dollars. Last year, the brand was named a ‘Best of HomeAdvisor 2018’ Winner, a national accolade honoring top-performing home services brands.

Franchise opportunity

So just what makes Footprints Floors a superb franchise opportunity within the flooring installation and restoration business?

A Recession-Resistant Model Thanks to Multiple Revenue Streams

As Park has demonstrated, even amidst housing crises and economic recessions, the need for top-quality workmanship delivered to clients at a fair price persists. Footprints Floors positions its franchisees for success thanks to diverse flooring services including both installation and restoration of hardwood, carpet, tiling, laminate and vinyl. This breadth of services contributes to multiple revenue streams and maximizes the service potential within a given territory.

Industry-Leading Systemization

Footprints Floors represents everything right in the flooring installation and restoration industry thanks to Park’s white-collar approach to a historically blue-collar industry.

“In general, flooring as an industry was lagging behind the times,” Park explained. “We introduced an intelligent, technology-driven model to the space plus modern marketing strategies and have seen great returns.”

Additionally, Park emphasized that Footprints Floors decries all-too-common industry practices of construction projects left unfinished or poorly executed by contractors.

**“**It wasn’t an industry where people cared enough,” explained Rachel Simpson, Director of Operations for Footprints Floors. “In Bryan’s past job, there were people walking away from projects. Bryan always said: ‘You don’t do that; you follow through!’ We want our customers to be happy at the end of the day and we will keep coming back until the job is done and done right.”

**“**We call people back; we show up on time. We’re responsive,” said Park. “These are things that aren’t common in the industry, so if you combine marketing acumen with follow-through, that just puts us in the forefront.”

No Showroom = Attractive Margins

With Footprints Floors, franchise owners do not have to build or lease a showroom nor are they limited to any particular set of brands when completing a job. This translates to overhead that is considerably lower than that of competitors—the average investment range for a single Footprints Floors territory is $65,500 to $91,600, as compared to the $150,000-plus industry average.

The absence of a showroom thus benefits franchisees by keeping costs low and margins attractive. This model also keeps the business home-based and scalable. Owners hire subcontractors for jobs, which allows them to focus on exceptional service and strong managerial leadership instead of navigating real estate and inventory—or worrying about eventual scaling costs.

Franchisee support model

Exceptional Franchisee Support

Footprints Floors has the leading support system in the home-improvement industry. No other private flooring franchise has managed to master or replicate Footprints Floors’ proprietary system designed specifically for their franchise owners; support from executive leadership includes customer service, lead generation and all ongoing support functions.

Footprints Floors does so by leveraging a call center staffed by specialists who manage all new business and lead generation for franchise owners; answer all new business calls; and set customer appointments, scheduling them right into the calendars of Footprints’ franchise owners. Members of the call center have built long-term partnerships with practical and proven lead generation and new business companies, who in turn have helped the brand develop an efficient program for all markets across the continental United States.

The initial training program consists of 56 hours in a classroom and 67 hours of on-the-job training at Footprints’ corporate headquarters in Colorado. Through this comprehensive program, franchisees learn the ins and outs of running a successful flooring franchise, from hiring project crews to conducting estimates. New owners also gain an extensive insider perspective to the flooring industry such that no prior flooring experience is required for business success.

Roi potential

Strong Potential for ROI in a Short Timeframe

Given Footprints Floors’ optimized business model and leading training program, franchisees can ramp up quickly. Typically, Footprints Floors owners are up and running between three to four weeks from completing the discovery process—and, because Footprints Floors has perfected the art of lead generation, owners have customers the very first day they launch their business.

**“**We offer an excellent ROI and lifestyle,” Park said. “For a small investment, our owners can potentially make six figures in their first year. Most franchise models aren’t anywhere close to that. Many of our franchisees recoup their initial investment in six to eight months.”

Park’s estimated timeline could even be considered conservative: System-wide average unit volume sales (AUV) according to the audited FDD were $831,682 with the highest-earning territories at $1,310,389*. That translates to an average net profit of 25 to 30%.

With four units currently sold and four more in the development pipeline for 2019, Footprints Floors is on track to grow to 12 franchisees in 2019, with plans in place to add another 20 to the system in 2020. Given Footprints Floors’ proven model that minimizes overhead and maximizes the potential for competitive returns, there couldn’t be a better time to become a Footprints Floors franchisee.

“I love what I do and I love teaching people how to do what I do,” said Park. “If you can be around your family while earning real returns, I think that’s a win.”

*Gross Sales of the Company-Owned Locations in the Reporting Group During the Reporting Period under Footprints Floors 2019 FDD Item 19, Table 2 were $1,310,389.

*Some outlets have sold this amount. Your individual results may differ. There is no assurance that you'll sell as much