How the Franchising Model Helps Aspiring Entrepreneurs Avoid Bumps in the Road on the Path to Successful Business Ownership

Jimmy Zeski always knew that he wanted to be his own boss. But what he didn’t know was how to make the leap from aspiring entrepreneur to successful business owner.

At first, he tried to go it alone by starting his own residential painting business on a part-time basis while he was still working a traditional nine-to-five job. But he quickly found that growing your own business is difficult when you aren’t able to focus 100 percent of your time and energy on it. Despite his best efforts, Zeski was never able to build the base of steady clients that he needed in order to leave his corporate job behind and take over his business full time.

So he started researching options that would allow him to take his business to the next level. That’s when he came across franchising opportunities.

The franchising business model wasn’t completely foreign to Zeski—he had considered opening up a franchise when he first launched his painting company years before. But after doing his due diligence and researching a few different brands, he decided to convert his independent business into a Fresh Coat* .

“I first looked into Fresh Coat three years before I officially started with them. But at the time, I decided to start my own company as a test to see how well it would perform. There was definitely potential there, but I needed more support in order to be successful,” Zeski said. “I decided to partner with Fresh Coat because of the way they take care of their clients. The brand is extremely customer service oriented, and it was clear from day one that they wanted my business to thrive.”

By joining a proven franchise system, Zeski gained access to tools and resources that he never had before. From marketing materials to business plan templates, he was able to rely on a support system that didn’t exist in his independent company. Zeski says that support system—on both the corporate and franchsiee level—made all the difference in getting his business off the ground.

“One of the best things about being with Fresh Coat is how open the lines of communication are between everybody in its system. Whenever I run into a problem, I can send an email to other franchisees and can expect to have an answer within in minutes from someone who has experienced the same thing. That level of support is invaluable as a business owner,” said Zeski.

By breaking into the franchising industry, Zeski has been able to eliminate the majority of the problems he faces as an independent business owner. That’s not to say that running a franchise business doesn’t come without its own set of challenges. However, Zeski says that those problems are better ones to have.

“My biggest obstacle to overcome now is not having enough hours in the day. We have a lot of clients that are coming to us for our quality painting services, and it’s challenging to hire enough top tier painters to keep up. That’s definitely a good problem to have,” said Zeski. “Making the move to Fresh Coat was definitely the right decision for me. Now I can focus on growing and scaling my business full-time while having the backing of a strong brand behind me.”

Cassie has over five years of digital and traditional media experience. She joined NLA after working as a television news producer in both Milwaukee and Chicago, and now specializes in aligning strategies across the board for her clients, ultimately building buzz and telling compelling stories through content marketing, social media, digital campaigns and traditional PR. Cassie has a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast and Electronic Communications from Marquette University.

In her spare time, Cassie enjoys traveling and exploring what new cities have to offer in addition to spending time with her friends and family.