How Steve Smith’s Craving for New Experiences Lead Him to Become a Franchisee With Footprints Floors

For some, it’s difficult diving into the pool of the unknown. For others, such as Steve Smith, new challenges and adventures are what they hunger for.

For Smith, leading flooring restoration and installation brand Footprints Floors embodied just the right kind of opportunity. Footprints Floors, founded by CEO Bryan Park in 2009 and praised for its high-quality customer service, unparalleled professionalism and franchisee-supporting low overhead-, quick-ROI model, welcomed Smith to the franchisee family when he opened his first location in Mesa, Arizona in August 2019. While Smith’s clients may think he’s had years of background experience in the flooring installation and restoration industry based on the immense success he’s had thus far with his business, the only knowledge he had about floors going into the Footprints Floors brand was “that they belonged on the bottom.”

Like other franchisees with Footprints Floors, Smith didn’t need previous flooring restoration and installation experience to find success with the brand, as comprehensive and best-in-class training is part of the journey to ownership.

**Before becoming the newest member of the fast-growing Footprints Floors, Smith grew up in southern Minnesota. The son of a father who served in the U.S.

Army and a mother who was involved in the medical emergency field, Smith initially pursued a role in health services When Smith was just 16 years old, he became Minnesota’s youngest certified EMT and began working with his parents for a local ambulance service. At 17, Smith joined the National Guard in South America and reported to his dad, who served as his section chief. Smith’s background in the medical field came in handy when he eventually entered the Air Force as an OB-GYN at 21 years old.

“I assisted in delivering 260 babies and delivered two by myself,” said Smith. “It was an experience that I’ll never forget.”

After leaving the Air Force, Smith worked as a bellman for a Hilton Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky and moved to Arizona shortly thereafter with the intention of attending the University of Arizona. But, his plans quickly changed when he was offered a store manager and human resources specialist position with Circle K, an Arizona-based convenience store chain. Smith worked his way up in the company and eventually began working for Circle K’s corporate office in Phoenix as a franchisee training manager.

Smith then dipped his toes in the retail industry when Circuit City offered him a promotion and regional sales manager role. When the company closed the locations he was overseeing, Smith was able to take some time off from work to figure out what he truly wanted to pursue next.

One of Smith’s neighbors convinced him to interview for a sales position at Wrigley. And at first, Smith wasn’t all that sure he would thrive in the company. But when the topic of M&Ms was brought up during the interview, Smith lit up.

“I’ve been a collector of M&M paraphernalia for 20 years now, so when I found out that Wrigely did work with M&Ms, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to work with the brand,” said Smith.

After working with the brand into 2018, life changes led him to want to take control and become his own boss. That’s when he began working with a franchise consultant to discover new business opportunities.

“I wanted to create my own foundation for my future instead of allowing a corporation to decide the direction of it,” said Smith. “The franchise consultant I was working with presented me with healthcare options, convenience store options and then there was one that he showed me, which was completely out of my wheelhouse—Footprints Floors.”

**The idea of franchising intrigued Smith because leveraging a proven business model meant that Smith would be able to learn from his chosen franchisor. According to Smith, the Footprints Floors team was nothing but supportive and helpful during the three weeks of training he completed. For someone like Smith who doesn’t have years of background experience in the flooring restoration and installation industry, having a supportive team committed to new owner success is critical.

Footprints Floors provides its franchise owners with over 100 hours of training—56 hours in the classroom and 67 hours of on-the-job training at its corporate headquarters. From learning how to hire a reliable and professional crew to learning everything one may wonder about the flooring industry,** Footprints Floors sets its franchisees for nothing but success**.

**Exceptional training is only one differentiator among several that set Footprints Floors apart from the competition. Another—and one of particularly high value to franchisees—is the brand’s call center. Footprints Floors’ call center specialists manage new business and lead generation, answer new business calls and organizes customer appointments for its franchisees.

“Footprints Floors provides its franchisees with expert contractors, comprehensive training and a call center that supports us immensely,” said Smith. “The team is always ready and happy to help because they want you to succeed. For me, that’s something I really needed as someone who didn’t have prior experience.”

One of Smith’s favorite parts about being a Footprints Floors franchisee is meeting a variety of experts in the field and learning from them. Currently, one of Smith’s clients is completely remodeling his bathroom, so Smith is doing work alongside other experts in different home service industries. It may be a crowded bathroom, but Smith enjoys picking these experts’ brains and learning from them.

“I find it neat to be able to meet other professionals through jobs that I’m working on,” said Smith. “It’s a great learning experience to collaborate with plumbers or carpet experts. I’m always asking questions and trying to find out more about the different niches in the industry.”

According to Smith, in order to be a standout franchisee, it’s vital to connect with your clients and focus on building a relationship. All through discussing floors, Smith was able to find out that one of his clients was a seventh grade teacher for 30 years. Smith emphasizes how important it is to learn more about a client’s lifestyle in order to choose the proper floor type for them.

“There’s something you can connect on with everybody, no matter what,” said Smith. “I show interest in my clients to find out more about their lifestyle, needs and wants, which all translates to the type of floor that’s best for them. I want to provide the best look, functionality and price to all my clients.”

From serving in the military to managing a convenience store to becoming a Footprints Floors franchisee, Smith has truly done it all. While Smith’s roles have changed throughout his professional career, there’s one piece of advice that he’s carried with him through each endeavour.

“The single most important piece of advice that I’ve ever received was from my father,” said Smith. “He told me, ‘Find something you like to do and then find someone who is willing to pay you to do it because everyone deserves to do something they’re passionate about.’ With Footprints Floors, I have.”