Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of all Things considered franchising, powered by Scott Milos, franchisecoach.com. I am your host, Scott. Scotty Milas. All things considered franchising is a podcast dedicated to the entrepreneur. We have guests on who talk about franchising, investing in a franchise franchise, independent business owners as well, but talk to an audience that is interested in researching and exploring business ownership.
Scottmilosfranchisecoach.com is an organization consulting organization I started many, many years ago that helps people research, explore the opportunities that are out there, primarily in the franchising space, helping them build a criteria, a roadmap, and then, of course, introducing the potential opportunities that are available that meet that criteria that we formed.
I'm really thrilled to have a great guest with us today.
Somebody who has really placed themselves within the industry, knowledgeable, understands franchising, and knows the importance of franchising and how it plays in the entrepreneur role of people getting into business. And that is the president and CEO of Certipro, painters, Michael Stone. Michael, welcome to the show.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: Scotty. I'm thrilled to be here. And of course, I love talking franchising because that's what's created an incredible livelihood for me and my family.
[00:01:33] Speaker A: Yeah, we were just chitchatting before, and you're now part of a billion dollar organization. If I get that right, you are in your 25th year or 24th year, I think, if I got that right, and you've done everything that is possibly or potentially possible within a franchise organization, maybe share a little bit of that story with our audience, because it's a very compelling story and it says a lot on the power of franchising and what it offers, not only on the franchise or side, but the franchisee side as well.
[00:02:15] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks, Scott. I guess the first thing I would love to say about franchising, but specifically certipropaners, is an organization that when I started as a sales associate over 24 years ago, that it really embodies practicing continuous improvement. So they continued to give me opportunities to get better at my skills, whether it was leadership development for me as an individual or just challenging me around this incredible space that we call franchising, which is the power of being in business for yourself, but not by yourself. And I started out working with a franchise owner in 1999 as a sales rep, and boy, did I see what an incredible fragmentation that the painting industry had and why it was going to be a Runway of opportunity for me personally and for our brand.
[00:03:14] Speaker A: That's interesting.
The service based business, home services B. To B, B to C.
I know Certipro kind of dabbles into both of those models is a very rewarding opportunity for somebody, if somebody is willing to put the effort in. There's the fallacy about franchising, that when somebody signs on board, pays their franchise fee, that the franchiseor is going to flip the light switch on and run the business for them. And all of a sudden, you're going to be inundated with customers and calls and proposal requests. But franchising is not like that. I mean, you mentioned being in business with somebody not by yourself, but talk about Certipro as a business model, those legacy franchisees you have that have built wealth, and again, a legacy for themselves and their family, because I think that's important about what franchising offers to potential entrepreneurs.
[00:04:19] Speaker B: Well, the first thing when you're looking at a business concept that I think that Certipro has done really well and I've been blessed to be a part of it, is you're not going into the painting business. You're going into the leadership development business. And we're looking for people who have a propensity to want to get results through others. And so when you buy a Certipro franchise, certainly you get a business model, you get all the software, you get all the marketing support, you get the leadership development like they invested in me. But more importantly than all that is we give our franchise owners a roadmap or a blueprint on how to scale a professionally managed painting operation. And what it does is it kicks off incredible cash flow. So we create financial success. We own 2% of the market share. Let me say that again, Scotty. 2% of all the painting in North America is done by Certipro. Yet we're the largest player by a factor of four. So talk about a Runway of growth opportunity in terms of being able to grow market share. And then we deliver extraordinary brand experiences to our customers, our franchise owners, and the 1500 associates that they employ and the 5000 painters that work in those businesses. And so you buy a franchise to have a roadmap or a blueprint on how to scale and create wealth and equity for you and your family. And we do that better than anyone else in the painting space. And I would argue we do that we're on the verge of becoming a billion dollar brand. We do that as well as anyone in the property services space. And our mission is to lift up the painting industry, to transform the contractor space by making certapro painters the workplace of choice for all those different constituent.
[00:06:09] Speaker A: Groups we're talking to Michael Stone, who's president and CEO of Certipro Painters. Michael, you know, you brought up an interesting point about that. You're not looking for, per se, the painter. You're looking for the delegator. You're looking for the person who can manage the processes and the systems that you have set up and have proven to be successful within the organization, within the brand.
If somebody in our listening office, there's listening audience, I should say there's somebody probably out there saying, hey, look, the painting industry, it's a saturated market. There's the mom and pops, there's the sole proprietor. And then you have organizations like Certipro.
What is a compelling reason for somebody to consider a certipro? Or maybe say, hey, you know what? That mom and pop route is better for me because franchising is not for everybody.
[00:07:12] Speaker B: 100% right. Scotty. The reason why it's so compelling is painting is the most cost effective way to beautify someone's home or business. Let's be clear. So in the best of times, people invest in their homes, and in the worst of times, they have to protect their most valuable assets. And there's not a more cost efficient way to do that than to put a coat of paint on something. So if you're a business owner and you need to draw people to your space, you want it to look clean and fresh and professional. Painting is going to be a real vehicle that you need to use to consider as a business owner for your home. Come on, man. We're talking about the most valuable asset people own is their home. And real estate property continues to be at an all time high. The equity people have in their homes continues to be enormous, and so people want to continue to invest in protecting those properties that they live in. And now more and more people have this hybrid work life where they work at home, and they get to spend more time at home than they did 1015 years ago, where you had to go in the office every day. So we've seen a surge in opportunity in our space, and we continue to draw people who go, wow, that's a pretty compelling business model. And the margin that you can make on a paint job because it is so fragmented, and people are looking for certainty.
Professionalism, a brand that has a reputation. We offer world class net promoter scores that rival Apple, Southwest Airlines, Ritz Carlton. So we're doing things in the painting space that other property services companies just can't compete with us in terms of quality, reputation, service, and professionalism. And that's the last part of Certipro Pro is professional. And in a world of little or no certainty, Certipro painters creates quite a bit of certainty.
[00:09:20] Speaker A: The organization itself, Certipro, has pretty much stuck to what it does best. I mean, you've really become that leader in home services, home painting.
I know you dabble in commercial as well, but you've really stuck to your core principles and services, not only to serve your franchisees, but to serve your customers. Where a lot of brands have brought in additional revenue drivers. I call them complicated parts to the puzzle. It's kind of like, okay, you got the border of the puzzle. Now we're going to throw in some more pieces for you to figure out how to get that whole piece of the puzzle together for other opportunities, additional revenue sources. What is it about Certipro as an organization that keeps the phone ringing, so to speak, for franchisees and people coming into the business for the first time so that they're generating that revenue and building that legacy? It has to be the operational and marketing support, I would think.
[00:10:26] Speaker B: Well, those are two things, and I'll speak to that in a second. But to be very clear, it's a $60 billion pie that we play in and we have less than a billion dollars of the painting that gets done. So the fragmentation is unprecedented compared to other industries. Right. So people in today's world are looking for a more reputable professional company. But when you buy a certipro franchise, we have 85 support people for the 365 franchisees. So you're going to get, I mean, do the math on that. What is that? It's like a five to one support ratio.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:11:04] Speaker B: We invest in people. So you're going to have a business coach, you're going to have a marketing expert, you're going to have a world class trainer for residential. Oh, by the way, we're going to do almost $400 million in commercial painting. So let's not let you.
[00:11:17] Speaker A: Wow. Okay.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: You're going to be able to scale and grow both a robust residential and commercial painting business. We're going to give you training for all of your staff members.
We have a world class training facility, 30,000 sqft, which includes 8000, we call it Soda City, where we train people on the estimating and the painting and all of the substrates that they might come across from all walks of life across North America. So you're not just getting a business in a box, you're getting shoulder to shoulder support. And again, the most important thing for Certipro is ensuring that our franchise owners have financial success, because if they're making money, they're going to invest and want to grow.
And that, remember I told you about that path or that roadmap on how to scale a professional business. So if they're making money, they're going to want to add more staff. If they're making money, they're going to want to invest in growing their market share. If they're creating happy customers, great brand experience, you're going to get a ton of repeat and referral business, and the flywheel of momentum continues to allow them to scale. And then if we provide you great leadership skills like Certa Health, and help you develop yourself as a highly leveraged performance leader, then you're out of the day to day. And now you're building a lifestyle for yourself and your family, and your business is kicking off the cash flows that allow you really to realize your ultimate personal vision and your ultimate professional vision. That's a great day.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: No, I think it's great. And I think that as a consultant working with clients, I try to train my clients in their validation of the brand is to dig into the weeds about the support and what they're doing to help you be a successful leader business owner. It isn't about just the service, it's the inner cord, tapping into what you do best and capitalizing on that. Which leads me to another question.
Franchiseors have what's called quantitative and what I think qualitative things that they look for in a prospect, a potential franchisee. The quantitative is self explanatory, especially on the financial side. We're looking for people that have this and net worth liquidity. A lot of that is to make sure that somebody's coming into the business or investing in the business and can live day to day as they build their business. But there's the qualitative side that the character, the background, the leadership skills, the drive. What type of qualitative skills are you seeing that come from your successful franchisees?
Is there a commonality here? Look, every franchiseor scratched their head and said, hey, I never thought this guy would make it, and I'm glad we rolled the dice. But where are you saying those qualitative things coming from as far as a successful franchisee?
[00:14:29] Speaker B: Yeah, really good question. So first off, if you have a really good business model, a lot of different people from a lot of different walks of life, like engineers, sales executives, operations managers, we do really well with the mid level officers in the military, lieutenants, captains, colonels that have put their 20 years in and are really ready to start a career. People who are used to discipline and organization, former firefighters, police officers, those are also great walks of life, but I've seen it come from all walks of life. What matters most is, are you assertive? Are you able to communicate in a direct and confident manner? Not aggressive. Aggressive is forcefully pushing your way. Are you assertive? Do you overcome objections? Do you have some tenacity in your personality type to deal with some adversity? People thrive in our model if they have that background. Do you have a sense of urgency? Do you want to get things done and solve problems?
That really is a recipe for success. But the most important attributes that matter to being a successful certipro owner is, do our core values, do they resonate with you? And is that how you'd want to raise your kids or how you live your life, deliver what you promise, have pride in what you do, respect the individual, practice continuous improvement, embrace the possibilities. We have behaviors that support all those core values. That isn't just hyperbole, it's how we live. It makes it easy to be a franchise. Or when franchisees embody those core values, we get along really well. You'll hear it in the validation. When you call and talk to our franchisees, they're going to say, follow the program. We love the culture. We love the people. They embody everything that I embody, and that is a recipe for success.
[00:16:30] Speaker A: Right. It's interesting because in a lot of the coaching that I do with my clients, I tell them it's one thing to put yourself in a position to follow the system and the best practices, the playbook that has been put on your desk as a franchisee. But the other part of this is to be open to changing you and doing things maybe a little bit differently. Instead of saying it this way, maybe when you're with a client saying it another way, and it's okay, because some people can't accept that criticism, I guess, or positive criticism to get to a different part or to become a little bit more successful. They take it personally, but I think as a successful franchisee, you have to be able to not only delegate, but also know. It's kind of that old saying, take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth, so to speak.
[00:17:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you bring up a good point there, Scotty. The one thing I would say is we've sold millions of paint jobs. We have a proven process on how to sell a paint job effectively. And if you follow that process, you're going to have success. Now, to be clear. Franchisees push us, are assertive, want to get better every day. If you look at our FDD, our franchise productivity grows every single year. And that's because we do practice continuous improvement. During COVID we did 5000 virtual estimates and sold 2500 paint jobs during the month of April when no one could leave their home. Yet we were still able to sell a ton of paint jobs because we had to do it differently.
But that was just our franchisees, the corporate team working together to figure out how are we going to make it work during this crazy time. During the great Recession in 2008 2009, we knocked on doors and generated 40,000 cold call leads. Right post COVID, people were jumping in the boat and we had more painters working for us than anyone else. So we had the capacity to do all the paint jobs that our customers wanted where other people were having to wait 3456 months. Right? Wow. Just understanding the needs of the market, embracing the possibilities, one of our core values, practicing continuous improvement, one of our other core values, allows us to be nimble, to train in a rapid way. And then if the franchisees really are open minded, then they can apply that learning very quickly and succeed in whatever the challenging environment that they're dealt. And again, like I said, we own 2% of the market. Imagine being the largest player in your space by a factor of four. You own 2%. If you want to grow at 20% next year, no problem. You want to grow at 30%. It's about how much are you willing to invest? What's your appetite for growth? What's your leadership skill set? Because we will give you the tools and resources to be able to get where you want to go because the market is there for the taking. It's just really a matter of you embracing what it's going to take. Right?
[00:19:41] Speaker A: Look, to me, it's a legacy brand. It checks off a lot of the boxes. For potential franchisees.
There's a fallacy now, or misnomer in the franchising space, a word that circulates that it kills me. And that's that semi absentee model. It's, can I invest in a business and hire somebody to run the business? And I would gather that in a business like yours, Certipro, is that, yeah, maybe three, four years down the road, when you've built the business up, you can hire somebody to handle more of the day to day and take some of that semi absentee definition and implement it into your work life balance. But if you want to build a service business or a retail business in franchising you've got to put the time, effort and energy into it.
You roll the sleeves up. There you go, man. That's it.
[00:20:32] Speaker B: You got to roll the sleeves up. But make no mistake, when you've scaled a professionally managed business and you've had success and you've built a great leadership team and you continue to provide opportunities for your people, they're going to want to take more off your plate anyway because they're going to want more and want to earn more. Right? And every time you have a high performer and you do that, it does get you further removed from the day to day. And the power of franchising, the power of certipro is leveraging through others, right? But you do have to know what good looks like, and that is by doing the do, getting good at that, understanding what it's going to take, and then adding those people following our path, the roadmap or blueprint. And you can extract yourself from some of that, increase your quality of life and have certainty versus working for a Fortune 500 company that may get acquired by somebody else and you're doing your job phenomenally well and you get laid off, you're like, what the hell just happened to me?
How did my job just get cut when I'm a high performer? Take control of that. That's why you look at going into business for yourself and why Certipro can be your partner.
[00:21:47] Speaker A: Michael, we appreciate your time today. We've been talking to Michael Stone, president and CEO of Certipro Painters. Michael, if someone wanted to find out more information about Certipro website, contact information.
[00:22:00] Speaker B: Ww certapro.com, that's where you start. You can click on franchise opportunities right on our homepage and they'll get you connected that way. Or just get an estimate from Certipro. We're in almost every major market and see what the experience is like. It's a complimentary free estimate just to see our business in action and learn more about it firsthand.
[00:22:26] Speaker A: Interesting.
Well, Michael, thank you very much again, speaking with we have been speaking with Michael Stone, president and CEO of Certipo Painters. I am your host of all things considered, franchising, Scotty Scott Milas. You can reach me at 860-751-9126 if you think you'd like to be a guest on the show. If you have an interest in learning more about business ownership, feel free to go to scottmylasfranchisecoach.com and fill out the inquiry form. Or again, give me a call at 860-751-9126 until next time, this is Scotty Milas again. Michael, thank you very much for your time, and we hope to get you back on somewhere down the road just to give us an update on wherepro continues to grow.
[00:23:07] Speaker B: Thank you.
