Executive Q&A with Certa ProPainters, Ltd. President & CEO, Mike Stone

What about the CertaPro Painters®brand makes it the best painting franchise in the industry?

Simply put, CertaPro Painters® is one of the best opportunities for success. When you buy an independently owned and operated franchise, you are in business for yourself, but not by yourself. I will put our training and support up against any system in the world. We offer passion, energy and expertise to position our franchisees for success.

We play in a $56 billion space. The type of painting that’s profitable in North America—new paint, not new construction—amounts to that number annually. We are the largest player in our space and the most recognized and well-branded painting company on the continent—all with only 1 percent market share. With so much industry fragmentation, to own 1 percent market share is unprecedented, which makes us a leader but also keeps the door wide open for further growth. Now is a truly exciting time to join.

We’re also in the midst of a major technology rollout. We have a new corporate headquarters that really represents where we are going as a brand. We have a vision of what we’re capable of and we are taking steps forward so we’re prepared to support our franchisees in scaling to achieve the most profitable businesses possible, for themselves and for their employees.

Why is CertaProPainters®the best painting franchise to own?

It’s the beauty of being the most recognized and well-branded business—let alone franchise—in the industry. By owning a painting franchise with CertaPro Painters®, our franchisees are able to create wealth for themselves. For me, that’s incredibly heartening to know that we position our franchisees for success in that way.

When you buy a business, the goal is for you to have a built-in exit strategy. Half of the new franchisees who enter our system, buy an existing business.  Our franchisees realize the equity they’ve built up within our network, and then we’re in a position to identify a new business owner who can continue to grow the business should the original owner look to transition. Those individuals entering the system will pay top dollar to buy that business as an asset.

Paint is also the most cost-effective way to beautify and protect your business or home. People want to protect one of their biggest assets.

What plans does the brand have in the coming years?

The future of the CertaPro Painters® organization is rooted in three or four different areas. It begins with lifting up the painting industry. In our jobs as a franchisor and in the jobs of our extraordinary franchisees, we want to transform the space and make it a workplace of choice.

As CertaPro Painters® strives to  become a $1 billion brand, we look to draw more people to the industry. You can develop an incredible career and become a true craftsman. In Italy, painters are of such status. Here, it’s not that way, but it’s something we can achieve through simply delivering an extraordinary experience to anyone who touches our brand. When we knock it out of the park for consumers or for our network, that lifts up our industry as a whole.

Ten thousand Baby Boomers retire every day. They are retiring and don’t want to do the work in or on their homes, so they hire a professional to do the work. Plus, millennials are entering the home-buying market for the first time. There are 90 million millennials—the largest population group in U.S. history—who grew up in a very tech-savvy environment, so generally, they are not mowing the lawn, or changing the oil in the car—nothing that requires use of their hands. This demographic means that, in the coming years, the already surging demand of our services is positioned to grow which allows us to offer more competitive wages, better pay, better treatment and to create social events and traditions— all of which elevate the kind of work a painter does. That’s a really unique opportunity.

What does an ideal franchisee look like?

I think our definition of an ideal franchisee continues to evolve. First, we’re not necessarily interested only in individuals who come from the painting industry. In fact, we love someone with no experience; we want to teach them the CertaPro Painters® way. We’re looking for leaders who want to get great results working with other people. They have strong financial acumen and they want to create wealth and build leaders within their own operations. Our franchisees are pillars of the community. They pay it forward and do what they can to give back locally. Drawing great meaning from the work they do, our franchisees know the world can be a better place and they know they can contribute to that. They know that our company is the very best within the industry—they are a part of something special.

At CertaPro Painters®, we are defining what a contractor experience can be. As we grow, we want to make a difference every day in a space that historically has not been looked upon kindly in the U.S. It’s an incredible chance for us to present the idea of being a professional craftsman or craftswoman and we’re proud to say that our franchisees can do some amazing things with this brand.