Faith-Focused Entrepreneur Continues to Help and Educate Her Community with Footprints Floors Franchise

Renee Gray ran an in-home care company for the past 11 years. Gray and her husband, Peter, decided to retire from the business, but they weren’t ready to stop working. When looking for their next business opportunity, they knew they wanted to step away from senior care and came across Footprints Floors*, which specializes in installing hardwood floors, tile floors, backsplashes and laminates. After building her own business from the ground up, Gray knew this time she wanted to work with a franchise that would give her support and a blueprint to follow. Gray aligned with Footprints Floors because of its faith-based approach to business and mission to serve others. 

Gray is excited to work in the flooring industry to help residents beautify their homes. Earlier this month, she opened her franchise where she offers services along the Suncoast from St. Petersburg to Springhill and hopes to continue expanding throughout the area. Her mission is to educate her staff and residents in the area about all the different options available in the flooring industry, as well as how to take care of your floors when you invest in them. She wants to continue providing jobs to the community as she expands and wants her business to be a place where people are happy to work. 

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Renee Gray: For the past 11 and a half years, I ran an in-home care company where we sent caregivers into senior homes to help them with daily tasks. We built that from the ground up and had a lot of success. After that was over, we were basically retired, but we weren’t ready to stop working. So we decided to look for something different than senior care, and we came across Footprints Floors. They’re very big on faith and serving others while taking care of themselves, as well, and it really aligns with us. Even in connection to the senior business we had, baby boomers are going to have to replace their carpets with floors that will work better with their walkers and other aging assistance tools. This is a great service industry to be in. 

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Gray: Coming from a business where we had no corporate support, this is wonderful. When I was in the senior business, I saw many senior franchises and spoke with some franchisees, assuming they received a lot of support from corporate. I was surprised to hear they didn’t. With Footprints Floors, however, you get a lot of corporate help, and they’re all very involved to ensure we’re set up for success.

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Gray: I like that corporate is very faith-based, and they’re very helpful. I feel like more people are going to be removing their carpets, especially in Florida with the humidity. There are just so many beautiful choices to add to your home when it comes to floors, so I'm excited to get people connected with designers to make their homes look beautiful. A lot of people don’t have time to deal with these kinds of things (flooring), so I’m excited to make people in the area happy to have something very unique in their homes.

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth? 

Gray: I hope to continue expanding throughout the area and find good installers. I hope to continue to be able to educate my team and give them a means to be able to provide for their families. I also want to educate families on the designs they choose and teach them how they can take care of their floors, which is a big investment. 

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Gray: Being a successful businessperson means that I have to continue growing and learning about this industry, but I also need to educate my clients about all the different options they have. I feel like people don’t have enough time to keep up with cleaning their homes all day, or taking care of their floors, so I want to educate the community on the variety of options that are currently available.  Also, I’m excited to make people happy and be part of the creation they choose to have in their homes. 

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming a franchise owner?

Gray: I think Footprints Floors is the way to go. You always have someone there helping to get you started, and they’re very supportive. 

ABOUT FOOTPRINTS FLOORS

Upon his return to Littleton, Colorado, after serving in the U.S. Air Force, Bryan Park noticed that Denver’s flooring industry lacked a higher level of customer service and sophistication. So, in 2008, he founded Footprints Floors, which today specializes in installing hardwood floors, tile floors, backsplashes and laminates. With more than 160 territories, Footprints Floors offers franchisees a robust support system, including a call center, flexible hours for work-life balance and a low cost of entry with outstanding economics. Franchisees can expect to make a total initial investment of $78,505 to $113,030 for a single franchise unit. For more information about the Franchise Times Top 500 brand, visit https://footprintsfranchise.com/.