Footprints Floors Heads North With Maine and New Hampshire Opening

It was his 20th anniversary working in luxury retail when Ralph Clark finally made a decision - he wanted out. 

So he traded the world of expensive suits and high-end handbags for ceramic tiles and wood planks. The 48-year-old first-time entrepreneur just opened the Northeast’s first Footprints Floors location, serving Maine and New Hampshire.

Footprints Floors, a 50-plus unit Colorado-based company that offers franchisees a robust support system, ticked all the boxes Clark was looking for. He was able to open a business and manage it the way he wanted to, without the corporate overseers.

“We are so excited to finally come to the Northeast,” said Footprints Floors CEO Bryan Park. “Footprints Floors has been experiencing explosive growth over the last year. Now, with Ralph as our first franchisee in the region, we know we’re going to continue that trend for the foreseeable future.” 

Clark had been a district sales manager for Calvin Klein. He knew he was a good salesman, but he was simply burned out from the corporate world. “The mentality of the corporations is, ‘What did you do for me today?’” he said. “I didn’t want that anymore.” 

He had been contemplating his next career move when he received a call from a franchise consultant. He wasn’t sure at first because he considered franchises out of his financial reach. “Franchises had always seemed interesting to me, but it always felt like you needed a lot of capital and net worth to open one,” he said. 

With the franchise consultant, however, Clark carefully examined different franchise opportunities, looking for one that fit his financial and lifestyle goals, as well as set him up for success right from the start.

“I liked how structured Footprints Floors was during the recruiting process,” he said. “I had logistical questions for the corporate team about the costs and would ask questions about the numbers, and what they would do over again if they had the chance. And they were very open.”

He also liked having unfiltered access to the other franchisees. “There was no filter from the franchisees,” he said. “The team does weekly calls with the franchisees, and I could join in. They were very candid and answered my questions very honestly.”

Discovery Day also gave Clark the opportunity to get another real-world look at the business before he signed on. “It was great,” he said. “I could see job sites and how the salespeople work.”

Clark is already thinking about his expansion plans. ”My dream would eventually be to add a production manager and possibly a sales manager to my team,” he said.  “I would also like to extend my territory to take over New Hampshire. It would be nice to get it into a place where a team of people can run the business.”

In the meantime, Clark has already started getting customers in his first territory. “I had three jobs lined up by my first day, so we’re off to a good start.” 

The startup costs for a Footprints Floors franchise range from $68,130–$95,580, which includes a franchise fee of $60,000 for a single territory. To learn more about franchising with Footprints Floors, visit https://footprintsfranchise.com/.