Franchisor Stories
Franchise Opportunity Deep Dive: Richard’s Painting offers a low-cost, employee-based model focused on quality workmanship, strong local relationships and scalable residential and commercial growth.
Richard’s Painting is a residential and commercial painting franchise that focuses on quality work and community building. The franchise offers support, including training from the founder, and emphasizes quality over low-cost, high-volume sales.
Richard’s Painting is a painting franchise founded by Richard Gould in Salisbury, North Carolina in 1999. Richard’s Painting began franchising in 2020 and offers prospective entrepreneurs a reliable business model that is centered upon high-quality services, customer satisfaction and a personalized approach. Today, Richard’s Painting operates more than 20 locations in America.
Mission: Richard's Painting Company's mission is to provide high-quality, professional painting services while focusing on customer satisfaction and building strong local relationships.
Vision: Richard’s Painting Company’s vision is one of growth, a vision centered on franchising across the United States by partnering with quality franchise owners all while maintaining its core values of superior quality, professionalism and deep community involvement.
Richard’s Painting is filling franchise opportunities in the United States. Prospective franchise owners are invited to fill out the Richard’s Painting online application for more information.
Initial Costs: The estimated initial investment required to begin operation of a Richard’s Painting franchise ranges from $60,150 to $109,500. The 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) breaks these costs down as follows:
| Type of Expenditure | Min | Max |
| Initial Franchise Fee | $39,950 | $39,950 |
| Storage Unit | $0 | $300 |
| Lease Deposits (3 Months) | $0 | $3,000 |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $500 | $1,000 |
| Initial Inventory | $500 | $1,000 |
| Printing, Stationery & Office Expenses | $1,000 | $1,750 |
| Computer, Software & Business Management System | $1,000 | $2,000 |
| Service Vehicle | $700 | $20,000 |
| Startup Marketing | $2,500 | $5,000 |
| Insurance Deposits (3 Months) | $750 | $1,500 |
| Travel for Initial Training | $2,000 | $6,000 |
| Professional Fees | $1,000 | $2,500 |
| Licenses & Permits | $250 | $500 |
| Additional Funds (3 Months) | $10,000 | $25,000 |
Initial Franchise Fee: The initial franchise fee for a Richard’s Painting franchise is $29,000, which is due in full upon the signing of the franchise agreement.
Ongoing Fees: According to the 2025 FDD, Richard’s Painting franchisees are responsible for the following ongoing payments and fees:
| Type Of Fee | Amount |
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales/month |
| Brand Development Fund Fee | 1% of gross sales/month |
| Franchisee Directed Local Marketing | 2% gross sales/month |
ROI Potential: According to the 2025 FDD, the 16 franchised locations open for the entirety of 2024 reported the following gross sales:
| Outlet Territory | Gross Sales - 2024 |
| Barnegat, New Jersey | $153,056 |
| Lexington, North Carolina | $614,993 |
| Mooresville, North Carolina | $328,993 |
| Albemarle, North Carolina | $268,742 |
| Asheboro, North Carolina | $124,702 |
| Concord, North Carolina | $329,737 |
| Hickory, North Carolina | $118,110 |
| Harrisburg, North Carolina | $235,899 |
| Huntersville, North Carolina | $321,825 |
| New Orleans, Louisiana | $618,287 |
| Macomb, Michigan | $123,583 |
| Bellingham, Washington | $135,243 |
| Magnolia, New Jersey | $81,212 |
| Statesville, North Carolina | $339,265 |
| Swansea, North Carolina | $309,145 |
| Johnson City, Tennessee | $277,787 |
Mandatory initial training program takes place over the course of two in-person weeks in Salisbury, North Carolina, and consists of a combination of classroom and on-the-job training totaling 74 hours, which must be completed by the franchisee, or managing owner, and one designated manager before opening. Additional employee training, supplemental training and systemwide training can be administered on an as-needed basis.
The franchisor offers a range of operational support, providing franchise owners with systems, an operations manual and procedures for running the business. It also provides information on the services and products a franchise owner is approved to offer, and specifies which supplies must be used and which approved suppliers they must be purchased from. In addition, the franchisor provides marketing and branding standards for materials such as ads, flyers and social media content.
The franchisor provides franchise owners with a designated Business Management System, which is required for the day-to-day sales, ordering, operations and management of the franchised business. The franchisor also provides digital media, a system website and data from the Business Management System.
Franchise owners must develop and open the business within 120 days from the effective date of the franchise agreement. The business must obtain all necessary licenses and permits and must be operated from an approved administrative office located within the territory, providing services from on site at customer locations using an approved vehicle. The business must be exclusively managed, operated and maintained by the managing owner. If the managing owner is not actively involved, management must be delegated to an approved operating manager who has satisfactorily completed the franchisor's training program.
The franchisor may offer direct financing for the initial franchise fee; the franchisor and its affiliate are the only potential direct lenders. The franchisor may also provide indirect financing through third parties in the future.
“Before I took a venture into a Richard’s Painting franchise, I was a butcher at a retail organization. I decided to start my own business for my own financial freedom and not to have a cap on my income. I was stuck in the retail world for the last 12 years and very unhappy. After looking into a couple of different painting franchises, I found the best part of the training process is the hands-on, family feel of the company. Any time you have a question or concern about a product or how to do something, Richard is always there to answer an email, a text or a phone call. If he doesn’t have an answer immediately, he gets back to you as soon as possible. There have been many times I’ve been on the phone with Rich at 11 or 12 at night going over estimates, with him helping me write it to satisfy customer needs. And more times than not, with the help of Rich and his staff, I wind up getting the jobs because of their hands-on training.”
- Michael Fiorello, Franchise Owner — New Jersey
The U.S. market for painting services is valued at about $44 billion. Following a period of volatility driven by economic factors including interest rates and tariffs that impacted the cost of raw materials, supply chain shifts and changing demand, the market has begun to stabilize.
Richard's Painting stands out thanks in part to a model focused on quality and employees, which helps the chain avoid lower end sales and subcontracting driven by price. Richard’s Painting emphasizes higher profit margins driven by high quality work with a high level of investment in the proper training of both employees and franchise owners while creating a strong community presence at the local level.
In terms of competition, Richard’s Painting faces franchised painting outlets including CertaPro Painters, 360° Painting, Five Star Painting and Fresh Coat* Painters. However, the focus of Richard’s Painting on a significant presence locally alongside quality work sets the chain apart in a crowded, sometimes volatile market.
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