Hays Free Press: Local Hays County Franchise Owner Prioritizes Giving Back

After a long career in corporate America, Sarah Ross decided to venture into business ownership 11 years ago by franchising with Fresh Coat Painters in Hays County, a rapidly growing region in Texas. 

“I was working a lot of hours. I didn’t mind working a lot of hours, but I figured if I’m gonna do it, I might as well do it for myself,” Ross told Hays Free Press. “And so, that desire to have my own business is what caused me to look at franchise options. I knew I needed the coaching on the sales and marketing side. My background is as a [certified public accountant], so I’m a numbers person and could handle operations, but really didn’t know how to approach sales and marketing. [I] really just went franchise shopping and came across Fresh Coat as one of the options and it fit our budget in the area that I was trying to start a business [and] the territory that I wanted was not taken yet.”

Fresh Coat Painters is a franchise known for its quality residential and commercial painting services, upheld by the “Fresh Coat Promise” of competitive rates and timely service. With 174 territories across the country, Fresh Coat offers entrepreneurs like Ross a recession-resistant business model in a thriving industry.

“We had gone through remodel work on our own homes and dealt with unreliable and undependable contractors,” Ross said. “And I thought, ‘I think I can do a better job at this and be that reliable, dependable contractor that people just really want.’ I was really looking at something that … I could afford because there’s definitely franchises out there where you needed a much larger net worth than I had, so this was something I could afford [and] the territory wasn’t occupied.”

Over the past decade, Ross has received a positive response from the community, particularly as a woman-owned business in a male-dominated industry. Her team participates in local sponsorships and the Fresh Coat Cares program, supporting charities and nonprofits. Notably, they assisted Austin Pets Alive! by repainting the organization’s cat building. 

In March 2024, Ross’ business was awarded for exceeding the $2 million mark in revenue for the prior year, along with the President’s Award.

“We’ve been excited to be at that level for the last couple of years and are looking forward to hopefully doing our $3 million year this year. The President’s Award is quite an honor; it’s selected by the Fresh Coat franchise or president. And it really just means that we do the best we can to give back to others that are in the Fresh Coat family as well,” Ross said. “So, after being in for 11 years, there’s things that I can help guide the newer franchisees on, give them advice or just be an ear when they’ve had a bad day in the industry and they need somebody to listen to. I like to call the franchise system group therapy because we know what each other has gone through and we can have those shared experiences and know that we’re gonna make it through to the other side as owners.”

Read the full article here. 

For more information on franchising with Fresh Coat Painters, visit: https://1851franchise.com/freshcoat.