How This Fresh Coat Painters Franchisee Found His Ideal Work-Life Balance

When Brian Denny, the Fresh Coat Painters franchisee in Dayton, Ohio, originally signed on with the residential and commercial painting brand in 2017, his goal was clear: take back more of his time. 

Before joining Fresh Coat Painters, the painting franchise with over 170 units, Denny's journey began in the retail sector, working long hours and weekends for larger companies. However, a stint with a competitor paint franchise changed his perspective. 

“I originally learned about the painting business in a commercial sales role,” said Denny. “It had never really crossed my mind to be a business owner. I had always worked for bigger retail companies, but working for a small business and knowing the owner personally, I saw the lifestyle, the flexibility and the rewards that came with being an entrepreneur.” 

Thinking about his own future, Denny says he saw the possibility of building a business up to the point where it could run efficiently without him. “It's kind of exciting to build something and grow it on your own,” he said. 

When the time came to start looking for a franchise venture of his own, Fresh Coat Painters stood out right away. "I really liked the Fresh Coat model — the structure, the organization and the support," Denny said.

Denny officially opened his Fresh Coat Painters of South Dayton in 2017. Since then, he has grown the business to include two territories that cover over 15 cities in the area. 

So, what does a typical day look like for Denny? 

After waking up to get the kids off to school, he says he leaves the house around 8:30 AM to head to the office. “On Mondays, we start a lot of jobs, so we’ll meet the crews there to walk the job and make sure they are set up for success," he said. “We do that for the first couple of hours. After that, we’ll have a few estimates. I currently have two estimators that work for me, so that doesn’t take up as much of my time as it used to.”

From there, Denny says a significant portion of his week revolves around working alongside the salesperson, guiding customers through the sales process, managing scheduling, handling invoicing and ensuring customer satisfaction.

“I basically bounce back and forth on the sales and administration side,” Denny said.

In terms of his role as a leader, Denny is involved in overseeing the management team and all non-painters. “We have a good team in place to help with hiring and staffing,” he said. “Our crews are generally screened and hired by the production manager. We don’t have to fill those management roles too often. I am really just a fly on the wall.”

Big picture, Denny says he also spends a lot of time focused on scalability. "We have weekly, monthly and yearly goals with the whole team,” he said. “Most of it comes down to production and capacity.”

Marketing is another crucial aspect of Denny's operations. With assistance from the corporate team and a third-party company, most of his marketing needs, from Google AdWords to social media posts, are outsourced to professionals.

In terms of his day-to-day life, Denny says that the support he has received from the Fresh Coat corporate team has been robust without being intrusive. 

“They are there when we need them, which is great, but as long as you are happy and doing a good job, they don’t really bother you,” said Denny. “If we do need them, they are always quick to respond.”

Denny wraps up most of his days by 5:30 PM. Considering his original goal was to spend more time with his family, Denny says this reliable schedule and work-life balance has been a key benefit of franchising with the Fresh Coat brand. 

“I have small kids at home, so I feel very fortunate that I can stick to a pretty strict 40-hour work week,” said Denny. “Very rarely do I have to work weekends and nights anymore. The schedule is similar to a normal job, but maintaining that entrepreneurial lifestyle is a constant focus of mine — I bought a business, not a job. I am constantly working towards making sure the business can run seamlessly without me. Fresh Coat allows me to achieve that lifestyle.”

The total investment required to start a Fresh Coat franchise ranges from $66,150 to $96,250. To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/freshcoat/info