Chef, Restaurant Owner, Hotel Manager Adds New Title of Footprints Floors Franchisee

Thomas DiPaolo, backed by his culinary degree, first experienced business ownership with his privately owned restaurant in the early 2000s. After taking a break from entrepreneurial projects and focusing on the hotel industry, DiPaolo was keen to make his way back into business ownership, this time with the support and proven model of a franchise. Footprints Floors, the flooring installation franchise with over 160 active territories across 35 states, stood out to him for its hands-on approach to ensuring franchisees are successful.

1851 Franchise spoke with DiPaolo to hear about his journey into franchising with Footprints Floors and his plans for the future. 

PROFILE QUESTIONS

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

DiPaolo: I've owned a business before, actually. I got my start as a chef and have a degree in culinary arts. From there I transitioned into hotel management with Sheraton and Hilton Hotels for a while. Eventually, I stepped away from hotels to own a restaurant until about 2008 when the Great Recession hit. We all remember how fun that was! Unfortunately, that was the end of my restaurant. 

After that, I went back into the hotel industry, and that's pretty much what I've been doing up until now, most recently with a Radisson concept. I was also a corporate trainer for about 10 years with the parent company of Motel 6 and Studio 6. I was the most highly awarded manager in the history of the company, but even still, I started to get that itch again, wanting to own my own business. This time I decided to take a little safer route because restaurants are the most risky kind of business, so I decided to do franchising because it's less risky and has a support structure in place. 

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?

DiPaolo: I had a pretty strong understanding of franchising because most hotels are part of a franchise, and I've been running franchise hotels for a long time. I did not know anything about Footprints Floors as a franchise, however. I had looked at multiple different franchises, and I kind of stumbled upon Footprints Floors in the process. 

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

DiPaolo: When I learned about Footprint Floors and the franchise itself, I was immediately very impressed. I admired the involvement of the owner of Footprints Floors and how hands-on and engaged he is with all of the franchisees. I am very impressed with the support structure and how much they invest into different franchise owners.

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

DiPaolo: Make a lot of money, of course! I hope to scale and bring on some help to continue growing. Eventually, I would like to purchase another territory.

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

DiPaolo: One thing about my story I would like people to know is that money has always been secondary for me. It’s important that I feel like I am making a difference in people's lives and giving back to the community. I hope to continue this and be able to help people in my new role as a flooring advisor.

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

DiPaolo: Do your due diligence. Don’t just write a check to the first franchise company that is interested in you because the disclosure document really tells all — read it closely. Make sure you understand all the terms because you're really getting into a long term relationship, and you want to make sure that it's the right relationship. I had talked with multiple franchises that could talk a big game, but when the Disclosure Document came around, the truth came out about how many units that they had recently closed and how many failures that they've had. Just do your homework.

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 150 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. For more information about the Franchise Times Top 500 brand, visit https://footprintsfranchise.com/.