Fresh Coat Opens Painting Franchise in Lee's Summit, Mo.
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Fresh Coat Opens Painting Franchise in Lee's Summit, Mo.

Frank and Susan Lawrence have launched their Fresh Coat Painters franchise to serve Lee's Summit, Mo., and surrounding communities. The couple envisions their enterprise as a chance to create a "family corporation" for themselves and their three children while fulfilling a "real need" in the community.

Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) May 10, 2011 Frank and Susan Lawrence have launched their Fresh Coat Painters franchise to serve residential and business clients in Lee's Summit, Mo., and other communities southeast of Kansas City.

After 30 years as a manager in clinical medical lab, Frank said he was ready for a career change, and Fresh Coat met all of the couple's criteria. It offers the opportunity to create a "family corporation" for themselves and their three children while providing quality services that fulfill a "real need" in the community.

That balance of priorities was among the factors – along with the low start-up costs, reputation for quality, and ongoing support – that they weighed as they evaluated whether to start an independent business or to buy a franchise.

"When we compared it to competitors or to do-it-yourself plans, Fresh Coat just rose to the top," Frank said. "This gives us the opportunity to teach the family an alternative way to make a living."

"We find that many of our owners want to build a legacy for themselves and their children," said Bernie Brozek, president of Fresh Coat Painters. "Because one of our paramount goals is to help our franchisees succeed, we provide them with the tools that they can learn and pass along to their children. Our goal is to complement each owner's inherent abilities and offer them professional support through our marketing, training and resource materials."

Among those materials are several client assistance programs, such as a 24/7 call center, Paint Now-Pay Later 12-months-same-as-cash financing, Automatic Touch-Up for businesses, and fund-raising opportunities for charities.

Those tools boost service, Frank said, noting that his own experience as well as that of friends indicates that many service providers "miss the important idea of building relationships."

"It starts with that initial phone call," he said. "Having the 24/7 call center is a blessing. It's really nice to get to talk to a person no matter the time of day."

Susan noted, too, that getting a response from a business can be difficult even if you leave a message. "If you contact 12 people, you may only hear back from four of them," she said.

Both agreed that it may be that the owner doesn't have time to manage his business and do the work, which is one more reason they appreciated the Fresh Coat model of having owners manage the marketing and sales while the client service manager spearheads the projects being done by the painters.

"I think it's the most unique part of our operation," Frank said. "We are operating in a professional manner from the start. We listen to the client, answer their questions, really pay attention. And, when we can provide a truly accurate quote, the client is very impressed."

Brozek said that painters also appreciate the business model because many of them do not want to be business managers; they want to be painters. "We hire only employees, never subcontractors, so we also provide steady employment to painters in an industry with too many fly-by-night operators."

The need for painting services is constant, Frank said, noting that he is just beginning to discover how many people delay projects too long because they don't want to do them themselves.

"Most homeowners don't have a maintenance plan," he said. "It's not like your car or maybe your office building. They just keep putting things off until the wood becomes damaged."

The Lawrences anticipate the need for their services will continue as the population ages, and people need more assistance with household projects.

"The way we look at it Mom would appreciate a beautiful room as much as a beautiful bouquet," Susan said.

"And wouldn't it be great gift for someone else to climb the ladder for Dad?" added Frank.

To learn more or to schedule an on-site quote for residential or commercial projects in Lee's Summit and surrounding areas, call 816-265-9934 or visit http://www.freshcoatleessummit.com.

Founded in 2004 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Fresh Coat Painters provides services for residential, commercial and governmental customers in more than 100 major cities across the United States and Canada. Fresh Coat is part of the International Franchise Association, the Small Business Association's Franchise Registry, VetFran and Minority Fran. For more information, call 866-708-9355 or visit http://www.freshcoatpainters.com.

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