Female Founders
donated a day’s worth of sales to charity.
Before long, they began getting inquiries from customers interested in starting
studios of their own. That was a surprise
to Deano who says, “This is Mandeville,
not exactly the hotbed of franchise activity.” (Mandeville is located on the north
shore of Lake Pontchartrain, across the
lake from New Orleans; the population in
the 2010 U.S. Census was 11,560). Nevertheless, the partners met with a franchise
attorney and began mapping out a plan
to franchise their creation. They sold
their first franchise in 2009 and have been
growing ever since.
“We knew we were making a difference as far as offering an escape to our
customers locally, but never did we think
it would take off across the country,” says
Maloney. “Now there are more than 250
Painting with a Twist studios in 32 states.”
GETTING STARTED
What inspired you to start your business? Deano: Renee and I had both been
very involved in volunteering around our
Mandeville community long before the
idea for Painting with a Twist ever came
about. When Hurricane Katrina struck,
our town, our homes, and our sense of joy
were destroyed for a while. An event like
that forces you to reevaluate your life, and
we both knew we wanted to do something
really meaningful and beneficial for our
community. Renee and I would take walks
every morning and think of business ideas
that would allow us to use our fundraising skills to give back to our community.
Knowing our friends and neighbors could
use a distraction, we began hosting paint
parties in my garage while relaxing with
a few glasses of wine. What started as a
distraction from a terrible natural disaster
turned into a national business venture
that blends a non-intimidating art studio
experience with a new form of socializing
and de-stressing with friends.
What is your background, and how
did it prepare you for starting your
business? Deano: I have a degree in
interior design and Renee was trained
in marketing and office management, so
when we started the business, we divided
tasks accordingly. I am in charge of the
46
art side and Renee handles most of the
business side.
Why did you choose franchising? Maloney: In a lot of ways, franchising chose
us! When we first founded Painting with
a Twist, we had no plans or expectations
to grow the company into what it is today.
The initial concept was less about developing a fast-growing brand, and more about
creating a fun, social event with fundraising potential for community needs. We are
so grateful for the leadership and counsel
we’ve received from experts in the industry to help us grow the company through
franchising, yet still maintain the core
values we built the company on.
How did you get started in franchising? Maloney: Our original goal was to
have one little location in Mandeville.
When we saw the impact it was having
on the lives of our customers, providing
an escape from the pressures of daily life,
we knew we needed to open more locations. We wanted to open another location in New Orleans, and that is when
the franchise side of Painting with a Twist
really took off. We had customers from
out of town coming in to see relatives or