Female Founders
back to the communities we serve, which
is something we didn’t realize could be
such a huge part of franchising. All of
our corporate studios and a large majority of our franchisees host Painting with a
Purpose classes regularly. In these classes,
the studio partners with a local 501(c)(3)
nonprofit, and anywhere from 50 to 100
percent of the proceeds are donated to
that nonprofit. To date, we have raised
more than $2 million for nonprofits in
areas where we have franchises. It is one
of our proudest achievements.
How did you grow the brand at first?
What changed as you expanded?
Maloney: Our growth was truly organic.
Social media has been instrumental in the
rapid growth of our system. We are a very
visual business, and our base customers are
women active on social media. Women
would go to a class and post photos saying how much fun they had. People would
see those posts, look up the website, and
see our franchising page. As we expanded,
we added a really good franchise development leader, Mike Powers. Mike had 12
years of franchising experience. He was
a good cultural fit and has contributed to
our growth.
How did you transition from founding
a brand to leading a brand? Deano: By
leading with our core values and keeping
in the forefront of our minds that franchising is about people, ideas, and support.
As we have grown we have added support
staff so that we know our franchisees can
get the assistance they need. Successful
franchisees are the best tool to securing
additional franchisees.
How would you describe your leadership style? Deano: Sincere, ethical, fun.
What is the key to your company’s
success? Deano: The paint-and-sip
business has tapped into society’s need
to reconnect. In the age of screens, when
people who are sitting in the same room
are texting each other and all communication is done electronically, people are
looking to have a real connection and have
somewhere to digitally detox. We are human beings and we’re naturally wired to
interact. In the age of technology, we are
becoming increasingly alone in a world
full of people. It is human nature to want
to interact with others, to laugh, to sing,
and to share creative experiences. All of
that is achieved at Painting with a Twist.
In our system, we train our team on how
to facilitate that in a class. It’s our “Secret
Sauce,” and we really do it best!
BEING FEMALE
Was being female an advantage
or disadvantage for you in building your company? How? Maloney:
Painting with a Twist is a company created for women, by women. As women,
founding this company has not only been
an advantage for us, but it’s given us an
edge over competitors. We have a better
perspective on what kind of experience
our female customers are looking for and
will benefit from.
Have you found specific advantages
or disadvantages to being a woman
business ow