As you might know, working with franchises to further develop and expand their brand is one of our main areas of expertise here at Design the Planet. Painting with a Twist is a franchise homegrown right here in New Orleans that we are absolutely THRILLED to be working with.
Painting with a Twist is the original sip-and-paint concept that has become wildly popular and spawned copycat concepts across the nation. Painting with a Twist’s unique business model has a very interesting backstory that proves anyone can become an entrepreneur when they possess the passion, determination, and drive.
Picture this: Cathy Deano and Renee Maloney, two stay-at-home moms reeling in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and searching for a way to uplift their community and create some business in their devastated city. The women began tossing around ideas for a fun experience that would make people happy and bring in some money, and the concept behind Painting with a Twist was born. To test their theory, they held a casual barnyard party for friends in which they had the local art teacher come in and instruct their guests in a simple painting while they drank wine and socialized. Everyone LOVED it, and the idea took off like wildfire. Four years and 100 locations later, Cathy and Renee have “created a $20 million dollar empire from a blank canvas.”
Franchises are currently one of the biggest job creators in America, projected to account for more than 8 million new jobs in 2013 alone. Cathy and Renee are buoyed by the rapid growth and continued success of their current locations. The wealth of positive feedback they have received from their current franchisees has pushed them to set the goal of opening another 100 locations in the next year.
They have asked Design the Planet on board to help them in developing and implementing their brand expansion efforts, and we are so excited to be working with such an original, inspiring, and locally significant brand. Check out their feature on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” segment yesterday morning-you can see the awesome tradeshow display we created for them in the background! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k8jhSLn9IU
If you’re interested in the possibility of joining the Painting with a Twist family, visit http://www.paintingwithatwist.com/. We hope Kathy and Renee’s story inspires you to trust your instincts and always DREAM BIG-you never know what you will achieve if you believe in yourself and follow your passion!
