Artful Owners

Purchasing the franchise when most of the country was just beginning to recover from the recession, the couple faced immediate challenges. Many questioned the move– friends, family, even shopkeepers in the strip malls where they were scouting for locations. “Some of our friends asked us if we needed medication or counseling,” recalls Algy. “They also didn’t understand why anyone would go somewhere to paint and drink.”

In spite of the naysayers, the Irvins started marketing the idea to anyone who would listen. “We believed in the concept and we knew that once we educated people about it and they understood it, it would catch on,” says Algy.

But during the first six months of their inaugural year, the store struggled. “We were taking in maybe $1,000 a month, but spending between $4,000 and $5, 000,” says Algy.
Part of the couple’s marketing efforts involved fundraising activities with local schools, running silent art auctions, and providing support services for two of the area’s largest art festivals. The Irvins’ community involvement led them to lucrative corporate deals. In 2010, for example, clients like ExxonMobil and Marriott’s Woodlands Waterway Hotel and Convention Center began sending groups of employees to Painting With a Twist to participate in team-building activities. “Business began to turn around when local businesses started to send their employees to us,” says Algy. “That was one of the unexpected ways that the business community rallied around us and gave us word-of-mouth advertising.”

Revenues progressively increased. The Irvins generated about $218,000 in sales in 2010 and $272,000 in 2011. This year they’re looking to increase that number by 20%, thanks to strong community ties, new commercial clients, and a more aggressive marketing plan that includes social media.

In 2011, the Irvins’ store was named one of the top five locations for the Painting With a Twist chain. Franchisees in the top one-third of the company earn about $300,000 in gross annual revenue; those in the middle two-thirds gross some $175,000 annually.
Jones of The Entrepreneur’s Source says the lifestyle concept is sustainable as long as franchisees follow the system provided; however, in order to make money, they must open multiple locations.

The Irvins say that they still have a lot of market penetrating to do. They’ve started attending more Chamber of Commerce events and talking to members about the Painting With a Twist concept and how it ties into corporate team-building. “We had a great idea that few had heard of,” says Kermie, “so we hit the streets and started talking to everyone about it.”

The couple plans to use social media and Internet radio to promote the business and increase consumer awareness.