It’s The Thought That Counts!

 Kids can be hard on furniture, but we’re here for all the moms! Stain removal, re-dyes, or complete restoration – we’ll give you one less thing to worry about.

What our customers say:

“Excellent professional service, that is what we have experienced with Fibrenew’s services. Our first experience in having leather restored and are very pleased with the results.” – Dean S. – Monroe, IA”

“Chad from Fibrenew explained every step in removing a large stain from my leather couch and educated me on what to do to prevent a similar situation from recurring. You can’t go wrong with this company!” – Jackie – Calgary, AB

Fibrenew has 240+ technicians ready to help. Contact us today to arrange a quote

Source: It’s The Thought That Counts!

Finding the Right Franchise Fit

How Fibrenew Has Grown to 240+ Global Locations

We recently caught up with Fibrenew’s Director of Franchise Development, Bob Johnston. Bob joined the Fibrenew family in 2012, and he knows which qualities make a great prospective franchisee. As he tells it, finding the right fit has a lot do to with aligned values–namely honesty, and integrity. Fibrenew’s transparency is a big part of why we’re in the top 15% of Franchise Business Review’s 2017 Top 50 Franchise list. Of course, there’s a bit more to the story. Here’s how we help would-be owners decide to invest in a lifestyle franchise like Fibrenew.

 Getting Started
Finding the right fit starts with scheduling a phone call with Bob or a member of the development team to learn a bit more about each other, including why you’re considering a franchise. We hear from people with a variety of motivations, from a recent layoff, to a desire to be more self-reliant, i.e. ready to be your own boss. Once you’ve had a chance to ask questions, and you’re interested in continuing the conversation, Bob and the team will dig a little deeper to confirm you possess, what he refers to as “5 Essential Qualities”.

5 Essential Qualities of a Fibrenew Franchise Owner

Trait #1: A Tetrachromat
“Tetra-who?” – don’t let the term throw you off, it’s just the technical term for having complete color vision. A significant part of our mobile repair business involves working with color and color-matching, so being color-blind is one of the few things that might stand in your way of being a successful Fibrenew franchise owner.

Trait #2: Handy
Do you enjoy working with your hands? This is a great role if you like rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty on the occasional DIY project or light repair job. Keep in mind you don’t need technical knowhow to do our repairs just yet – that’s what we’re here to teach you about.

Trait #3: Trainable & Coachable
Be open to training and certified coaching. We’ve been fine tuning our processes since 1987. So while you will certainly bring your own personality and strengths to franchise ownership, please respect that we have a proven business model – reinvention of the wheel is not necessary.

Trait #4: In Shape
Doing repair work is going to require some bending and lifting. You don’t need to be a top athlete, but you do need to be in reasonable physical condition, as opposed to having chronic arthritis in your hands, or nagging knee or back issues.

Trait #5: People Person
According to Bob, the most important quality is being a people-person. As he explains, you need to be somebody who “isn’t afraid to introduce yourself, shake hands and go right to showing [before & after] pictures. When people see these pictures, their first words usually are ‘You can do that?’ ” Yes, we certainly can! continue reading!

It’s Earth Day, Everyday at Fibrenew

On the 47th Anniversary of Earth Day, we want to take a moment to mention how happy we are to provide our repair services to a variety of private consumers and professionals. In doing so, we’re helping divert a huge amount furniture from landfills. Today’s society tends to encourage disposing of goods almost as fast as we can buy them; continually upgrading to the latest and greatest gadgets, so it’s easy to lose sight of how this mentality can impact the health of our planet. At Fibrenew, we’re proud to prove, that yes, it’s still possible to repair our valued possessions, rather than discard them at the first hint of wear and tear.

Okay, How Much Waste Are We Talking About?
 
According to the United States EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), households are filling up the landfills with discarded furniture at an astonishing rate. In a 2009 report, it was found that furniture is last on the list of household goods to be recycled – making up a total of 9.8 million tons (yes, tons!) of waste. We don’t have accurate global reports at the moment, but if the U.S. is any indication, a major change is clearly necessary. Similarly, reports indicate that office furniture is discarded at an equally staggering rate. These numbers bring to light that economic fluctuations in businesses like relocation, closures, and upgrades all have an environmental impact that should be managed carefully. At minimum, we need to make sure we’re pursuing recycling and repair options, at home, and in our businesses. After all, technology has given us everything we need to make more sustainable choices such as restoring damaged goods – and all it takes is sending an email or making a quick phone call.

Going Green Since 1987
 
Three decades ago, when Fibrenew was getting started, “going green” was a less commonly used phrase. Looking back, you could say that we were one of the original green companies. We impact everyone from individual consumers, to large enterprises; offering an alternative to replacing their damaged leather, plastic, and vinyl. Restoration is not only great for reducing environmental impact, it’s a measurable time and money-saver. In the time it takes to shop for a new piece of furniture and schedule its delivery, we can readily get one of our technicians out to your home or business for a repair job.

“Leather, plastic and vinyl everywhere becomes damaged at some point in its life-cycle. It’s in homes, offices, clinics, hospitals, boats, planes, trains and automobiles–you name it. Fibrenew helps customers save money, time, and the environment by restoring damaged items…Everybody wins.”- Michael Wilson, CEO, Fibrenew. Read more of the article here!

Franchise Success Story: Lynn & Rick Halpin of Fibrenew Upstate

This month, we caught up with Fibrenew power couple, Lynn and Rick Halpin for a chat. We checked in with the husband and wife team to learn how they got on board as franchise owners back in 2009 and how they’ve been running their business in the mean time. The Halpin’s business took off (despite the downward economy at the time) and has been growing ever since–a true entrepreneurial success story. Lynn and Rick had the option to handpick their preferred location, and chose to open up South Carolina’s first-ever Fibrenew in the Easley area. Easley, just west of Greenville, is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. The two happily share the wisdom they’ve picked up along their way, and talk about the benefits and flexibility their investment has afforded them. If you’re considering a franchise of any kind, or even joining the Fibrenew family, we invite you to read on!

Finding Fibrenew

Out of university in the 1970s, and armed with a Biology-Chemistry degree, Rick went to work in South Carolina’s booming textile industry. He became a management trainee at a global textile manufacturer, working his way up to VP of Operations, overseeing the North American and Asian markets. The job brought him and the family to many new places; including a stretch of time in beautiful Melbourne, Australia. Years in the field of dyeing and finishing textiles helped him amass ample knowledge of color and color matching. His expertise has been handy, since distinguishing colors is essential to running a successful leather repair business. Though you don’t necessarily need to have 15+ years experience in textiles to run a Fibrenew franchise, it certainly hasn’t hasn’t hurt!

Lynn, started her professional journey in South Carolina as well, working as an Executive Assistant to the VP of Sales and Marketing for a medical-surgical company. She spent much of her time organizing events and conventions, and stayed busy even when the family moved to Australia. They were raising two children at this point, and she cheerfully jokes about being the family’s “tourism director” while abroad. She put her planning and organizational skills to good use volunteering with the philanthropic American Women’s Association, coordinating major fundraisers for the Royal Children’s Hospital. Eventually, they returned to the U.S., taking up residence in Raleigh, North Carolina. At the time, Lynn was the sole-proprietor of a restaurant-advertising business which she was actively managing up until just recently.

“Everybody will need the services of a company like Fibrenew in their life, probably multiple times.”

– Rick Halpin
Franchise Owner, Fibrenew Upstate

Rick was contemplating his next career step, when a colleague asked if he’d ever considered investing in a franchise. They attended to a tradeshow together, and Fibrenew was there. Though Rick looked at other franchises, he kept returning to the Fibrenew business model–as he aptly puts it “Everybody will need the services of a company like Fibrenew in their life, probably multiple times.” One weekend, while Rick was in Calgary for a training session designed for new franchise owners, Lynn was busy back home, working to sell their house. To their delight, it sold immediately after its first showing. It seemed like everything was falling into place, and they took the quick sale of the house as a positive sign about their new direction... more of the interview here!

(Podcast) What Does it Take to Become a Fibrenew Franchisee?

With quick regard on the surface, one might think that a natural transition from the hustle and bustle of corporate America’s IT, communications and sales world into the role of owning a mobile service franchise business specializing in leather, plastic and vinyl restoration does not exist, but JT Thompson proves that assumption wrong.

Thompson is the proud owner / operator of Fibrenew Nashville Metro, a business that is thriving and expanding because of his due diligence, commitment to craftsmanship and good old fashioned hard work.

“[Twenty years in middle management] was fine,” he says. “It was my ‘job.’ But as the adage goes, ‘If you do for a living what you enjoy you’ll never work a day in your life,’ I had to make a big decision.” So, after his corporate position was phased out how did Thompson take control of his future?



Before Owning Fibrenew Nashville Metro, JT Thompson Had Two Advantages:

First, he understood himself and his talents well. “I love working with my hands. Old world craftsmanship is a passion of mine,” he explains. In fact, he first came across the Fibrenew brand as he was working on an old BMW with leather seats in need of attention. A quick Google search in his area resulted in no formative leads, but he did come across one name many times — .... more of the article here!

Craig Burton: It Was Time for a Career Change

Craig Burton owns and operates Fibrenew of Metro Austin. In this 3 minute video, he explains why he decided to change careers, take charge of his financial future and start his own mobile leather, plastic and vinyl restoration franchise service business with Fibrenew.

Awesome Ann: A Successful Fibrenew Franchise Owner Balances Work & Home Life

Ann Benes and her family were looking for a small business franchise opportunity that would help supplement their farming income. Ann’s husband Pat was initially going to be the one running the business. The plan was to use the flexibility of owning and operating a Fibrenew franchise while he continued to operate the family farm. However, over 14 years later, Fibrenew Lincoln is now operated by Ann while Pat works the farm full time. The flexibility factor is still a huge perk for their family as Ann is able to work around the kids’ school and extra curricular schedules and still have plenty of extra family time.

A typical day has Ann seeing her children off to school in the morning before taking her Fibrenew vehicle out to complete various types of Fibrenew leather, plastic and vinyl repairs for her customers in and around Lincoln. Ann structures her schedule so she’s able to be home shortly after her children arrive home from school. This is when she tackles the day’s paperwork and answers emails and return phone calls. For now, it is a successful framework. When asked what the future holds for the Franchise, Ann says she just takes it year by year. As with any small business owner, their goal each year is to see growth. Down the road, one of their children may want to take part in operation or they will look at the possibility of selling the business...read more of the story here!