How Investment in Home Franchise Concepts Brands Helped These Franchisees Create Financial Legacies for their Families
Josh Parkhurst didn’t know it when he was a teen checking and labeling boxes after school and during summer break, or helping his mom place advertising signs at high-traffic street corners. His younger sister, Alix Parkhurst, didn’t realize it either as she helped hang marketing materials on people’s front doors and later acted as a scribe to record details during the in-home sales consultation. But even as they were growing up, Josh and Alix were helping mom Toni Parkhurst (above, center, with Josh, Alix and team) build a family legacy through her Budget Blinds franchise in Solano County, Calif.
The Parkhursts are among countless families who have created generational wealth through franchising with the Home Franchise Concepts family of home service brands. Some, including Mark and Sherri Schalk, have been able to achieve significant financial goals for their family through franchising with Aussie Pet Mobile, another in the Home Franchise Concepts family of brands. And many, like Craig Smith, have been able to create wealth for their families, instead of their former corporate employers; Smith left the C-suite for franchise ownership with Home Franchise Concepts brands Kitchen Tune-Up and later Bath Tune-Up, and now works alongside his wife, son, daughter and son-in-law.
Creating Generational Wealth through Franchising
Family-owned firms comprise 90% of all business enterprises, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Studies show that family businesses contribute as much as 57% to the U.S. gross domestic product, and employ more than 60% of the nation’s workforce.
As important as family businesses are to the economy, only 30% of them survive the transition from one generation to the next, according to SCORE, and only 12% remain open after being passed from the second generation to the third. However, franchising minimizes succession challenges by providing an established brand identity and structured framework including standardized processes, training programs and ongoing support from franchisors.
The Parkhursts, Schalks and Smiths credit Home Franchise Concepts for ongoing support that has enabled them to grow their businesses, plan for succession and create generational wealth. Below, they share their experiences as Home Franchise Concepts franchise owners.
Toni Parkhurst, Budget Blinds, Solano County, Calif.
Toni (center, with Josh and Alix) already had an appreciation for Budget Blinds – as a competitor – when she worked in sales for a different window coverings company. “Budget Blinds provided better service. Having owners involved really made Budget Blinds a serious threat to our business,” she says.
Years later, while working for a window coverings manufacturer, one of her customers was a Budget Blinds owner who asked Toni if she was interested in buying the franchise. Toni was tempted; her employer seemed to be struggling financially, she says, but the franchise price was too high. The Budget Blinds franchisee came back with a reduced price a year later in 2007. “The timing was perfect and the price was much better. The rest is history,” Toni says.
Then a single mom, Toni started the business from her house. “I put in years of working six-to-seven-day work weeks to get the business up and running. My kids watched that firsthand and pitched in to help.”
Josh and Alix, now in their 30s, initially wanted to chart their own courses in business. “As much as I resisted joining the team, I am so thankful I did,” says Alix, who has worked full time with the Budget Blinds franchise for six years. “I feel such pride and protectiveness over the brand and the business our mom has built and the name she’s made for herself.”
Josh, employed full time with the Budget Blinds franchise for 13 years, manages installations and the warehouse. He says he struggled to figure out a career path, “but my mom gave me a great opportunity as the business was growing, and it’s brought us much closer. Now I am so proud of what I do and how I can positively change the environment for customers in their homes. Budget Blinds has been our family’s biggest blessing, and we don’t take it for granted!”
Toni says she, Josh and Alix now laugh about the early days building the business. “The three of us hustled together through the years. Fast forward, and now we operate out of a large showroom, office and warehouse space with 15 employees. Josh and Alix are both on board to carry on the business after my retirement. I’m training them on the leadership and business aspects, and they’re learning organically by being here day in and day out. I’m very, very proud to have them here with me,” she says.
“There’s something to be said about creating your own future in today’s uncertain economic world. My kids will always have the work ethic of entrepreneurs, no matter what the future brings them. To see that they have that instilled in them is all I could ask for. That’s invaluable.”
Mark Schalk, Aussie Pet Mobile, Charlotte, N.C.
Mark and Sherri had raised three children and were considering buying an existing business to provide an income stream following his retirement as a financial controller with a satellite antenna manufacturer. Sherry previously served as a counselor in a Christian ministry and a substitute teacher. The couple was excited about working together, combining his general business skills and her interpersonal strengths. “Given my plans to continue corporate work and Sherri’s minimal business experience, we realized the need for a proven franchise model and a network of fellow franchisees,” he says.
A franchise consultant suggested various opportunities, and the couple immediately gravitated toward Aussie Pet Mobile. “Interestingly, this coincided with the adoption of our first dog, Baxter, and our discovery of just how inconvenient it was to take him back and forth to a groom shop. This validated the Aussie Pet Mobile model as much as anything. We felt like we were catching the wave of something big that was only going to grow in popularity as more and more people became aware of mobile grooming services,” Mark says.
The couple opened their Aussie Pet Mobile franchise in 2007 with a large territory around the Charlotte area, then expanded in 2012 to include 13 contiguous ZIP codes and fast-growing areas in South Carolina near the North Carolina border. “We began with two vans and two groomers, and today we have eight vans, eight full-time groomers, two part-time groomers, a general manager/dispatcher, and a part-time dispatcher. This really is a recession-proof business. By God’s grace, we have grown our sales each year for 18 consecutive years,” Mark says.
The Schalks’ success with the franchise has enabled them to pay off college debts for all three children, help one daughter explore professional dance opportunities in Los Angeles, and to live comfortably following his retirement in 2024 from corporate work.
“My goal is to continue to grow Aussie Pet Mobile over the next five years. With Home Franchise Concepts guiding the overall direction of Aussie Pet Mobile, the future looks promising,” Mark says. “When the time comes to sell, we would love to pass the keys to someone in our family. Our family members know better than anyone the challenges we’ve experienced and also the benefits and rewards from pushing through them.”
Craig Smith, Kitchen Tune-Up, Bath Tune-Up, Williamsburg, Hampton Roads and Kent County, Va.
As an executive with FedEx, Craig and wife Shelley had to relocate with their three children every few years. After retiring from that role, he accepted a position as CEO of a privately held transportation company. But the Smiths wanted to settle down and spend quality time with their growing family, which now includes grandchildren. Craig admits that he enjoys working, but he was tired of working for others; he wanted to build something for, and with, his family.
After doing some research into franchising, the Smiths narrowed their focus to home services, and when an existing Kitchen Tune-Up franchise became available in 2020, they seized the opportunity. Buying an established franchise minimized start-up challenges; the Smiths took over the franchise owner’s client list, employees and vehicles, and were able to shadow the franchise owner in making sales calls and shepherding projects from start to finish.
The Smiths’ son, Tyler (right, with brother-in-law Sam and Craig), joined in helping run the family business, which grew with the addition of a Bath Tune-Up franchise in 2023, allowing them to expand their offerings beyond kitchen updates and upgrades to include full-service bathroom remodeling. The Smiths’ daughter Jordan and her husband, Sam, also have joined the business.
“Franchise ownership with Kitchen Tune-Up and Bath Tune-Up has been very rewarding. It’s allowed us to spend time with our family that we would otherwise be spending with strangers if we were working at another company,” Craig says. “Investing in Kitchen Tune-Up and Bath Tune-Up has allowed us to build something for our family that can be passed down to create generational wealth.”
About Home Franchise Concepts
Home Franchise Concepts® is a leader in growing inspired and successful franchise brands in the home services industry. The brand takes pride in enhancing lives and communities by providing their partners a trusted path to financial independence through franchising. Home Franchise Concepts offers a people-centric approach to its business model demonstrated by its commitment to innovation, growth and industry leadership.
Unified in the goal of “Building Futures Together,” the brand, its franchisees and its associates are successful in delivering exceptional services to customers and communities across North America. Home Franchise Concepts’ brands include AdvantaClean®, Aussie Pet Mobile®, Bath Tune-Up®, Budget Blinds®, Concrete Craft®, Kitchen Tune-Up®, Lightspeed Restoration®, PremierGarage®, The Tailored Closet™, and Two Maids®, with many consistently ranking at the top of their categories and supported by more than 2,600 franchise territories in North America.
For more information about franchising opportunities, visit Home Franchise Concepts’ website.
