Mompreneur Leads Bath Tune-Up and Kitchen Tune-Up Remodeling Franchises to Achieve Stability and Security for Her Family
- After immigrating to the U.S. from Ecuador, Cristina Romero and husband Ivan Cevallos recognized franchise ownership was the surest path to achieving their American dream.
- The couple invested in Bath Tune-Up and Kitchen Tune-Up remodeling franchises, which are part of the Home Franchise Concepts family of brands.
- Romero initially was a full-time mompreneur, managing the franchises and overcoming challenges in the male-dominated industry until Cevallos could leave his job and join her.
- The couple has received prestigious national and systemwide honors for their work.
“I’m a mom, and having stability for my kids is my priority,” says Cristina Romero. She explains the driving force behind strategic decisions that ultimately led her and husband Ivan Cevallos to invest in Bath Tune-Up and Kitchen Tune-Up remodeling franchises.
After immigrating with their three children to the U.S. from Ecuador in 2020, the couple saw opportunities in entrepreneurship, including greater financial security and quality of life for their family. “As foreigners, we had no idea about the rules for opening a business and the steps to do it correctly without missing anything. So, the best way to do it was through a franchise. With a franchise, you have a path that is ready for you to walk on,” Romero says.
The couple’s Bath Tune-Up franchise, opened in 2020, serves the thriving suburbs north of Dallas. Their two Kitchen Tune-Up territories, opened in 2021, serve the North Texas cities of Plano and Allen. Both are part of the Home Franchise Concepts family of brands, which have garnered numerous awards, including Kitchen Tune-Up’s recent ranking by Franchise Business Review as one of the Top 100 Franchises for Women.
Romero and Cevallos also have been recognized for their work. One of their Bath Tune-Up projects, an aging-in-place transformation, won a prestigious 2025 National Chrysalis Award. The couple also received the Bath Tune-Up franchise system’s January 2026 Project of the Month award.
Resiliency in Home Services
In evaluating different types of franchises, Romero and Cevallos looked for one that would enable them to leverage their complementary skillsets. She had experience in marketing and project management as a food processing engineer. He worked in industrial construction, which required him to travel at least 80% of the time. Their plan was for her to run the business while he continued in his job until the franchise was profitable. Then Cevallos would join his wife in their business.
The couple gravitated toward home services because of the sector’s resiliency and the ongoing demand for home repairs, upgrades and restoration, regardless of the nation’s economy. They were impressed with the Home Franchise Concepts family of brands because of its longevity and solid reputation, as well as the number and types of brands in its portfolio.
The couple’s initial goal was to open a Kitchen Tune-Up, but the long-established brand founded more than 35 years ago had no territories available near their home in McKinney, Texas. So, they pivoted to Bath Tune-Up, which offered a closer territory and a larger area to operate because there were no neighboring Bath Tune-Up franchise owners.
Full-Time Mompreneur
Proximity to their home was important because Romero would be wearing several hats, managing the business, the home and the family while Cevallos traveled for his job. “When my husband was out of town, I had a tight schedule,” Romero says. “I dropped the kids off at school and then came back and organized my time for work at home and visiting clients. In the afternoons, I was a mom 100%. I picked them up and took them to their extracurricular activities because sports and activities with the kids never stopped. And then after their bedtime, I was back at work.”
There were other challenges, as well. Romero (below) had studied English in Ecuador, but she wasn’t proficient – and she didn’t know English plumbing and construction terms. But she studied, went to job sites every day and leaned on support from other women in the Home Franchise Concepts system. And she learned fast; as a woman in a male-dominated industry, Romero knew she had to exude confidence and competence. “That trustworthiness was hard to gain for me starting out by myself, but I am strong-willed and I persevered,” she says.
Romero perceived that some clients might’ve preferred “construction terms coming from a man’s mouth, rather than a woman’s.” Her all-male crew members created obstacles, too, sometimes even challenging her decisions. “I had to kiss a couple of frogs before finding the right crew, and that was very challenging, but now we’ve got the hang of it, and the crew has the hang of it.”
Women in Franchising
Romero’s resilience exemplifies the spirit of Women’s History Month, celebrated each March in recognition of the contributions of women to American history, culture, society and business. And while women remain underrepresented at the highest levels of business leadership, making up only 11% of Fortune 500 CEO positions, they’re making great strides through entrepreneurship. Consider the following:
- Women started 49% of all new businesses in 2024, according to Gusto’s 2025 New Business Formation report.
- Thirty-nine percent of all new female business owners in 2025 launched new franchise locations, and another 9% purchased existing franchises, according to Guidant’s 2025 Women in Business Trends report.
- Women comprise about 30% of all franchise owners, which is up from about 20.5% in 2013-2014.
A True Family Business
The rapid success of their remodeling franchises has resulted in a true family business for Romero and Cevallos. He was able to leave his road-warrior job and join Romero a little more than a year ago. “We’re a tag team,” she says. He handles project management and she works with clients on design selection. They both participate in closing deals.
They haven’t quite reached work-life balance because there’s still so much to do with the business, she says, but they were able to take the kids to Washington, D.C., during their spring break.
Romero says all three children – Ignacio, 18; Bernardo, 16; and Florencia, 9 – are learning positive life lessons from their entrepreneurial parents. “I always tell my kids if you know how to sell, you’ll never go hungry because you don’t only sell a product, you sell your personal brand, as well,” she says.
“One of the greatest opportunities has been at the home services shows where we go to promote the business. We don’t make the kids go, but they actually want to go. My 9-year-old might be our best sales person. She goes up to people and says, ‘Hey, have you thought about upgrading your bathroom? Have you thought about upgrading your kitchen? Just stop by and see us!’”
For more information about franchising opportunities, visit the Home Franchise Concepts website.
