Scrappy from day one, Sean McKay sits down with Richard Gould, the franchisor behind Richard’s Painting, to talk about real choices and real consequences. Richard did not graduate high school, learned painting under Don, bought the business in his twenties, then sold it, moved from the Princeton area to Salisbury, North Carolina, and started over without knowing anyone. He grew a small-town operation past a million dollars a year, opened a second location to prove the model worked without him, and then franchised. You will hear how $5,000 down ads on BizBuySell brought in early franchisees, why better qualified candidates matter, why a slow and steady path beats quick territory counts, and how a group coaching program with Dan Martel and Buy Back Your Time helped Richard get out of his own way. Expect straight talk on costs, marketing, Angi’s fixed monthly program, and why a painting company that actually paints can still scale.

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👤 Guest Bio

Richard Gould is the franchisor of Richard’s Painting. He started as a young painter working alongside Don, purchased the business in his twenties, and later moved from the Princeton area to Salisbury, North Carolina, where he rebuilt from scratch. After growing past a million dollars a year locally, he opened a second location to prove the system, then began franchising. Richard describes himself as scrappy and committed to helping people with no business experience learn how to run a business using painting as the platform.

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📌 What We Cover

• Starting over in Salisbury, North Carolina, and taking three to four years to become successful
• Opening a second location to see if the business works without the founder
• Selling early franchises from $5,000 down BizBuySell ads and what happened next
• The reality of franchising costs, why “a million dollars to franchise” gets said, and doing it for far less
• Painting company versus sales organization, and why learning the craft still matters
• Why hands-off franchises do not really exist and how effort maps to return
• Using Facebook, Google, and Angi’s fixed monthly program to drive leads, especially in larger markets
• Working with brokers and consultants, qualifying candidates, and protecting people who put their life savings on the line

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Richard’s Painting website: http://www.richardspainting.net
• Richard Gould on LinkedIn
• Sean McKay
• Dan Martel and Buy Back Your Time
• Monster Tree Service
• Franchise Marketing Systems (Chris Connor)
• BizBuySell
• Go Burrito
• Angi
• TikTok and Instagram: Richard underscore the Painter