Hi, my name is Shane Perkins, I’m the CEO of DecoArmor Designs. I want to thank you for your interest in owning a franchise with an EPIC future. I’d like to share with you the back story about how I became involved and why we’re making this next-generation product available through franchising instead of through big box stores and direct-to-end user formats.
After inventing DecoArmor, Bruce began installing his product on residential and commercial buildings primarily in the Denver Colorado market. You can still find his products in many of those projects today. They have withstood the test of harsh weather and time and still look and perform perfectly.
Over the course of more than 15 years now, Bruce continued to refine and improve his product, both in how it performs and in the way it’s installed. Because his products are decorative in nature and because they provide reliable protection like armor, the name DecoArmor was selected as the new and fitting name of his revolutionary product in 2019.
Bruce knew he had a product that provided a valuable solution for property owners, architects, and builders around the world. His vision now turned to making his product available to the masses. This is where I come into the story.
I’ve been a successful business owner for over 30 years. Two of my fields of expertise are real estate investing and construction, ranging from remodeling homes to manufacturing new mobile homes. I was introduced to Bruce through a mutual business associate who believed I could provide him with some viable ideas on how to effectively increase the scale and scope of his business.
I was immediately impressed and recognized the value of DecoArmor. In all my years of construction experience I hadn’t seen or touched anything like DecoArmor and I knew other homeowners, remodelers and property owners of all types would feel the same way.
I gave a few suggestions to Bruce on how he could successfully scale his business, including sharing with him, “If it were me, I’d turn DecoArmor into a franchise opportunity.”
I felt that for homeowners, builders and architects to really understand its many advantages when compared to all other decorative surface materials on the market that it deserved to have people who could effectively present and demonstrate those advantages. You don’t get that direct touch and understanding of this product sitting on a shelf or through a picture on a website.
DecoArmor’s superiority in design and function would easily get lost and not be understood or recognized if it just sat on a shelf next to all the other decorative surface products available in big box stores and supply houses. I believed you could move a lot more DecoArmor to a lot more people if it had passionate brand ambassadors behind it who could not only successfully demonstrate its superiority but who could also effectively install the product for end users as well.
I shared with Bruce that I believed franchising would be the business model that could achieve this outcome better than any other.
A few months later Bruce reached out to me and asked if I’d have any interest in playing an active role in guiding the expansion of DecoArmor. Based on the value of this product and the opportunity it created for entrepreneurs across the country, I had to give the invitation serious consideration. I love marketing great products and services and I have a passion for supporting entrepreneurs who create great jobs.
Because it would take a full-time commitment on my part, which would mean making a significant and immediate change in direction in my professional life, I sought counsel through prayer and with my wife Debra. It didn’t take us long to settle on the truth that opportunities like this don’t come along very often and this was one opportunity we couldn't pass on.
I ramped down my real estate business and accepted the role as CEO of DecoArmor Designs, the name of our franchise.
Our Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) was prepared during our Executive Meeting at our attorney’s office on March 2nd, 3rd & 4th of 2020. Lynne Shelton (Shelton Law & Associates) and her associates have over 100 years of combined franchising experience. Lynne Shelton is recognized as one of the premier franchising experts in the world.
Lynne and her team saw the tremendous potential of DecoArmor as well and began immediately introducing us to their many contacts in the franchising industry who could assist us in fast-tracking our growth. Meetings were scheduled and everyone involved was more than excited about the new direction and possibilities that now existed for DecoArmor Designs.
Two weeks later the world was immediately, and almost completely, shut down. DecoArmor Designs became one of the many companies that were negatively impacted by Covid-19. The timing for us couldn’t have been worse.
Before the pandemic hit, the manufacturing of DecoArmor was outsourced to our supplier of the polyurea we use to create DecoArmor. The moment the pandemic broke out their whole operation shifted gears and began producing hand sanitizer for a world that couldn’t get enough of it.
Everyone at that time believed this was only a temporary shift in direction for them. “12 weeks to round the curve and back to business as usual,” was the universally held belief. And as we all know now, that’s not exactly how reality unfolded.
Our manufacturing partner began producing hand sanitizer in large-scale mounts, over 500,000 gallons a week. At the same time, all the franchise shows around the country were canceled. As soon as DecoArmor Designs was ready to launch for business, circumstances outside of our control completely shut us down.
As business started opening back up in the summer of 2021, we attended our first two franchise shows. The response from everyone who saw and touched our product only confirmed what I believed from the beginning, there was a demand for DecoArmor. Almost everyone who experienced it up close mentioned a project they wanted to use it for, or they mentioned someone else they knew who would want to have access to it immediately.
We informed our manufacturing partner that we would need to turn manufacturing back on soon and that we were also going to be ramping up our production at much higher levels than ever before. They then informed us that they would still be able to supply our polyurea, but because of the worldwide demand for their hand sanitizer, they were no longer able to allocate space in their facility to manufacture DecoArmor.
Instead of trying to acquire and train a new manufacturer, we made the decision, for several important reasons, to take control of manufacturing ourselves. We now have our own 10,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Jacksonville, FL.
Our next important move was to bring Kirk Kuipers on board as our Vice President of Operations of Manufacturing. Kirk has 40 years of poly manufacturing experience and is recognized as one of the leading experts in the field, specializing in manufacturing automation. As a result of these exciting moves, we are now ready to introduce this revolutionary decorative surface product to the world through the exciting model of franchising.
In addition to providing a next-generation product to business owners around the country, I’ve put together a team that will support and train you to operate a successful franchise. I’ll also be providing additional business training to our franchisees that you won’t receive from other franchises. From how to effectively structure your business to minimize your exposure to taxes to how to better prepare yourself for retirement, my greatest business passion is teaching entrepreneurs how to become more successful.
I also have a team that’ll support you in creating success in marketing and sales. And we have a team ready to begin training your team on how to professionally install DecoArmor. We know our success depends on the success of our franchisees and we’re ready to support you in creating that success.
We’re excited to meet and work with the franchisees that will play a vital role in taking our global vision for DecoArmor Designs and turn it into a reality. Together, we are building the most unique and comprehensive decorative surface company in the world.