Q&A with Mike Stone, President & CEO of CertaPro Painters

Mike Stone is the President & CEO of CertaPro Painters®, North America’s Most Referred Painting Company®. Mike was appointed President & CEO of CertaPro Painters in March 2015. Previously, he served as Vice President of Operations from January 2013 until his appointment as President. He also served as Regional Vice President from 2007 until 2013. Mike has been with CertaPro® since March 2003, first as a General Manager in Development and later as a General Manager in Operations. Prior to that, he was a Residential Sales Associate for a CertaPro Painters® franchisee for four years. He has held every possible role at CertaPro Painters over his nearly 25-year journey, providing him with a truly holistic understanding of the business.

Q: Can you tell us more about CertaPro Painters?

A: CertaPro Painters® was founded in 1992 and specializes in providing commercial and residential painting services, through 501 franchise territories. We are the largest painting company in North America. Our success is based on exceeding customer expectations by delivering certainty at every juncture of a painting job from start to finish.

Q: What makes CertaPro Painters stand out?

A: CertaPro Painters is structured as a franchise with 350 owners across 501 territories and more than $700 million in revenue. What makes us stand out is the fact that we live and breathe our core values, which include:

  • Deliver What You Promise
  • Have Pride in What You Do
  • Respect the Individual
  • Practice Continuous Improvement
  • Embrace Possibilities

We integrate these values into every facet of our operations, and, by doing so, we cultivate a workplace where every individual feels aligned and empowered. Our core values, coupled with our Certainty Service System, are focused on providing customers with an extraordinary painting experience. What matters most is the complete satisfaction of the customer, and everything we do – our whole reputation – is about ensuring a successful project for them. We will always listen to the customer’s needs, create a detailed project plan, honor appointment times, treat the customer’s property with respect and keep them informed.

We will serve over 135,000 customers this year, and in the service industry, unexpected things happen. When franchisees receive customer feedback, they respond based on our core values. They deliver what they promise — even if that means doing the job over again. We want to create customers for life and extraordinary experiences are at the core of that.

Q: What are your goals for the remainder of 2024 and beyond?

A: The franchising industry continues to grow, and we plan to be a part of that. According to the International Franchise Association’s annual Franchising Economic Outlook, franchises will grow an additional 1.9 percent in 2024. Our long-term goal is to service over 400,000 happy customers of the CertaPro brand on an annual basis.

From a personal standpoint, my goal is to lift up the painting industry by empowering small business owners in their local communities. Building strong business and reputations and fueling their success. This also includes changing the way many people think about painters and trade professionals. Painters are professionals, they are craftspeople. They take surfaces and spaces that are dull and lifeless and make them beautiful again— putting smiles on people’s faces every day. It all starts with one happy customer at a time, who then tells another customer. I hope to create millions of raving CertaPro Painters fans.

Q: Why is owning a franchise a good business option?

A: Owning a franchise provides numerous benefits. It allows you to become your own boss without having to start a company from scratch and go it alone. With franchising, you get the backing of a company that already has brand recognition, proven success, and an established place in the market. You are also surrounded by a network of other independent business owners facing the same wins and challenges so you can support one another.

At CertaPro Painters, we provide our franchisees with a blueprint for how to build profitable businesses. We also offer online and field training, marketing materials and campaigns, and state-of-the-art technology including a website and other assets to help owners operate a painting and decorating business. We are proud to be the largest and best known residential and commercial painting franchise in North America, and to be able to offer entrepreneurial opportunities through franchising.