IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Days after Jonathan Thiessen (JT), chief development officer of Home Franchise Concepts (HFC), joined the Irvine, Calif.-based franchisor of home improvement goods and services brands in 2003, he called his mother to suggest she consider investing in a Budget Blinds® franchise.
Elizabeth Hock and her husband responded by buying not one, but five Budget Blinds territories in Ohio and Pennsylvania and then splitting them up between her stepson Randy Hock, grandson Tim Colangelo and daughter-in-law Stefanie Thiessen.
Budget Blinds is the largest window-covering franchise in North America and one of four brands in the HFC family that includes Tailored Living®, Concrete Craft® and AdvantaClean®.
“My children were talking about owning their own businesses,” said Hock. “After hearing how much JT respected the brand and learning about all the franchisee successes in the 1,500-plus territory footprint, I felt Budget Blinds was the best choice for our first-time entrepreneurs and could grow with my family.”
In the 18 years since, the Thiessen/Hock family has owned and operated 12 different Budget Blinds territories at different times. Randy Hock has grown his investment to include Budget Blinds territories in North Lancaster, East York, Lititz and Hanover, Penn., while Colangelo owns territories in North Canton, West Akron and Green, Ohio. Stefanie Thiessen sold her territory to become regional operations manager and business manager for HFC to help other franchisees find success.
According to Hock, sharing the bond of Budget Blinds franchising with so many in her family has made business ownership that much more rewarding. “In the end, it’s made us all better Budget Blinds business owners since we can benefit from each other’s experiences and key learnings, and celebrate each happy customer, to create our own franchising best practices.”
Thiessen shares a similar philosophy but acknowledges the importance of keeping business and family separate as the ultimate recipe for success.
“It’s been amazing and a blessing,” said Thiessen. “Family comes first, and when my mom came to me and said she wanted to do this, we sat down and solved for challenging scenarios so we could avoid future conflict. Thankfully it’s worked out, or I’d never be invited to the holidays!”
About Budget Blinds
Budget Blinds® is the largest window covering franchise in North America, offering custom blinds, shutters, shades, drapery, and more for residential and commercial consumers in more than 10,000 communities in North America. Budget Blinds’ nearly 900 business owners have dressed more than 25 million windows since 1992. Budget Blinds is part of Home Franchise Concepts (HFC).
For information, visit https://budgetblinds.com. For franchising info, go to https://franchise.budgetblinds.com/.
About Home Franchise Concepts
Home Franchise Concepts (HFC) is one of the world’s largest franchising systems in the home improvement goods and services space. HFC’s four brands including Budget Blinds, Tailored Living®, Concrete Craft® and AdvantaClean® are consistently rated at the top of their categories and supported by more than 2,100 franchise territories in North America.
About JM Family Enterprises, Inc.
JM Family Enterprises, Inc., founded by Jim Moran in 1968, is a $17.75 billion diversified automotive company ranked No. 20 on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest Private Companies. It is also ranked No. 26 by FORTUNE® as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For®, its 22nd consecutive year on the list.
Interact with JM Family on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
