How Budget Blinds Franchise CareyAnne Hill Achieved Her Three-Year Plan in Under a Year
After opening Budget Blinds of Poughkeepsie amidst the pandemic, Hill far exceeded her sales expectation thanks to the window-covering brand’s proven business model, strong support infrastructure and uniquely well-positioned consumer offering.
Budget Blinds, a 1,300-unit window covering franchise, has been growing exponentially as homeowners spend more time renovating their spaces following the COVID-19 pandemic. CareyAnne Hill of Budget Blinds of Poughkeepsie, New York is one of those recently added franchisees who joined the window-covering brand last year after recognizing the exciting opportunity and well-positioned business model.
All in the Family
Prior to franchising, Hill was both a stay-at-home mom for 20 years and an entrepreneur, running her own baking business from home. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and Hill started thinking about new career opportunities, she didn’t have to look far. Hill’s husband has been a JM Family Enterprises associate for more than 15 years, which is the parent company that purchased Home Franchise Concepts (HFC) and Budget Blinds two years ago. Since Hill has a degree in interior design, Budget Blinds immediately caught her eye as an exciting new adventure.
“During our down time in quarantine, we started thinking more about HFC’s different franchise concepts and decided it would be a great time to invest in one,” said Hill. “The more we looked into Budget Blinds, the more I saw it would be a great opportunity to use my interior design degree to help people in our community.”
As the top provider of custom window coverings in North America, Budget Blinds is a widely recognized brand in the growing home-improvement franchise industry. Franchisees can capitalize on a powerful brand name with national recognition and an amazing network of Alliance vendors and contribute to their community by helping people enjoy their homes even more.
How Budget Blinds Helps Franchisees Thrive
Hill says there were several aspects of the low-cost Budget Blinds business model that appealed to her as an entrepreneur. “I knew I would have a road map to success,” she said. “Both the network of other franchisees and the corporate team were so helpful in understanding the day-to-day operations. I knew I wasn’t going to be alone. As someone who started a business in the past, I know how challenging it can be, so it is nice to know you have help and assistance out there from people doing what you are doing.”
When it comes to support, the brand’s expert training staff provides highly personalized and informative training from immersive product knowledge and sales, to comprehensive local area marketing programs and installation support. Franchise owners like Hill can leverage a dedicated team at the Budget Blinds home office and the brand’s marketing power in order to achieve their dreams of owning a business.
Why the Time Has Never Been Better to Invest in Budget Blinds
Hill bought the Budget Blinds of Poughkeepsie franchise in July 2020 and went live a few months later. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Hill says the ramp up to growth has been faster than she ever expected.
“I initially planned on having my franchise be a home-based business, but we realized very quickly that we were outgrowing the garage,” said Hill. “We kept driving by an office building, so I took a leap of faith and signed a lease agreement. We did all the construction on top of running the business and opened the showroom in April 2021. Now, I have full-time installers and office managers.”
In addition to the scalability of the business model, Hill attributes much of her success over the past year to the growing popularity of renovations due to the pandemic, as well as the influx of new homeowners moving away from the city.
“Basically, we achieved our three-year plan over the course of one year, and sales stayed steady the whole way through,” Hill said. “We are blown away by how quickly the business has progressed and the opportunity it has afforded my family in such a short period of time. All of my children worked with me over the summer.”
This time last year, Hill says she was going through the Budget Blinds virtual training program in the back seat of her car while driving her son to college. “Now, thanks to Budget Blinds, we don’t have to worry about paying for college the same way we did last year,” she said. “It has been such a great experience, and I’ve even had several friends following in our footsteps as referrals.”
Looking ahead, Hill says she is pursuing purchasing another Budget Blinds territory in the area by the end of the year. Additionally, she says her husband is also purchasing a kitchen franchise under the HFC umbrella.
“We’re so excited to have CareyAnne onboard and already succeeding with the brand,” said Home Franchise Concepts' CDO Jonathan Thiessen. “With qualified franchisees like CareyAnne, Budget Blinds is on pace to have another milestone year in 2021 as our franchisees across the country continue to thrive. CarryAnne was our first referral to come from within the JM Family team and is a prime example of how Budget Blind franchisees are not just joining a business — they are joining a family.”
For more information on franchising with Budget Blinds, please visit https://franchise.budgetblinds.com/.
