The year was 2014, and Michelle Flynn was working in an office with no windows when it dawned on her that she simply didn’t love her job. The realization drove her to seek out a new opportunity—one that tapped into her people skills honed over 15 years in the restaurant industry and allowed her to get out of an office and into her community of Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Introduced to Wine & Design through the colorful, fun paintings hanging in her friends’ homes after a group trip to Richmond she couldn’t attend, it wasn’t until a family friend opened Wine & Design’s Charlottesville studio that Flynn considered the brand as a business opportunity.

“I thought about how fun the concept was, how it related to my skill set and how cool it would be to bring an emerging concept to the Fredericksburg market,” Flynn said. “So, I went for it.”

One of the most alluring aspects of Wine & Design for Flynn was the idea of getting out in the community and leveraging her existing connections in the restaurant industry with the brand’s On Wheels division. She elected to begin her Wine & Design business as a purely mobile-based paint and sip concept before investing in a brick-and-mortar studio.

Wine & Design’s On Wheels division allowed Flynn to partner with local businesses for off-site painting classes at a number of different venues. Through the On Wheels division, Wine & Design also travels for private parties of all kinds, as well. The off-site painting class offering was appealing to potential partner businesses in Flynn’s area because the brand takes care of all the details, from registration and payment to supplies and setup to artist instruction to cleanup. The partnership also benefits host businesses by attracting and engaging new and existing customers in their own space, extending the purchase opportunity.

Because Fredericksburg is centrally located among five counties, Flynn would regularly hold 30-to 40-person events at a winery that was 40 minutes from the city. In addition to local restaurants and businesses, some of her partners along the way have included wineries, breweries, churches and senior communities.

While the brand now requires all franchisees to operate a brick-and-mortar studio as well, Wine & Design’s On Wheels program is still a flourishing aspect of its five-division business model. The On Wheels program also benefits franchisees by creating a private party market for a number of different occasions, from birthdays to bachelorette parties—an offering made famous by the brand’s feature episode on Shark Tank that featured a nude model as a painting subject.

“On Wheels is all about networking, and I used my network to start my business,” Flynn said. “Within a year and a half, I had a brick-and mortar-location because On Wheels helped spread the word. I once had a customer that came to an event at a winery because it was only 10 minutes from their house who has now recommended me to a number of friends for private
parties. As my business has grown over the last five years, I’ve taken on a lot of private parties. That’s how it grows—it’s almost like a grassroots marketing. You’re constantly putting feelers out there as far as you can go.”

On Wheels is an attractive aspect of Wine & Design’s franchise offering due to its strong value proposition for prospective partner businesses and its ability to expose the brand to a pool of customers who otherwise may not have encountered it in-studio. That’s why Flynn advises all new owners to get out there, and get out there often.

“Taking advantage of the newness of the paint and sip concept and my willingness to travel far and wide to hold classes and events was a huge benefit to me early on,” Flynn said. “It’s essential to do On Wheels when starting out just to get the exposure. The cross-promotion that came from very successful area businesses offering this new thing was incredibly validating for my business. It’s essential for new studios especially to network in their community to get good events going to drive that awareness and intrigue.”

Start-up costs for a Wine & Design franchise range from $69,950 to $221,200, including a $25,000 franchise fee. For more information about franchising with Wine & Design, visit www.wineanddesign.com/franchise

By: Madeline Lena

1851 – No Limit Agency