For 20-plus years, Matt Moten had a successful career working for one of the top-five commercial material sales companies in the world. However, his job responsibilities offered little to no work-life balance. While Moten was grappling with his less-than-ideal work situation, his wife, Tracy, was preparing to re-enter the workforce after taking time off from her teaching job to raise their children. By Jennifer Callender
For 20-plus years, Matt Moten had a successful career working for one of the top-five commercial material sales companies in the world. However, his job responsibilities offered little to no work-life balance. While Moten was grappling with his less-than-ideal work situation, his wife, Tracy, was preparing to re-enter the workforce after taking time off from her teaching job to raise their children.
“When it was time to re-enter the school system, Tracy found that the culture had changed, and she decided that she really didn’t want to go back,” Moten recalled. This was the first of many events that helped the Motens realize they wanted and needed to take the leap into franchising.
In 2009, Moten advanced through the ranks to director of sales for a building materials company. “In this role, I was assigned the unfortunate duty of laying off 23 employees. This experience made a lasting impression on me – realizing that that could be me someday,” he said.
“I had to decide if I wanted to move, with a daughter going into high school, or if we wanted to reinvent ourselves,” Moten explained. “That’s when we started looking into franchises. Floor Coverings International (FCI) was one of the first options presented to me, and I turned it down initially because it wasn’t sexy. However, each time we spoke with someone at FCI, it felt like family. We loved the feeling we got from not only FCI but also the franchisees that we spoke with. The culture was evident.”
In addition to Floor Coverings International’s sterling reputation as a part of FirstService Brands, the brand’s support makes transitioning from corporate America to the franchise world easy. “Floor Coverings International offered me the support and structure I needed. I don’t think I would’ve been successful without it,” Moten shared.
As the co-owner of the Floor Coverings International Cleveland South location for over five years, Moten’s only regret is that he wishes he would have looked into franchise business ownership sooner.
Jennifer Callender