Celebrating International Women’s Day 2021
Posted on March 8, 2021
To celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8), we want to spotlight four women franchisees who come from different backgrounds and successfully live the CertaPro Painters® four core values: Deliver What You Promise, Respect the Individual, Have Pride in What You Do, and Practice Continuous Improvement.
We’re fortunate to have many women-owned or co-owned franchises and their associates, as well as our corporate employees across North America, who are advancing the CertaPro Painters® brand every day. The women throughout our organization have leveraged their skills, leadership, and success and paved the way for other females to get involved and make a difference at CertaPro Painters®. We hope you enjoy the advice we gathered from four of our franchisee owners.
Paula Murray, co-owner of CertaPro Painters® of Pittsburgh – South Hills, PA
Paula’s career began in retail, where she led sales, operations, communications, and training and eventually led to B2B consulting. When she realized how much she missed interacting with customers, she decided to explore other options. In the spring of 2019, Paula and her husband, Dante, took over CertaPro Painters® of Pittsburgh – South Hills, PA, and have been significantly growing the business ever since.
Best advice for aspiring women business owners: Use your strengths in every part of the business.
Cynthia Etheart-Joseph, co-owner of CertaPro Painters® of Boca Raton, FL
Cynthia is a proud Haitian-American who spent 20 years working as an HR Executive at a prestigious financial services firm. She and her husband, Gerard, always thought about franchising and the possibility of running their own business. After a move to Florida, tons of research, and an epiphany, they decided to take a leap of faith and join CertaPro Painters® in the late summer of 2018.
Best advice for aspiring women business owners: Know the industry/space you are operating in to demonstrate competence and confidence. Develop a supporting team of experts who can help you at every turn. Build a network of other women doing similar things.
Barbie Dorsey, owner of CertaPro Painters® of Wilmington, NC
Barbie’s first experience with CertaPro Painters® was as a customer. Years later, she joined CertaPro Painters® of Raleigh, NC’s Sales Team as a Design & Sales Consultant in 2012. She quickly found success within the company, working on both the residential and commercial sales teams and winning various awards. When a turf opened up in Wilmington, NC, Barbie decided to jump at the opportunity and become an owner herself.
Best advice for aspiring women business owners: Have resilience. Decide what’s important. Seek support and guidance. Stay focused and revisit goals.
Darcy Scott, co-owner of CertaPro Painters® of Southern Maryland
Darcy spent decades working in Washington D.C.’s political scene filling various roles from Donor Advisor for the Stern Family Fund to Senior VP of Government Affairs at M+R Strategic Services, and Senior Policy Advisor for the National Center of Healthy Housing. For the past ten years, she served as an independent consultant, running events large and small. Eventually, Darcy and her husband, Mark, decided they wanted to run their own business. They took over CertaPro Painters® of Southern Maryland in November 2020.
Best advice for aspiring women business owners: Believe in yourself. Is there something magical about the boss you have now? If not, then why not hire yourself.
