This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Teresa Johnson, CEO of Color Me Mine. It has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2005, I was working in a corporate HR role, thinking I was the definition of success. Then, the president of the company walked into my office and explained that the business wasn’t doing well. We should start our own business, he said.
At the time, I didn’t know anyone who ran their own business, but I had always been drawn to entrepreneurship. Still, I was a single mom with a mortgage to pay, so I needed to be practical.
That’s when I received an email from a paint-your-own pottery studio that my daughter and I occasionally visited. The owner said she was selling. I thought, “There’s my sign.” I purchased the business by charging $25,000 to my credit card.
My daughter helped run the business
Running the pottery business was still intense. The studio was open seven days a week, and my daughter Scout was there most of them, setting out brushes and cleaning tables. Scout was only in second grade, but she and I learned how to be entrepreneurs together over the years.
December is our busy season, and one night we were at the studios late, tying ribbons on ceramic ornaments. I asked Scout what her friend was doing that night, and she said, “studying for finals.” Finals were the next day, and I had my teenager working. That wasn’t one of my proudest parenting moments.
Still, Scout loved the business as much as I did. When she was a sophomore, she called and asked me to meet her for lunch. When I got there, Scout was with a real estate agent. We had already opened three locations, and Scout wanted to be my partner on a fourth. I said, “You don’t even have a driver’s license,” and she said, “You don’t need a driver’s license to open a business.”
I started as a franchisee and now run a franchise company
Scout really ran that location — she attended all the town meetings and handled the hiring. Eventually, it helped her get a college scholarship for entrepreneurship. It absolutely changed her life, and I’m so proud of the businesswoman she’s become.
Just like Scout, I was learning a ton about entrepreneurship. In 2010, I opened a franchise of a company called Painting with a Twist. I wanted to learn about franchising from the inside, because I saw it as a good business opportunity.
By 2020, I had five studios: three were independent, and two were franchises of Painting With a Twist. The next year, I had the opportunity to buy into the company Color Me Mine, which acquired Twist Brands LLC, the parent company of Painting With a Twist. I became the CEO of Color Me Mine.
I’ve seen how business can transform a family
Last year, Color Me Mine franchises generated more than $55 million in sales worldwide. I’m still not comfortable talking about my own financial status, or even acknowledging it. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I think that’s because life was hard when I quit my corporate job to start the business. Because I didn’t grow up with wealth, I didn’t miss it, however. Scout and I were always fine, and she learned hard lessons about work ethic.
Entrepreneurship has never been about the money for me. It’s about altering the course for an entire family. I get so much fulfillment out of seeing our franchisees do that. Buying a business changed my life, and Scout’s life, too. I’m grateful to be able to help other families do the same.
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