Jason Weissman opens his Floor Coverings International of Northeast Orlando store and mobile business in Orange City, Florida, last December,
One of the more important lessons Jason Weissman learned after 20 years of working in professional motorsports is you don’t win every race. The former NASCAR engineer and crew chief is reminded of that fact regularly now as he grows his new Floor Coverings International franchise.
“In racing, you lose a lot more than you win, and hopefully learn from those experiences and make the necessary adjustments. It’s a lot like sales, especially when you’ve never done it before,” Weissman said. “But after a slow start, we’ve made massive strides the last four months. We’re starting to hit some of our sales numbers, even though there is still plenty of room for improvement.”
With Floor Coverings International, Weissman has joined a flooring brand that installs hardwood, carpet, tile, vinyl and other floor styles. The company, which has over 200 locations throughout the United States and Canada, is a subsidiary of FirstService Brands, which also owns CertaPro Painters and Paul Davis Restoration.
Weissman, who opened his Floor Coverings International of Northeast Orlando store and mobile business in Orange City, Florida, last December, is one of the brands’ newer franchisees. He’s an engaging personality whose voice slows down and becomes more deliberate, with carefully chosen words, when he’s talking about his franchise business.
When asked about past jobs, which included 10 years working for a number of NASCAR crew teams—engineer for Richard Childress Racing, Hendrick and Robby Gordon Motorsports and crew chief for Sutton and JT Masse Motorsports—he tends to shy away from providing too many details.
Weissman’s preference is to keep his past in the past and to focus on his future as a franchisee.
“I got to work with incredibly brilliant people and I had great mentors. … It was time to move on and try something different,” said Weissman, who left the motorsports world in 2014 to work seven years as a mechanical engineer for a multi-billion-dollar federal contractor he prefers not to name.
“What do I miss about motorsports? I miss the technical side of it,” said Weissman, who specialized in developing high-end shock systems for race cars. “What don’t I miss about it? I don’t miss the dog-and-pony show on race day.”
Weissman said his transition from working in professional motorsports to Corporate America to eventually franchising took a lot self-discovery. After leaving his last job, he hired a life coach, who helped him figure out what was missing in his life, and that in turn led him to a franchise coach, who helped him decide on a brand he wanted to invest in and represent.
“He asked me, ‘So, what do you not want to do?’ which I thought was a great, great question. I told him I knew I didn’t want to own a food business. Well, when you take out food, your funnel really narrows,” said Weissman, who considered oil change and bathroom re-fitter brands before zeroing in on Floor Coverings International.
Weissman, who wanted to work with people and demanded top customer service, said after engaging in a series of deep conversations with Floor Coverings and its franchising team, he knew it was the right fit for him. “Every single person at FCI that I talked to had the top-down values that was exactly what I wanted,” he said.
Floor Coverings International has over 200 locations throughout the United States and Canada, and is a subsidiary of FirstService Brands, which also owns CertaPro Painters and Paul Davis Restoration.
The feeling was mutual, according to CEO Tom Wood. “We look to attract people who want more out of life than a paycheck,” Wood said. “They want to excel, make a great living and find a life within their career. Jason is a perfect example of a franchisee who is looking to do much more than dollars. He showed us early on that he wanted a long-term scalable business that could give him access to community involvement.”
When asked what he misses about working for Corporate America, Weissman once again didn’t pull any punches. “I consider myself a hard-working, grind-it-out person and I can say that without a doubt this is the hardest job I’ve ever had. But I got to tell you, it sure beats Corporate America, every single day,” he said. “I don’t miss it at all, how slow it was to make change happen and all the politics.
“I love this job,” Weissman concluded. “Even on the hardest days.”
Floor Coverings International investment range is $165,400 to $235,100 with a franchise fee of $30,000, according to the company FDD.