Success Stories

The Entrepreneur’s Source Franchise Friday Success Story: Tom Lindberg of Sir Grout Franchising

It’s common to get burnt out after spending years in corporate America. In fact, only about one third of workers in the U.S. are truthfully engaged in their career, leading to an increase in those experiencing Battered Career Syndrome. With minimal job security, these employees work extensive hours for low pay and ultimately get exhausted from their everyday work routine.

About Tom Lindberg

Tom Lindberg, president and co-founder of Sir Grout Franchising, was in this boat before he made the transition from corporate America to entrepreneurship. On last week’s episode of The Entrepreneur’s Source Franchise Friday, host Brendan Major was joined by Tom Lindberg, to discuss his transition from the corporate world to franchising.

Before founding Sir Grout Franchising, Tom worked in the corporate sector for nearly 20 years. He served as Vice President, International and member of senior leadership team for Honeywell International’s CPG Group, where he was responsible for all its brands and 13 overseas business units across Asia, Europe and Mexico. Prior to that, he held various roles in sales and marketing with Union Carbide, First Brands, Prestone Products and AlliedSignal Corporations.

Moving from Employment to Empowerment in the New Career Economy

After his moral compass began to flicker, he decided to leave the corporate world for good and move from Employment to Empowerment. Tom wanted to become self-sufficient in his career path and move toward a more proactive approach.

“I didn’t like the things that I was seeing in the corporate world and decided to make a change. I used to work in the consumer products world, not even in the service world, but found the service world is very rewarding,” Tom said.

Tom soon found himself entering the New Career Economy. He was ready to pursue a career path that he had control over and take over his professional destiny. After identifying all of the things that he wanted out of his next career, he finally had an epiphany.

“At the end of the day, I decided to build and create my own business,” Tom noted. “As I had been doing throughout my previous career, I just wanted to build a business model that was built upon a set of values that worked for me and not for the corporate world.”

Transitioning to a Successful Franchise

Sir Grout Franchising is a franchise with a unique service model that restores tile, grout, stone and wood franchises around North America and Asia. Sir Grout Franchising has over 35 locations in 16 states and was ranked in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 500 Franchises in 2014.

Within a year of starting Sir Grout, he realized that he had a business model that was scalable and replicable, a great starting point for the franchising sector. He spent the next year refining this model and making it perfect for franchise.

Today, after the success of Sir Grout, Tom is completely satisfied with his decision to transition from the corporate world to entrepreneurship. “I’m both financially and emotionally rewarded by being a franchisor,” he said. “I love the success, and I love the ride. “