"Great service and attitude will help you grow"

(Fayetteville, Arkansas) As the birthplace and home of Walmart, Arkansas is a great place for an entrepreneur to shine. The region has proven to be perfect for Aaron Lewis.

He opened CertaPro Painters of Fayetteville in 2006 with his wife and business partner Michelle. Soon they added two employees.

Today the couple boasts a thriving business that employs 60 people. Securing contracts with huge brands like Target and Bass Pro Shops helped the couple's business grow revenue exponentially, reaching more than $3 million during the last consecutive three years.

Lewis claims his success is owed in part to watching his grandfather run a profitable insurance company in the river valley of Arkansas which began in 1947. The business eventually went to Lewis's father, then to his brother and 70 years later is still a success. Lewis inherited his grandfather's business acumen and philanthropic heart and adopted his strategies which were to run and create a family business.

"I've always been keenly aware that the struggle is real for small businesses," Lewis said. "I don't think I would own a business outside of a franchise, and CertaPro was the perfect fit for my family because it offered support, a solid reputation and the freedom to work remotely so I could spend time with my family."

As the largest residential painting contractor in North America, CertaPro's success is owed to its corporate leadership, solid training and support programs and to its franchisees.

The company's locally owned and operated businesses consistently bring personalized service to customers in every region.

Lewis's franchise location embodies CertaPro's core values, which are centered on delivering integrity, practicing continuous improvement and taking pride in even the smallest details of the work they perform.

Drawing pride and inspiration from the strong values set by the CertaPro Painters system and his grandfather, Lewis said,

"My lifelong goal is to build a business like my grandfather did that serves as a conduit for generosity and social problem solving."

The path to success is hardly ever an easy one. After growing up without parents and raising his siblings from a young age, Lewis's grandfather started a bank to help others in the community. The success of the bank quickly fueled a local construction boom, with the first subdivisions and modern homes being built in the community.

At only 39, Lewis has a long way to go before reaching the legacy of generosity that his grandfather left, but it's in his DNA and in his business plan!

He and Michelle are already giving back to his state. The couple has set a goal of protecting 1,000 miles of wild streams in rural Arkansas. They are also building a citizenship program that focuses on work visas to help workers migrate successfully into US employment. The company employs several legal immigrant workers and enjoys watching them learn, grow and flourish into great workers who in turn, take care of their families.

"That's what it means to build a legacy and help others build new lives using the opportunities afforded them here in America," said Lewis. "I want to leave a legacy of helping people that have fewer opportunities than I do", says Lewis.

"I see business as a way to help solve many social problems including immigration".

CertaPro Painters of Fayetteville serves a wide area encompassing Northwest Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Commercial and residential painting is an estimated $60 billion industry in the U.S. and Canada.

CertaPro Painters has been consistently ranked No. 1 in its category by Entrepreneur magazine and boasts a customer referral rate that exceeds 95 percent. Best-in-class operational systems and procedures make CertaPro the most professional business model in the industry, and its satisfied customers are the direct benefactors.

What's more, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of actively employed painting and wall-covering contractors will increase by 38.5 percent during the 10-year period from 2010 to 2020. The bureau further concluded that sales of residential painting services are likely to increase by an annual rate of three to four percent during the same period.

For more information click on CertaPro Painters of Fayetteville or call 479-587-1250.

For more information click on a buying a CertaPro Painter Franchise

About CertaPro Painters

Founded in 1992, Audubon, Pennsylvania-based CertaPro Painters is the largest painting company in North America. With more than 350 independently owned and operated franchises worldwide, CertaPro provides a customer-driven painting experience for both residential and commercial properties that is unparalleled in the industry (both residential and commercial). The company's stellar service and proven business system have made CertaPro North America's most referred painting company. For more information, visit www.certapro.com