Fibrenew : Fibrenew Owner Mike Carter on 17 Years in Ashburn, Virginia
How to use this video
This video features insights from a current franchisee sharing their experience with the Fibrenew franchise. As you watch, listen for details about daily involvement, support, and challenges as well as successes. If this perspective resonates, the next step is to request more information and speak directly with the franchisor.
About This Video
This Fibrenew franchisee insights video features Mike Carter, owner of Fibrenew of Loudoun LLC in Ashburn, Virginia. Mike has been a Fibrenew franchisee for 17 years and uses the testimonial to walk prospective candidates through the daily reality of the mobile leather, plastic, and vinyl restoration franchise — and through what he has learned about customers, family, and the business model along the way. On lifestyle and flexibility, Mike and his wife Diane bought the franchise specifically because they wanted a business that would let Mike spend more time with their three young kids — at the time aged one, three, and five. The business has delivered on that flexibility, both for the family side and for accommodating customer schedules. Mike also describes himself as a man in motion who does not do well sitting behind a desk, which makes the on-site mobile-repair format a fit for his temperament. On business model and operations, Mike notes that his model today is essentially the same one he bought into 17 years ago — a mobile repair service where everything happens on the road, not in a shop or garage. He credits the brand's training procedures and the work of earlier owners who figured out the technical methods: do what you're taught in training and you will be successful. Adaptability with customers is the part you learn on the job — finding out what the customer actually wants, not what you assume should happen. On family succession, Mike's son Kyle came home from his freshman year of college and asked to work in the business; Mike put him through the same training program as any new technician and Kyle has stated he would like to eventually own and run the franchise after Mike retires. Mike's closing reflection — across 17 years of restoring everything from a 2007 Prius interior to a Rolls-Royce Phantom — is that the work is about meeting each customer's expectations, whatever level those are. This watch page is part of the Fibrenew US content series on Franchise Direct.