Building a Future with Kitchen Tune-Up in Washington State

Will and Cynthia Wright, owners of Kitchen Tune-Up Bellevue Kirkland

When Will and Cynthia Wright opened their Kitchen Tune-Up in Bellevue, WA, this past November, they joined the family with special insight into why Kitchen Tune-Up franchises succeed so well.

Will is a “franchise broker” – he researches franchises of all kinds and helps link would-be owners with the franchise that best fits their goals. He knows franchising, and he shopped around with care. He could have chosen any other opportunity. But he chose to build his own family’s future with Kitchen Tune-Up.

Kitchen Tune-Up: The Wright Match

Cynthia and Will come to Kitchen Tune-Up with backgrounds in widely varied fields. The two Washington natives met when both worked as managers handling onsite logistics for educational seminars. Will has managed a rock climbing gym, run a lodge in Botswana, and worked as a travel specialist. Cynthia started out working in a hotel (as everything from front desk clerk to catering manager), and most recently spent a decade as a city events planner and rental facilities manager.

When Covid-19 brought weddings, parties and gatherings to a halt, Cynthia’s work with the city took a hit. She was laid off, and she and Will decided to research other options for them as a family.

“After reviewing hundreds of concepts for clients, the seed of starting my own franchise rooted,” Will recalls. Initially, he and Cynthia considered buying a senior health care franchise. The couple looked on senior health care as a way to give back to their community through their business, but there weren’t many options for such franchises in their area, they told the Franchise Brokers Association in a recent interview. In the end, their deliberations came down to two choices: Kitchen Tune-Up or a senior care franchise.

They decided that Kitchen Tune-Up was “a perfect match,” Will says.

The Wrights wanted more control of their professional futures. “We were both tired of our employment fates being controlled by others and knew we had the convictions needed to grow our own business,” says Will. “With franchising, and in particular, Kitchen Tune-Up, the initial learning curve is cut dramatically because we are supported by an amazing corporate headquarters and family of existing franchisees.” Kitchen Tune-Up’s three-decade history, well-developed business model and proven track record convinced the Wrights to take the leap and become franchise owners.

Flexibility for Family Time

A franchise lets them create “something that is ours, but with the support of great systems and people behind us,” Will says. They can give back to the community while also having greater flexibility to spend time together as a family with their daughter.

Since starting the path toward franchise ownership, the Wrights have discovered things about themselves: Will says he finds he loves to learn new things. “Going through training like this is extremely invigorating,” he notes. Cynthia’s lesson, she says, is that “going outside of your comfort zone is scary but can be amazing.”

Will adds: “The greatest benefit of going into franchising so far has been the support and warm welcome we have received from everyone within the Kitchen Tune-Up family, from the Home Office to existing owners. Everybody wants to see and help you succeed.”

The couple appreciates how much renovating kitchens affects their clients, too. “We love Kitchen Tune-Up for the fact that you are dramatically, or subtly, changing their enjoyment of life,” they say.

To find out more about the Wrights’ Kitchen Tune-Up franchise, and see their work, visit their website here.