Last updated on May 8, 2026 by Franchise Chatter
in Paint-Your-Own Pottery Franchise, Q & A Interview
In 2006, Teresa Johnson purchased a local independent paint-your-own pottery studio on her credit card for $25,000. With no prior business experience and a young daughter by her side, she learned what it meant to be a business owner in real time. Today, Teresa is the CEO of Color Me Mine, the $55M leading paint-your-own pottery brand, and her daughter Scout has followed in her footsteps as a multi-unit, multi-brand franchisee.
Franchise Chatter (FC): Both of you have proven that entrepreneurship is a skill that can be learned and improved upon. What’s your response to the idea that entrepreneurs are simply born that way?
Teresa Johnson (TJ): I don’t believe entrepreneurs are simply born—I believe they’re shaped. Yes, some people may naturally lean toward risk-taking or independence, but the reality is that entrepreneurship is a set of skills that can be learned and strengthened over time. When I started, I didn’t have it all figured out. What I did have was a willingness to learn, work hard, and stay curious. Failure played a bigger role in shaping me than success ever did. It forces you to grow in ways that success simply doesn’t.
To someone who doesn’t see themselves as the entrepreneurial type, I’d say you don’t have to become someone else to build a business. Entrepreneurship isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about being willing to ask better questions and make better decisions as you grow.
Scout Turner (ST): The idea that entrepreneurs are “born that way” doesn’t really hold up in practice. Entrepreneurship is a set of behaviors and skills that people develop over time. You see successful entrepreneurs coming from every kind of background and education level.
That said, there is something tangible that matters. In the words of Sawney Webb, they need to have “the go in them.” That inner push to take initiative, to not just accept things as they are—that’s the real spark. And if you have that, you can build the rest.
FC: Teresa, you took a leap buying your first pottery painting studio on your credit card. How did you think about risk, and how did you envision making it work?
TJ: Looking back, it probably sounds riskier than it felt. I was working out a non-compete agreement from my corporate job and not doing anything was a bigger risk. I didn’t think about it as a bold leap—I thought about it as an opportunity.
My vision for making it work was actually pretty simple. I focused on the fundamentals—creating a great customer experience, being present in the business, understanding the numbers, and staying connected to the team. It wasn’t about trying to build something massive overnight. It was about getting each day right.
FC: What did work-life balance look like for you as a single mother running a small business?
TJ: In the beginning, work-life balance wasn’t really a balance. My life and my business were very intertwined, and my daughter was often with me at the studio. She saw the long days and the problem solving in real time.
I think there’s a misconception that balance means everything is evenly distributed all the time. For me, it was more about doing what needed to be done in that moment and continuing to re-prioritize as needed.
What I’ve come to realize is that work-life balance evolves. In those early years, it looked like hustle and sacrifice. But it also created a foundation—for both of us—that shaped how we think about work, responsibility, and opportunity.
FC: You have talked about being a mentor for your daughter Scout. What did that mentorship look like in your early years, and how has that shaped what you now try to mentor others as CEO of Color Me Mine?
TJ: In the early years, mentorship with Scout was just a day in the life. She was with me in the studio, watching how I handled customers, employees, and decisions. She saw the good days and the hard ones. It was about modeling lessons in real time. I was intentional about including her and letting her be part of the experience. She was learning what it meant to show up and care about the outcome.
That experience has shaped how I mentor others today as CEO of Color Me Mine. I believe mentorship is less about telling people what to do and more about creating an environment where they can learn and build confidence through experience. Because at the end of the day, the most meaningful mentorship isn’t just what you say—it’s what people see you do.
FC: What’s your message to mothers who might be sitting on a business idea right now but feel like they don’t have the credentials, the capital or the bandwidth to make it happen?
TJ: I would say—you don’t have to have everything figured out to get started. Most people don’t. I didn’t. It’s easy to talk yourself out of an idea because you think you’re missing something—more experience, more money, more time. But those things often come because you start, not before.
And as a mother, you already have more transferable skills than you probably give yourself credit for—time management, problem-solving, resilience, prioritization. Those are the same skills it takes to run a business.
It won’t always feel balanced, and it won’t always be easy. But if the idea keeps coming back, you just have to be willing to start where you are and grow from there.
FC: Scout, as someone who grew up around business ownership, and now as a multi-unit, multi-brand operator, what do you think most people get wrong about what it actually takes to succeed?
ST: One of the biggest misconceptions I see is the idea that a franchise is a self-operating business model. In reality, even with strong systems and brand support, you’re still dealing with people who require leadership, direction, and constant engagement.
You can build a strong team and put solid operational structures in place, but those don’t replace leadership; they amplify it. A business still needs someone setting the tone, reinforcing expectations, and making sure things stay aligned.
The most successful operations I’ve seen have a shared goal that everyone is working toward—something bigger than just showing up and doing a job. But you also need someone who’s consistently holding the team accountable to it, making sure it actually shows up in day-to-day decisions and behaviors.
FC: Your mom was both your parent and your entrepreneurial role model. What did that dynamic look like growing up?
ST: It wasn’t always easy. Having your parent also be your entrepreneurial role model can blur lines, and there were definitely moments where that dynamic felt challenging. But looking back, it gave me a front-row seat to what real hard work actually looks like.
Our relationship often felt more like a mentor dynamic than a traditional parent-child one. She shifted from pushing and teaching me back into more of a mom role depending on what I needed at the time, which I didn’t fully appreciate until later.
FC: What lessons from the years growing up inside a small business still shape how you run your locations today?
ST: A lot of what shapes how I run my locations today comes directly from those early years inside a small business.
The idea of going above and beyond for customers was ingrained in me early. I saw firsthand what it looks like to truly care—like delivering a piece of pottery on Christmas Eve just to make sure someone had their gift in time. And that standard still drives how we take care of people today.
Another big one is never making excuses and always delivering on what you promise. Things go wrong in business, but how you respond is what matters. If we mess up, we own it. It’s always better to be honest, take responsibility, and take action to make it right.
I also learned that accountability is non-negotiable. If you don’t hold people accountable, standards slip. Clear expectations and consistent follow-through are what keep a business running smoothly.
At the same time, I believe in being generous. That can show up in how you treat your team, how you support your community, or how you handle situations with customers. Generosity builds trust and loyalty in a way that nothing else really can.
FC: You opened your own pottery studio at 15. How did that early ownership experience shape your approach to business ownership?
ST: Opening a brick and mortar pottery studio at 15 was a crash course in business ownership. It showed me what I was naturally good at and highlighted where I needed to improve. It was also my first time hiring and managing people. I had to learn how to evaluate fit, how to lead, and how to have difficult conversations when things weren’t going right.
I also started to understand the role a small business plays in its community. Being involved, giving back, and building real relationships isn’t optional—it’s part of what makes a business meaningful and sustainable.
And most of all, that experience solidified that I genuinely loved small business ownership. That passion led me to earn a scholarship to college for entrepreneurship, and I continued studying business at a deeper level.