Strategy

Texas Mom Thrives as Custom Apparel Franchise Owner

Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More, a franchise apparel shop and Under Armour-approved decorator with 84 locations in the U.S., has recently been named one of Franchise Business Review’s Top 50 Franchises for Women. Nearly 40% of Big Frog’s franchisees are women, with 15% being husband-and-wife duos. A top performer in the Big Frog system earning over $600,000 in revenue, Nancy Provolt was attracted to the retail T-shirt business.

Texas Mom Thrives as Custom Apparel Franchise Owner

“Even though I’ve never decorated T-shirts, I’ve been involved with buying them,” Provolt says. “There’s a comfort level there. I’ve worked with booster clubs and ordered T-shirts for family reunions. Guys are less likely to care about those things.”

Working in marketing communications for over 20 years, Provolt was ready for a change. She and her husband moved from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to northwest Austin, Texas, where she opened a Big Frog location. “My heart wasn’t into going back to the corporate world,” Provolt says. “I wanted to start my own business and be charge in of my own destiny.”

Almost five years later, Provolt has had zero regrets with the upscale boutique. She loves working with the local animal shelter and high school, serving as a pillar of the community. A large portion of sales come from the Parent Teacher Association, which she has established a mutually beneficial relationship with.

“In Texas, football is religion,” Provolt says. “When your kid is a senior in high school, you can’t relate to what a mom is going through. So we started a tradition a couple years ago where moms of the senior players wear these beautiful white Augusta mesh jerseys with black glitter on them. It helps bring them all together during such an emotional time.”

From being greeted at the front door to working with a designer to create a personalized shirt, Provolt says customers enjoy the whole process. Provolt enjoys it, too, and has aspirations to open more locations in the future.