As the son of owners of a Baskin Robbins store, Mario Battaglia is familiar with the franchise concept. When the eastern territory for a Budget Blinds franchise became available, Battaglia jumped at the chance.His territory includes eastern Colorado Springs, the Powers Corridor, Falcon, Peyton and Calhan.Battaglia said the Budget Blinds franchise is the largest window coverings franchise retailer in North America. “There’s a lot of benefit (to that),” he said. “They have special products lines made only for Budget Blinds – and special pricing.”The on-going training was another draw to the Budget Blinds company, he said. “The training is always there,” Battaglia said, adding that they had a weekend training session last month.Battaglia started operating his franchise May 1.Because the company requires franchise owners to operate strictly from their van without a storefront, Battaglia can set his own hours of operation. “Right now, it’s just me and my wife that operate it and we have the phones on pretty much 9 to 5 Monday through Friday,” he said. “We’re open Saturdays by appointment only.”
