Trooper Earle on RTO Franchising, Leadership, and Building a Successful Rent to Own Business

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to survive four decades in the rent to own industry and still keep growing? In this episode of The RTO Show Legends Series, Pete Shau sits down with Trooper Earle of Premier Rental Purchase to unpack the real story behind building one of the most respected rent to own franchise systems in the country. Trooper shares how he went from managing ColorTyme stores in the 1980s to leading Premier Rental Purchase through banking crises, franchise expansion, technology transformation, and industry disruption. This episode explores rent to own franchising, RTO financing strategies, leadership development, franchise operations, customer relationships, and the systems that help independent operators succeed long term in the rental purchase business. What You’ll Learn: How Trooper Earle scaled from a single store manager to one of the largest ColorTyme franchise operators in the country The financing strategies and banking relationships that helped Premier Rental Purchase grow during uncertain economic periods Why training, systems, and operational consistency became critical to franchise success in the modern rent to own industry How Premier University transformed franchisee development, employee training, and long term business stability What makes successful rent to own operators different from investors who lack operational experience and customer connection Episode Highlights: 02:25 – Trooper Earle explains how he entered the rent to own industry through ColorTyme in 1983 06:01 – Growing to 16 stores and becoming one of the largest ColorTyme franchisees in the country 08:47 – The banking and financing crisis that forced major changes inside the RTO industry 11:49 – How Premier Rental Purchase was created after leaving the ColorTyme organization 18:44 – The financial lessons and mentorship that changed the way Trooper understood business operations 22:42 – How Premier built a franchise model focused on operators instead of wealthy investors 27:51 – Acquiring the remaining ColorTyme franchise locations and bringing them into the Premier network 46:07 – The creation of Premier University and why training became essential for franchise success 53:45 – How the Premier mobile app is reshaping the customer experience in rent to own 58:04 – Trooper’s advice for future franchise owners, entrepreneurs, and RTO leaders Meet the Guest: Trooper Earle is the founder and CEO of Premier Rental Purchase, one of the leading rent to own franchise organizations in the United States. With more than 40 years of experience in the rental purchase industry, he has helped franchisees grow successful RTO businesses through operational systems, financing support, leadership training, and long term mentorship. Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned: Premier University training platform SBA 7A financing strategy for rent to own stores Franchise funding and operational planning systems VersaRent integration and cloud based RTO technology Premier mobile app and digital customer engagement tools Financial statement analysis for RTO operators Relationship based franchise leadership model Franchise transition and succession planning support Data driven store profitability analysis Closing Insight: “If you want to succeed in business, passion, relationships, and systems matter more than almost anything else.” APRO Association of Professional Rental Organizations Wow Brands Digital Marketing for the RTO industry - Including Web d