I think this is a skill that takes years to develop but one that is key to your success as a painter or as a sub-contractor in general. I hear painters say that they will not work with any contractors and I hear the horror stories that go along with this. As we all know there are always two sides to every story, as they used to say there's the one side ,there's the other side, and then there's the truth somewhere in the middle.
I can't help but wonder if the reason that they despise working with contractors is that they have yet to develop that skill that we were talking about. That skill that in my opinion is very easy to acquire,all it takes is a desire to put in the time to learn it.
I believe this is yet another reason why so many independent contractors fail. The belief that "I work for myself now so I should be able to make all the rules and always have the final say".
Well that simply is not the truth. I tell my children when they come home from school and complain they have to listen to everything that the teacher says, I always say "get used to it because whether you have your own business or work for someone it will always be the same"
When you are doing a project for that contractor THEY ARE YOUR BOSS. Understand that and you have solved that great mystery. So brush up on your people skills and eat a little crow with the knowledge that your business will be the better for it, sometimes you'll learn that you'll pick up even more business in the process.
