Educating the Public

Hi everyone,
I wanted to post today about educating your customers (and future customers) about the painting process. See I have this belief that the public believes that anyone of them could do what you do in an instant,

Now granted, as I've said before painting isn't "Rocket Science" but it does require 5 skills that not everyone has. Those skills in no particular order are:

1. Preparation
2. Patience
3. Skill with the tools(Brushes,Rollers etc..)
4. Knowledge
5. Experience

Like I said you can arrange the order any way you chose but these skills are very important to the finished product, They guarantee that any project that you work on will be a success.


I hear from time to time from clients that they were going to do the project themselves but they didn't have the time. I'm thinking when I hear that about the l ist of 5 that I mentioned. Sometimes they will show me a painting project that they completed a long time ago and ask how it looks to me and not wanting to insult a prospective client but also not wanting to lie to them I say it doesn't look bad for a person who doesn't do this everyday.

 Listen I get that you want to sound capable but you are really showing professional painters a total lack of respect. I am sure you don't say those same things to the plumber or electrician who come to your house.

 Please understand that painting is a skilled trade that not everyone is cut out to do and like any other trade takes many years to become proficient at. Next time show respect and thank your painter for doing a quality job.

Product Review-Emerald Interior & Exterior Paint Product Video By Sherwin-Williams

As part of my Product Review series I would like you to take a look at this video.Emerald Interior & Exterior Paint Product Video By Sherwin-Williams



If you know me you know that Sherwin Williams is my paint of choice for many reasons. I will do a post on paint Big Box Stores vs Paint Stores soon, but for now I would like you to check out this product and it"s many advantages.

If you have used this product already and would like to give your own review I would be happy to hear from you and I will post your comments so we can discuss it here.

For now check it out and let me know what you think.

Hi Everyone!

I am back and ready to start posting again, I am sorry for my long absence from my blog, I was extremely busy with my business and moving and a lot of other things that when I think about it sound like excuses, and I don"t like making excuses.

I have missed not blogging and giving advice that I hope was helpful to you. I promise to be more diligent and to keep posting all through 2016 and beyond if possible.

I believe that I have a lot to share with everyone and I want to hear from you all on how your business is progressing along. I really am interested to learn how painters and entrepreneurs in general run their day to day operations and how they balance the job of both being the best possible person you can be(whether that be with your wife or husband or kids or pets).

I will try to keep you informed of the latest products on the market to make you better painters and make you more productive at running you business. I will try to pass on my knowledge and experience to make your job easier.

I am still learning still growing in my business everyday even after 17 years. But I believe you can never stop trying to be the best that you can at what you do, that's what makes life so great.
I will go through this journey with you and maybe we can learn from each other.

Follow my blog again and I promise you that you wont be disappointed.

Thanks.

The lost art of Staining

This is a topic that I have been neglecting to post because of the fact that it has become a lost art over the years. I believe it is because of the fact that it is so much more easier to paint over something then to put in the time and effort it takes to do a nice stain. We need to become more old school in our treatment of our wood, and there is no better way then to apply some stain.

I know that some of you are saying to yourselves that you are afraid to mess up and have a horrible looking project well I am going to go over the basic techniques with you to help you do a great stain job every time.

First thing you must do is Prep, this means that whatever the project is(cabinet doors,vanity,kitchen table,etc...) you must sand off the old finish(If there is one)and make sure you are very diligent when doing so,get in all the nooks and crannies so that the wood looks like new. Always sand with  the grain of the wood.Try to sand out any dings and dent that you may find. Start with a medium grade sandpiper and gradually move up to a finer grade.

After you have removed all the old finish you must go over the whole project with a Tack Cloth to make sure there is no dust or debris left to mess up your finish. When you are confident the you have a smooth and dust free project then you can do what were here to do.

Now the fun part the Staining, make sure you have a pair of rubber gloves and a good staining brush to apply the stain. Make sure you brush it on in one direction and don't forget all the nooks and crannies,
don't be afraid to apply too much you will be wiping off the excess. After it is all covered let it dry for about 10 minutes and wipe with a clean rage. Let dry for about 4 hours and apply a second coat if you wish to darken up the color or just let dry over night.

When you are pleased with the finish apply a good Polyurethane(water based or Oil) and your project is complete. Hope this was helpful. Send me pics of projects that you have completed, I would really enjoy seeing them.

Customer Satisfaction

No matter what business you are in ,whether you sell goods or a service your #1 priority should be your customers satisfaction. If that is not top of the list for you then you need to reevaluate your priorities.
There are too many companies out there today that seem to think that the customer owes them.Without our customers we would be bagging groceries somewere or probably doing some job that we really dislike instead of owning our own businesses.

It is a privilege to provide our services to our clients and we should understand that before we ever apply for our first business license, to go into business thinking anything else is a mistake that can cost you everything. Your reputation is something you must pride yourself on from the star if you want to succeed.

I heard a local company on the radio yesterday that had a great line that said "we are not done until your satisfied" and I thought that is so true, if we all took that approach think how much smoother ever transaction would be. All business would benefit from that approach.

Take the time to ask your customers if everything is O.K and take care of any little problems along the way.
Make sure the lines of communication are always open and you can reached at any time to answer any question or concern that they may have. Take the time when the job is complete to say thank you and tell them that you appreciate there business.

The way the economy is today we as small business owners owe it to ourselves and our clients to make sure we provide the best service possible.
Our customers are the reason we are able to earn a living, we should never forget that..

Exterior Paint

Hi everyone,

I get asked a lot about the paint that I recommend for doing exterior siding, and what primer do I prefer for spot priming & jobs were the siding is in rough shape.The paint that I have been using for some time now and has never let me down is Sherwin-Williams Duration exterior. In my opinion it is the best paint on the market today for getting a beautiful finish in just one coat. it is durable and gives you many years of protection for your home. The sheen I prefer to use on both my siding and my trim projects is Satin.
It's scrub able and it holds up well to power washing(a topic we will cover in a blog post shortly).
To sum it up I believe that Duration topcoat will give you the best bang for you buck.

As for priming I believe that this is a step that most homeowners skip because of misinformation,
but this may be the most important step to insure a beautiful finish and many years of protection.
Sherwin-Williams sells a great primer called ProBlock. that will do a great job  it can be used on both
Interior & Exterior projects with equally great results.

When the home you are working on is much older and in rough shape with a lot of peeling paint then the primer I prefer to use is Peel Bond. What it does is build up a strong bond with the substrate that your working with to provide a perfect sealer to your topcoat. If you are spot priming you can build up layers to make the feathering out much easier and the imperfections on the surface less noticeable and provide you with a much better finish in the end.

Keep these two products in mind when you are tackling you next exterior paint job and you'll be very happy with your results.

The Mighty 5 in 1!

Hi folks,

1. I have people ask me sometimes to talk about the tools that I use the most in my trade and to suggest to them the ones that I think are the most indispensable, so without any further ado I bring you "The MIGHTY 5 in 1 TOOL" If you can have only 1 tool in your toolbox (besides paint brushes) that tool should be the 5 in 1. It truly is the most versatile tool there is. I use mine everyday, it stays in my back pocket and is prepared for battle whenever I need it. These are just some of the things I use it for:


2. 1),Scraping old paint off wood


3. 2). Scraping paint off glass


4. 3).Prying mouldings


5. 4).Cleaning my roller covers


6. 5).Using as a screw driver


7. 6). Using the bottom to bang in nails


8. 7). Opening paint cans

There are probably a half dozen other things that I have used it for that I have failed to mention. At about $6 or $7 bucks it is the best money you will ever spend on a tool. Every DIYer & pro should have one. I ask anyone who thinks that they know of a more versatile tool to email me and I will put your suggestions in my blog.

Now what are you waiting for go get a 5 in 1 today!

Family & Business

Hi everyone,
Today I wanted to touch on a subject that's very important to me and that's how to juggle your personnel life with your business life and that sounds a lot easier then it really is. I remember when I was a child I very rarely got to see me father because he was always busy with he's business, providing for and taking care of his family was his first and foremost priority, and he was very successful at achieving that goal, We never wanted for anything.

If that was the only measure for success then you would have to say he was a very successful man but success has to also be measured by the way your children are able to grow up and look back on their lives and say they had the perfect lives. Well as I said I had all the toys,games,and sports equipment that any child could every want but I think the one thing that I always felt that I missed out on was a real relationship with my Dad.

I loved my dad but I always felt distant from him because he was not around when I was growing up & I missed that. I guess why I wanted to write this article was to make a point to every business person out there that you need to put into perspective the things that mean the most to you and that should always be that your family should come first.

Don't look back and have regrets that you should have spent more time watching you children grow up because they really do grow up so fast. Be there for them in every aspect of their lives and that in turn will make them better adults.

I'm reminded of a great Randy Travis song were the line goes "It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you it's what you leave behind you when you go".
Thanks.

Smart Scheduling

I thought today I would post about something that is an important but overlooked part of the painting business and that is scheduling. The more experience that you acquire the more you'll understand that this is an integral part of running a successful business.

Being a boss means that you have to sometimes make decisions that have an impact that might be two or three weeks down the road, and your planning might make sense to only you but in the end it will make the difference between a successful job as opposed to a unsuccessful one.

In the painting business, much like any other contracting work makes you a slave to the weather so your job planning has to revolve around the weather is like on that day so as painters and business owners we have to plan for when we can start and complete a job so we can bring everything in on time & budget.

As I know you've heard many times that "Time is Money" and that is extremely accurate when applied to real life situations like job planning. Unfortunately I've witnessed too many situations were contractors have done a poor job of scheduling and had their guys at jobs at the wrong times or scheduled an exterior job when the weather person has been calling for rain(or snow) all week.

Make sure that you plan ahead because "Time really is Money", and when that money is yours it can make all the difference in the world.

Another Year, Another Strategy

As we begin a new year we must reflect on the year that past and how well we feel that our business lived up to (0r down to)our expectations. We must ask ourselves did we do all we could to put our company name in front of as many potential customers last year as we possibly could.

We must learn from our past failures & our successes and try to help or business grow in every way we can. Here are some questions to ask yourself heading into the new year:

.Did my Business grow this year?
.What was my estimate to sales ratio?
.Were my customers happy with the service I gave?
.Do I need to upgrade my equipment?
.What are my businesses main strengths & weaknesses?
.Did I start my marketing plan early enough?
. Do I need to hire more employees?
.Do I need to cut back on my employees?

There are plenty more that I did not cover but you get the idea. Look within your company and I'm sure that you will be able to identify the things you need to work on to make your business a success in the coming year.
Good Luck.

Chosing The Right Equipment

Merry Christmas everyone,
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, I certainly did. I know that for most of us parents we only have a great Christmas when we get up Christmas morning and we see the happy & excited looks on our kids faces and know that they received everything that they had hoped for.

But there are some of you that enjoy treating yourselves to something special, or maybe your spouse has been saving to get you that show stopper gift that would make your painting biz run that much smoother. Well I say congrats if you got that gift and you had that look of excitement on you face that our kids get.

The reason I bring this up is that whether it's Christmas or just another day of the week you need to make sure you pick the proper tools to help you succeed, too many people don't put enough thought into picking the right equipment and that just leads to them having to buy something else to compensate for what they bought to begin with.

Take the time to research an important tool Before you (or someone else)purchases it.
Hey we all have the most incredible research tool at our disposal and that's the Internet.
Make intelligent decisions before we plunk down our hard earned cash and that will actually save us money in the long run.
Have a Happy & safe Holiday Season.

"Show Me The Money"

Yeah I know I ripped that saying off a famous movie but it applies to the topic I want to discuss today and that is getting paid from your customers & contractors.
I know this seems like a no-brainer but actually this is a very real problem in our industry.

With the economy the way it is and people trying to get the most out of every dollar they spend it just makes getting paid that much more difficult. I find that more contractors are having a hard time getting paid & that of course trickles down to us subs when it comes time to pass out the checks.

I have found that living in a resort community is wonderful for the most part but also it can be a pain when dealing with customers that are not from your state because it makes it that much harder to get a final payment when the job is complete.

I hear the same excuses all the time ("I left my check book at home,I already put the check in the mail", etc...) this can be very frustrating when you have to make payroll and you have soo many bills for materials. The customers never seem to get those facts.

The most frustrating thing of all is that I usually deal with customers that have 4 to $500,00 homes and were talking about mere pocket change to them.
So be aware that when you have your own business that the actual labor it took to finish the job is only a part of the process of getting paid.

Tricks or Treets

With Halloween right around the corner I got to thinking about the Tricks and Treets that go along with being in business for your self. All the things that go with being self- employeed.

Before I start I just want to state that I am in no way trying to discourage anyone from starting a business or from making it seem that I am in any way unhappy with the path I choose.

That would be just the opposite from the truth ,I am extremely happy with my decision to go out on my own, and I would not want to ever have to go back to work for someone else.

So I will act as an impartial party and give you the good and bad points of being self- employeed.

First the Good:

1. You get to make all the Money!


2. You get to set your own hours.


3. You make all the decisions.(that can be both good & bad)


4. You have total control.


5. You get to exercise your creative juice

Now the Bad:

1. You have all the headaches.


2. You make all the decisions (see #3)


3. You get all the blame.


4. You get to put out all the money for supplies etc....

There are probably many more positives as well as negatives that you can think of that I may have left off this list but you get the idea.

This post was just food for thought for anyone thinking of starting a new business.

Good Luck.

Learn Baby Learn!

I always wonder when I hear people say they are "too old to learn something new".
Like they have absolutely no interest in improving themselves or making themselves more well rounded. I hear people say " You can't teach an old dog new tricks" well shame on ya.

I believe we were put on this earth to learn and absorb as much information as we possibly can.
I am the kind of person that craves learning, that will read,watch videos, and ask questions whenever I can. I think that too many painters think that they have their brushes,rollers,pails, ladders,and trucks so that makes them masters of their trade. Why should they have to keep up with the current trends or try to learn new techniques when everyone knows that their a pro.

Well if that's your attitude then just "keep on keepin on" and I hope you succeed but for me I will always strive to make myself the best Painter,Father and Man that I can.
The day that I stop will be the day that they put me in the ground. Well maybe when I get to heaven there will be plenty of stuff for me to read and learn there too.

Marketing

As you probably guessed by the title I want to address a very overlooked aspect of the painting business(and Contracting in general) and that's Marketing.
I know your probably thinking what is he talking about I put a lot of effort into marketing my company, well I then would ask you this question:
"
How much business do you have right now"
If you say well I go through the typical ups and downs that most business's go through then I would say you probably need to work a little more on your marketing strategy.

We all need help from time to time and I am no exception but I also place a very high emphasis on marketing my business every chance I get and that's what I want everyone to understand.
The more that you treat it like a chore the more it becomes one. I realize that it is a necessary evil when your in business for yourself to get your companies name "out there" any way that is possible but if your not doing it with enthusiasm then you will come across as being less then genuine to your potential clients and that's when you will lose them to your competition.

Treat your business as a product that your clients need to have and you will not go wrong.
Check out (Marketingscoop.com) for more strategies on successful marketing.

Learning to work with Contractors

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.

Network to get more business

Hi again,
I thought that I would spend a little time today on the subject of networking. This is simply,
connecting with other business people in your same field or fields related to yours.(Construction,Plumbing,Electrical...) This is very important when you want to have a successful business.

The old saying that "It's not what you know but who you know" has some truth to it.
Because you could be the most talented person in your field but without anyone knowing
about your talent then you are going to have very limited success.

I believe that Talent as well as good Marketing are the keys to making any business successful.
What I want to stress to you today is that when you are on a job with the other trades make a point to talk with them and build a rapport, leave them your business card and take theirs.

Recommend each other to clients and you will build a trust with each other that could last a long time. Success comes one step at a time and you should never overlook an opportunity.

Happy 4th Everyone!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday and getting some much need relaxation.
I know we all need to recharge our batteries once in a while so I thought that I'd post to everyone that is doing just that.

As business owners we all need to get back to what is really important in our lives, and that is our FAMILIES. Without who we couldn't have the courage and determination to do what we do everyday. When we can spend this time at home with the ones we love the most we truly appreciate what we have and what our real goals should be.

I want everyone to remember what our founding fathers fought for and died for and that is our FREEDOM. The fact that we live in a country that provides us with the opportunity to be all that we can be is what this holiday is all about. Remember to hold dear to us what is most important and that is our FAMILIES & our FREEDOM.

Happy 4th everyone.

Having Support

Hi again,
This post I wanted to talk about something that is very important to me and that's having the support of the one's we love. That sounds like a given but in reality it's not, too many of us don't have that assurance that if we screw up there's someone there that will help us get back on track.

I'm lucky that I have my wife Karen to lean on when things don't seem to be going like I planned them. She is always there to lend her support and give guidance when I need it and that gives me the confidence to go out on a limb sometimes knowing that she'll be there to help me if I fall.

That is something that I think gets overlooked at times when your in business for yourself and that the ability to have that special someone there to help you succeed, or to be there to help when our goals do not live up to our expectations.

I remember what coaches say all the time and it's true:
Work as a team and we can accomplish anything, work as individuals and we fail.

Energize your Marketing!

Spring is here and it's time to get out and promote your business, that means get your logo in front of as many potential customers as you can. So how do you do that? Simple just be aggressive with you marketing by following some or all of these ideas:

1. Leave your business cards everywhere.
2. Print up some flyer's and leave them in the neighborhood your working in.
3. Get some shirts printed up and make sure your employees wear them to work.
4. Leave your card or flyer in the local grocery store's bulletin board.
5. Network with as many contractors as possible and always leave them with you card.

And as always do quality professional work and your customers will always refer you to others who will want your services.