Is it time to grow your painting business? Is it time to trim costs and right-size? Or is it time to keep both hands on the wheel, and continue to forge ahead at the current size of your company? Continue reading It’s Time to Grow Your Business… or Is It?
Tag Archives: business management
Pro to Pro with Jonathan Zawacki: Do Only What You Do Well
For 30 years, PPC magazine has been on job sites throughout the U.S. and Canada asking residential and commercial paint pros to share their stories. In our Pro to Pro column, we recap some of the best advice contractors have received and passed on over the last three decades.
THIS TIME: Jonathan Zawacki, Hands On Painters, Baltimore, Maryland: Continue reading Pro to Pro with Jonathan Zawacki: Do Only What You Do Well
Contractor Q&A: Jason Phillips on Building a Team and the Benefits of Adding Roofing and Gutter Services
Jason Phillips is the owner of Phillips Home Improvements. Based in Plano, Texas, the company has been refreshing and rehabilitating homes for more than 20 years to build a quality reputation in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. They hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and were awarded the 2019 Torch Award for Ethics. PPC editor Mike Starling sat down with Jason to learn more about how he grew his business into the success story it is today. Continue reading Contractor Q&A: Jason Phillips on Building a Team and the Benefits of Adding Roofing and Gutter Services
Pro to Pro with Garret Abeyta: Put Down the Brush!
For more than 30 years, PPC magazine has been on job sites throughout the U.S. and Canada asking residential and commercial paint pros to share their stories. In our Pro to Pro column, we recap some of the best advice contractors have received and passed on over the last three decades.
This time: Garret Abeyta, Abeyta Painting, LLC, Tucson, Arizona. Continue reading Pro to Pro with Garret Abeyta: Put Down the Brush!
Pro-To-Pro Podcast Debuts
Four top painting contractors from across the country discuss the current realities in the painting world and the challenges of moving their business forward in an exclusive new contractor forum hosted by PPC magazine. Continue reading Pro-To-Pro Podcast Debuts
Ready to Meet the Demand? Five Tips for Better Recruitment and Retention in a COVID-19 World
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted painting businesses in many different ways.
“One thing is true across the board, though,” says the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Every business will face tremendous challenges as our nation begins the path to recovery, while still facing the public health threat of the virus.”
For many painting companies, one of the main challenges continues to be finding good workers. For some insights, PPC sat down with Tim Kenney, owner of W.T. Kenney Co., Inc., a fourth-generation professional painting contracting business based in Arlington, Massachusetts. Continue reading Ready to Meet the Demand? Five Tips for Better Recruitment and Retention in a COVID-19 World
5 Keys to Making Great Hires for Your Painting Company
Poor hires can have a negative impact on your company’s reputation, and high turnover rates can be a time-consuming financial drain. What’s the solution?
Continue reading 5 Keys to Making Great Hires for Your Painting Company
A Four-Point Plan to Wow Your Customers and Pull Your Company through the COVID Crisis
What steps are you taking to protect your business during the COVID-19 emergency? In this article, pro painter and PPC contributing writer Terry Begue offers a framework to help you stay engaged and take care of your customers through this restricted time, so that you can emerge on the other side of this crisis with a business that’s ready to take care of you.
Continue reading A Four-Point Plan to Wow Your Customers and Pull Your Company through the COVID Crisis
Solution Selling vs. Insight Selling: What’s Right for Your Painting Business?
As a contractor, an effective sales approach is as important in your arsenal of tools as a paint brush. Too often, however, contractors think of it as a pitch, and not much more. The fact of the matter is that identifying and employing the best sales approach can result in higher profitability and improved customer satisfaction. Continue reading Solution Selling vs. Insight Selling: What’s Right for Your Painting Business?
Noah Kanter on the Challenges and Benefits of Hiring His First Employees
This summer, PPC hit the road for two days with Noah Kanter, a contractor serving residential customers in northern Vermont. In this article, we talk with him about his decision to hire his first employees and the challenges and benefits it has brought to him and his company.
Continue reading Noah Kanter on the Challenges and Benefits of Hiring His First Employees
7 Steps for Solving Business Problems, or Learning How to Eat an Elephant
Successful people all do one thing: they solve problems. They don’t just stare at a problem and wish it would go away. In this article, Mitzi Perdue, author of How to Make Your Family Business Last, shares her seven steps for solving your business problems. Continue reading 7 Steps for Solving Business Problems, or Learning How to Eat an Elephant
The REAL Reason They Chose the Cheaper Price
In this article, Brandon Lewis, founder of the Academy for Professional Painting Contractors, shows how you can stop competing on price by focusing on the persuasive elements of your sales process. Continue reading The REAL Reason They Chose the Cheaper Price
Recruitment & Retention: Using Internships to Make Better Hires
Making great hires is essential for today’s painting contractor. A well-designed internship program can help you find the best talent and fuel productivity and growth. Continue reading Recruitment & Retention: Using Internships to Make Better Hires
Contractor Q&A: Alex García on His Secrets for Award-Winning Residential Projects
A multiple winner of the Diamond Award in the Parade of Homes of the Association of Home Builders of Brunswick County, N.C., Alex García prides himself on having some of the most important builders of Sunset Beach, N.C., among his clients.
As owner and founder of García and Associates, he says the key to his success resides in his company’s quality work and professionalism and, especially, the Sherwin-Williams® quality products he uses. PPC sat down with García to learn how he has become one of the top painting contractors in his area. Continue reading Contractor Q&A: Alex García on His Secrets for Award-Winning Residential Projects
3 Proven Strategies for Avoiding Callbacks
Callbacks are often preventable – if you understand the common causes. Learn how to reduce callbacks, maintain your reputation and boost productivity with a few best practices.
Continue reading 3 Proven Strategies for Avoiding Callbacks
Contractor Q&A: Jaime Henao on How He Built a New Career in the Painting Industry
Jaime Henao arrived in Florida from Medellin, Colombia, in 2005, and is now the owner of VIP Painting in Tallahassee, Florida. PPC sat down with Jaime to learn what he did to carve out a new life in the painting trade.
Continue reading Contractor Q&A: Jaime Henao on How He Built a New Career in the Painting Industry
Contractor Q&A: Annie Newton on the No. 1 Thing You Can Do To Build Your Business
Annie Newton is part of a brother-sister team that owns and operates 4 Seasons Color, Inc., a painting and restoration company based in Walla Walla, Washington. 4 Seasons Color has painted a number of local landmarks, including the Dayton Historic Depot, the Old Walla Walla Depot and the Ritz Mansion, along with many other historic homes and churches. Annie is the company’s controller, and brother Matt Nagin is the president of the firm.
Annie is also an active member of the PDCA (Painting and Decorating Contractors of America) national trade association. We sat down to talk shop with her at a recent PDCA Expo.
Continue reading Contractor Q&A: Annie Newton on the No. 1 Thing You Can Do To Build Your Business