Do you suffer from Dread of Red like I did for many years? Doesn't it seem that if you are going to have problems with a colour, it is likely to be with red? One of my first bad spills was with a can of Benjamin Moore Collections in a deep red...right down this particular hallway actually, in the middle, on brand new carpet. I was so excited to impress a bunch of realtors, thinking this might be a great opportunity to make an impression and get some referrals. Well I think I succeeded in making an impression alright. I've learned too that red paint, when you open the lid, can look pink. That can fool an in-experienced painter into marching back to the paint store assuming there was a tinting error. But we learn that the magenta dries out of the paint and it actually looks red, not pink, once dry. And fast forward a couple of years where I experienced the dreaded 'red feature wall' that most painters encounter at some point in their career...the one that requires 8 or more coats of red, and still doesn't look good (poor or uneven coverage, 'picture framing', texture build up, slow curing...). Over the years i've tried several things to try and solve this vibrant red coverage issue...cutting and rolling small sections at a time to keep a wet edge, putting the paint on heavy, different naps and sleeve materials, different brands and bases of paints, pink primers, etc...
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With a new year just around the corner, you as a business owner may be thinking about your sales numbers - what they were like this year compared to last year, what next year should look like, etc.
Like the economy, everyone assumes that a healthy business is a growing business. Progress and increase are quick validation that we are working hard and things are going well. If you are not growing you are shrinking, contracting, losing market share, in a recession...all negative sounding things we have been conditioned to have an aversion to. Let's assume for the sake of this blog post that growth is good, necessary even, for your micro-business. We want to measure our efforts and see fine results: higher sales, and more importantly - higher profit... At this time of the year many people begin thinking about what goals they may want to set for the coming year. I've always appreciated the importance of having goals, but have always struggled with the achieving of them. Here are a few things I have learned about goals over the years, as I have begun to use them as an important tool in feeling like I'm moving forward in my life...
Advice I would give to my younger self if I was just starting a small painting business...
Start early. Answer the phone... When painting a room I find that having a system leads to the most efficient and consistent results.
One simple part of my system is working left from the entrance into the room and proceeding from left to right, top to bottom. This way nothing gets missed and no time wasted deciding where to start. Another part of my system is to... As a former high school drop out, it is not my place to say that getting a degree is a bad idea. However, it is clear that education is changing fast and that the cost:value ratio of traditional post-secondary institutions is becoming more of a burden than an asset for many students. Technology, industry and economic shifts are developing so fast that a 4-year program is sometimes obsolete by the time you graduate. The skills that seem to be valued in the current job market are adaptability, life-long learning, working with others, project management, entrepreneurial skills, value creation (rather than getting paid to 'show up'), problem solving, social influence and so on. It is a dynamic work-scape out there, with few guarantees or long term commitments on both sides of the employer/employee divide. I'm definitely not an expert on any of these issues. And there is no question that some types of post-secondary training can lead to higher paying work. Having a basic high-school education these days doesn't open a lot of career doors. I just thought it would be practical to think about whether starting a painting business is a viable option for a young person, as opposed to pursuing 'higher education'. The cover story on the August 2016 issue of Consumer Reports stated that 42 million people owe $1,300,000,000,000 in student debt. While many countries around the world offer free education, in North America adult students are drowning in deep pools of debt. Is it a wise investment? Jackie Crowen, aged 32, from Portland Oregon, with $152,000 in student debt is quoted as saying "I kind of ruined my life by going to college." Let's play with some numbers... If she attended school for 10 years, that is an average of $15,000/year in debt. If she had worked instead of attending school during those years, lets assume she could have earned an extra $15,000/year in earnings. That is $300,000 over 10 years that she is behind someone who didn't attend school and started painting full time, earning $30,000/year. How many years will it take her to catch up? If she gets a job paying 50% more because of her education, it would take 20 years! But that is assuming she doesn't end up working at Starbucks, as many highly educated people do. You sometimes end up over-qualified for entry-level professional jobs while lacking experience required for middle-tier professional positions. And that is assuming her skills and education are even still relevant after all that. Now there are other factors to consider... So about 8 years ago my brother-in-law and I requested a meeting with my business mentor. He kindly granted us a 20 minute meeting so we could run our latest idea by him. In our enthusiasm we never expected to receive the advice he gave us that day.
My brother-in-law Andre and I get along amazingly well. We both paint for a living. We have very different but complementary strengths and skills. We both recognized that painting is better with 2 people, and we had a lot of fun whenever we worked together. So it seemed logical that maybe we should consider a corporate merger and blend our businesses into one. Let me give you the short version of Mr. Mentor's advice... 1. It is unethical. It indicates that you are willing to sell your integrity and honesty for the privelege of working on a project. You don't pay sales tax - it doesn't come out of your pocket, you simply collect it for the governement. So there is little incentive for you to rip off the government. You may feel pressured in order to win the bid, but consider whether you want to work for someone with such ethics. Interestingly, I've had teachers, police officers, Christian clergy and devout Muslims, among others all ask me over the years to 'work for cash', hoping to save 5 - 12% in sales tax. Either you are honest, or your not, simple as that.
2. It is illegal. Do you want audits, fines, assessments, bank accounts frozen, customers contacted by CRA, interest charges, jail time, legal fees, a criminal record? All these are possible consequences of fraud. 3. You never know if it is a test - to see if you are an honest person. Clients are trying to determine if they can trust you with thier most valuable possessions and working around their precious family. Trust is the only thing you are selling. People assume you are a proficient painter...what they want to know is if they can trust you. Trust and honesty go hand in hand. Best to have a solid policy and stick to it firmly and respectfully. You may even be talking to CRA/IRS auditor... I just watched a few really interesting talks that contained some good take-aways for me and my business...thought I'd share the links in case you might be interested in some positive psychology...
After 10 years of operating a painting business in the Okanagan Valley I had a nice client base of about 300 customers, which I had worked very hard to acquire and service.
It felt good to have so many happy customers...it gave me a sense of security. The problem is that I couldn't service so many customers well. Sometimes my best, most loyal customers had to wait 6 or more months for me to fit their project in. I wasn't delivering top level service to my best customers and I was often over-booked and stressed. So when I opened another painting business here on Vancouver Island in 2015, I decided that I would try to get to 100 customers as soon as possible. This, I thought, would give my business a solid base, while giving me a more manageable number of customers, hopefully leading to less stress and better service. We may think we need a lot of customers to have a successful business. So it was interesting when last week I looked at a report of my sales by customer for 2016 thus far. You know what?... Ever wonder if you will be able to retire from painting? By making a few lifestyle changes you can earn your freedom much sooner than most think possible. Pete Adeney is not a painter but his experience of retiring at age 31 may inspire you to adopt some of his strategies...
Greetings from Reykjavik! What a cool place!
We often hear about or strive for 'balance' in our lives. The idea of balance has always kind of stressed me out because I picture myself as a juggler trying to focus equally on multiple machetes in the air coming down on me and me panicking to keep it together and keep it all going while not dying a bloody death. Balance has always felt unattainable, and thus the pursuit a little discouraging. Lately I've been more interested in the concept of focus... Little things can make a big difference.
About 4 years ago my brother-in-law gave me a little device called Square that plugs into your smart phone and allows you to accept credit cards. It was a thoughtful little gift. I doubt that I would have tried it out on my own, at least not at that time. Since he bought it for me I felt obligated to set it up. Turns out it was very easy to set up, the device is free to obtain and it is a huge asset to your business if you don't currently accept credit cards. Accepting credit cards helps your business look more professional. Being more profssional leads to closing more deals, at higher margins. Accepting credit cards will help your sales and your cash flow... Hello from Praha!
My brother-in-law has been a painter for close to 30 years and early on when I started he gave me a simple peice of advice that has proved effective... Greetings from Berlin!
As a Micro-Contractor, you have mastered a skill that is valuable and highly transferrable. A skill that is not always easy to find in a prospective employee, partner, supplier... Just wanted to spread the word on a great banking offer if you live on Vancouver Island...
Island Savings is offering a Simply Free Account that is free to open, has no fees, and they will pay you $50 to open one. If you normally pay an average of $12/month in service charges/fees, this offer equals a savings of $194 in just the first year. We use one. We also use a business account there and save approximately $40/month on that account, compared with what we were paying with a big bank. That is another $480/year in savings! But that is not the main reason we bank there... Being self employed comes with the dream of having the freedom to take time off whenever we want, without having to ask permission.
The reality can sometimes be quite different. For the first 5+ years of being in business for myself I found it very difficult to take off anymore than a long weekend here and there. When I had a few extra dollars I didn't have the time, I was too busy. When I had some spare time in my schedule I didn't have the funds to go on a vacation. Forcing a holiday when you don't have much work or money isn't very enjoyable. Taking time off can also be tough because you can do it anytime you want...which means it can always be deferred to when the timing is right. The risk is that it never happens. So over the years I had to develop a strategy to try and get some time off... Chase Jarvis, founder of Creative Live, has recently posted a series of 30 long format interviews with some of the world's leading creatives, entrepreneurs and influencers. 30 interesting interviews to get you thinking about creative new ways to clarify your vision, reach your goals and make a difference. It makes for engaging listening at work, or while stuck in a long commute. You might hear something that gives you a 'light bulb' moment, inspires you, or leads to a break through in your business...
Painting without music is like canoeing without a paddle...it's possible, but not much happens and it ain't much fun.
On a typical worksite, seems you are likely to hear one of these types of music... 1. Heavy rotation Top 40 pop hits 2. Screamo death metal 3. Classic rock or... 4. Trucks-beer-'n-babes country music Now taste is personal and variety is the spice of life, but sometimes a guy yearns to listen to something a little more authentic. A good upbeat tune is the lubricant to your work day. If you haven't heard of them yet, you may want to check out the band Jon & Roy from Vancouver Island... One of the key benefits of self-employment is the ability to have more control over our work life.
What control do you have? You can respond to an opportunity you see in the market by creating something of value. You can set objectives for your business. You can set boundaries for your customers and yourself. You can make many of the day to day decisions. So many factors conspire to restrict our freedom and impose stress on our projects and lives. This is where we must push back... An observation from the last 12 years of self-employment: The more you charge, the better you are treated. How does that work? I'm not sure, but I would guess a couple things are at play...
Most jobs are susceptible to scope creep. That's when the project description that you originally bid on grows once you start.
"Can you paint a few of the doors as well? We tried cleaning them and a few of them are going to need a fresh coat." "The designer needs to change some of the colours. This scheme isn't working for the client." "My husband tried to do the soffits himself but he almost fell off the ladder. We're going to need you to do those as well if you could." How do you react in these situations? Does your heart rate increase? Do you feel frustrated? A couple of suggestions... Living life, truly living - not just surviving or existing, involves risk. One of the biggest risks is failure. It can be be so scary that it keeps us stuck. So if you are thinking of quiting your job to start your own business, or are thinking of taking a sabatical from your business to pursue an adventure or project, or are thinking of simplfying your life and cutting back on work in order to free up time and resources to pursue something more meaningful, there is likely an element of fear trying to hold you back. You will find the following article relevant...
This is a guest post written by my pal Steve Bullerwell. Steve started working with me about a decade back and made a real impression with his work ethic, desire to learn and positive attitude. We became fast friends. At the outset of the Great Recession, Steve summoned all his resourcefulness and set out to work for himself. He has successfully run his own show since. As tough as things may get sometimes, I admire how Steve uses his agency to leverage time in his life for the pursuit of a passion. A passion that helps him deal with stresses of running a business and refuel his soul. I invited him write an article for MicroContractor Blog. TO THE WATER Whether your a Painting contractor, a Landscaping contractor, a self employed Accountant, or you're punching your timecard signalling the beginning of your shift at the local big box superstore; one thing is for certain. The office can be a cruel and unusual place to be at times...
A few days ago I texted a long time friend, who happens to also run a painting business, to see if I could borrow a piece of equipment. I was surprised to hear back from him that he was in Mexico on a volunteer mission to help people in need. I don't know any details about the work he is doing there, but I know that he is donating his time during peak season for his business, travelling at his expense, while leaving his young famiy at home. I shouldn't really have been surprised because my friend is involved with HeroWork and other volunteer projects in his town.
Also this past week, I attended a talk that brought out some interesting stats about vounteering that I had never heard before. So I did a little bit of research... |
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