sean26

Hi there:
I'm having an unusually difficult time securing new leads this spring. Added to this dismal situation, I've had a cancellation and a no-pay all in the last 4 weeks. With nothing on the horizon (with the exception of a few one or two day repaints scheduled for later this month), I'm not sure I'll be able to keep myself and my two employees afloat much longer. I've been in business for seven years and have never experienced so rapid a drop-off in leads as I have during the last two months. Are there any other painters in the southern ontario region having as difficult a time as I am finding business this spring? Any hypotheses on why business should be so bad this particular summer?

I'm wondering if one possible explaination might be the effect the high Canadian dollar is having on manufacturing jobs in this part of the country. As manufacturing jobs dry up in industrial cities such as Hamilton (where I am based), I'm thinking that many of the unemployed may be starting up businesses in the trades without properly registering their companies. The upshot of this situation is that there may be a glut of new competitors in the market: unemployed factory workers operating businesses under the table, without proper licences, liability insurance, etc.

Without much cash flow I'm finding it difficult to drum up new business through advertising. I'm really at my wits end here. Is anyone else out there in this situation? And if so, what are you doing to get the ball rolling again?

Brushslingers

Sorry to hear your troubles... from the AP...

"Construction jobs were flat. Those pockets of weakness mostly reflected problems related to the troubled housing and automotive industries"

Not sure about canada, but it's fairly well known here in the states. good luck to ya eh?

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Benn

BuildingHomes

Yer in the Hammer and having a hard time finding houses to paint? There are thousands of housing starts every year around the GTA. You should be able to hit some of that. Stoney Creek has lots of new houses going up, Burlingtons new Alton Village has several new hundred recently closed houses.

Danahy

I'm also curious as to your drought?....

I get calls every blue moon from people down your way... it's like there's not enough painters down there...

Perhaps you need to layoff the 2 employees... that will ease up the pressure... then visit your paint suppliers and let them know your looking for work, they may be able to refer some customers to you?...

anyhow, wish you luck... been there before, and it's never a good place to be...

Brian

Sorry to hear about your situation. Been there, done that. But the good news is you can change it pretty quickly.

Contact your past customers (you should be doing this regularly anyhow). Get on the phone, send a letter or postcard, etc. Ask if they need work, can refer someone, or pass your name along.

Start hoofing it-- hand out door hangers. When I started, if I didn't have a job, my job was handing out door hangers.

Don't sit at home wondering why the phone won't ring. Go out and make it ring. Get your guys to help you.

Never stop marketing. When you do, a slow down in leads will eventually follow. A slow down in leads is always the result of insufficient marketing.

Brian Phillips

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Houston Painters
Houston Radiant Barriers