How Long To Measure And Come Up With A Painting Price?

Steve Richards

I was never as ready to give up the whole thing, as when I had a crew. The customer complaints, painters bitching about each other, taking any job I could get to keep them working, paperwork, pay advances, call-in-sick-w/hangovers...and on and on..

Some of us aren't cut out for it. Some of us are happy just plugging along by ourselves, and staying poor.

Dave Mac

Steve
to me what you just described is succes, knowing what you like, and doing it, and being happy. Happy is the key element in succes in my book.




dave

Steve Richards

Thanks Dave!

Success is also taking opening day off, and grilling a nice T-bone.

Of course by mid-season the "love" has worn off, and I don't take anymore days off in order to watch my team wallow around in the basement of their division.

But by then, the trout have started biting!

WisePainter

Wow, need a tissue?

You made my head hurt a little when I read that...

Anyone that claims that those things are not a part of having employees is a LIAR.

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Steve Richards

Any business with employees encounters all those things, not just painting.

Some (GeorgeZ) are better at putting up with it than others, that's all.

Best way is probably to have a big enough company that you can have someone else in charge of most of it. My problem was always the thought that no one is going to care as much about my business as I do..and that kept me from growing any bigger...and then in time, shrinking to just me.

A lot of times nowadays, I'll look at a job and end up suggesting they hire a bigger company (so I'm glad there's plenty of them around).

George Z

Putting up with it, having the stomach for it...dealing with it.
It's not that bad, really...
Seriously, if you like what you are doing, you are doing great in my opinion.
If your money and my salary are the same,
how we get there is a choice.

I just did a bit too much painting myself.
50 years worth in 25 years.
I had enough for now.

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Mr. Mike

What a great bunch of painters we have here.

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Dorman Painting

Somedays I wish I had a crew and other days I don't. I've had a crew only a couple of times and ended up laying everyone off. To me the pressure of keeping a crew busy and feeding their families is REAL pressure. You've got to look at it that way too, if you're man enough to hire a crew then you better be able to secure TONS of work. It's amazing how much work a five or six man crew can knock out in a month. I could just never stomach the idea of only giving guys twenty hours a week because I'm slow and not producing the jobs.

Let me also say this, if you've got a big builder, then absolutely hire a crew. Or if you've got a couple of ins with some GC's it might work out, but I'm a repaint man and it's VERY HARD to stay swamped year round. Even the commercial work with the GC's is spotty, the new residential is probably the best way to go to keep a crew hopping. If you can mix in repaints and commercial more power to you.

Mr. Mike

For repaint painting companies now days, It is almost a must to have a website.

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WisePainter

There are so many now.
They all look the same anymore, sound the same, say the same things, etc.
Gooey promises slathered in well wishes and happy thoughts.

blah.

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Mr. Mike

What would I know I only have the internet locked up in my area!

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Any other questions about anything?

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Mr. Mike

Would you like some 40228,40229, e'tow shep' bullitt leads when I get a lot of them?

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WisePainter

Yup, word of mouth vs. heavy internet adverti$ing.

How is yours?

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Sportioli

If I had to choose between the two I'd choose the $100.00 per month on internet advertising that I'm currently spending.

Word of mouth is great, but in a competitive market my website provides all the business I can handle. At the same time I see people posting here from the same area that I live and paint in.. They've been in business for a lot longer than I have, are complaining that they can't find customers during these tough times.

Your old customers are still there and so are plenty of new ones. But they forgot where they put their yellow pages book, so they use the internet to look up painters now.

You're not there. I am. It's real simple. They can go online and even search for you. Yet they find and hire me. You're loss my gain, in professional circles for a business not to be online could cause it to suffer from "ECONOMIC DARWINISM".

The internet isn't rocket science anymore and I see customers of all ages from my website. One told me the other day that he did'nt do business with a company that wasn't online because if they didn't have a website obviously they weren't a real business pro. To him it separated the wheat from the chaff.

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WisePainter

Whatever works for you and you clients. I have never had a complaint that I am hard to find, or that being 100% referral is a problem. I have special business cards that actually have "preferred client" printed on the back, using heavy stock paper.

Than again I am the only painter in my business, I don't have guys to worry about.

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Steve Richards

Sportioli...on your website, you claim to be the best pro-painters in Louisville. On Mr. Mike's site, he doesn't make that claim...so I think I'd call you, because I'd want the best

Mr. Mike

Mr. Steve Richards has a perfect example of people only want to call one company. Sportolio is a great one call closer, If you called him up for a painting job you would not be disappointed that he did not try to add closure while he is there. He gives his price and asks them to buy a few times on the first visit. He takes on a little bit more settle approach than I do perhaps, but if he got as many leads as me he would be a little more aggressive possibly. The only way me and him will leave the first appointment with out presenting the price and asking them to buy is if there is no closing situation present. I started the thread because it is crazy that for a 2 day job some of us painters take 2 days or more to relay the price that I come up with in minutes.


Sport payed me 3 million if I would take second place status for a while.


Is that even a question, word of mouth vs. heavy internet adveri$ing?

Think about that for a minute, if you have 3 people give you a word of mouth referral, how many referrals would you have if you had 30 people instead of only 3? Not advertising means you are telling your potential prospects that they don't need you to paint for them. I mean lets face it if you are the best you have to get up and say it some how, so not advertising means you think to less of yourself to be advertising.

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Tinstaafl

Mike, just curious... Do you edit your contracts as frequently and heavily as you do your posts here?

WisePainter

huh?!?

I rely on 100% word of mouth and get 100% of the contracts.
I spend a bunch of money on different types of advertising and get maybe a 12% return on it...while spending 100% of my $.

I am confused by your question.

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

BiggSlick

agreed. if u want to land a large percentage of your bids you need to present them in person. otherwise you are just a price with no personality. if your customers can't distinguish you from your competitors the lowest price usually prevails. if u take time to meet and conversate with the customer you have a better chance of getting the job if your price is in the ballpark.