Now that we have a shop in a year round warm climate (FL Keys) I feel it's my duty to let others know about it.
Growing up and operating a paint business in Northern VA for 25 years, I often wondered what it would be like if I had grown up in a year round warm climate and subsequently started a paint business in the same type of place.
So far, my advice to anyone that is wondering about making the move; Just Do It! I mean we are hardly even trying, and our business in FL has been on steady upward climb through the winter. We didn't even start marketing it until last hurricane season, and even then it was a half hearted attempt. Mostly because we did not want to grow very fast down there. I have been in VA since Wednesday, to help rev-up this business again this spring, and have at least 4 RFP's to go back to already in FL! Oh, and our closings are much easier and higher than VA.
It kind of ticks me off that I listened to other peoples advice in the last 10-15 years about starting in the FL Keys. Of course it was ultimately MY decision, so I really don't have anyone to blame besides myself, but why EVERY person that I asked told me "NO" or you "can't",
about going down there is sort of strange. I mean I asked all of the so called "experts" as far as paint and other trade consultants that I could find go, and they all had the "Can't be done" type of advice. They were especially against the idea because of me wanting to be in the Keys. They said it was too small, and everyone knew each other, and they didn't like newcombers, and ..........
Lemme put it like this. If you could visualize our company in VA on a graph and watch it's growth rate year after year, it would look like an upside down bell curve almost EVERY winter. So, although every April might be 20% higher than the year before, we still had to go through the big dip every year from December through February, at least. And every fall when everything really got rolling well, we really couldn't enjoy it because we KNEW that the slowdown that starts in December was just around the corner.
But what happens if there is NOT an upside down bell curve that happens EVERY winter? What if you have a business that started on an uphill climb and almost never has an upside down bell curve in the graph of growth? That could be REAL good thing! So far, that is what is happening in FL. I don't know what will happen when hurricane and the hot weather hits down there, but I cannot imagine that the summertime graph will look anywhere near like it does for VA's winter's. I have afeeling that it might go flat for a while, but that is a BIG difference from falling by 25-50% in the winter months.
I know that winters can stay flat and even increase in the winter in VA. But that is usually the exception and the way it is for companies that do not care about growth. But if you care about growing 20% or so per year, your business almost HAS TO fall off in the winter time, simply because you cannot do exteriors in the winter, which is USUALY at least half of a residential repaint contractor's business.
I am not trying to brag or complain with this post. I am just trying to enlighten other painters or whoever, that it is more than possible to move to a warmer climate and get business going. So far, it is actually much EASIER than having to deal with 3 months of bad weather.
So for anyone that has been sitting on the fence about trying something like that, my experience tells me to say, "go for it!"
Of course the ideal thing IMO is to find people to run your current business in the north, while you move south and start a new one. Double your pleasure!
I wish that I had of made this move 20 years ago. So if this helps one person to make up their mind, or at least hear some positive news about such things instead of a bunch of "Cant's", then I have done my good deed for the day.
Regards,
Paul
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