As a long time participant on various forums for painting contractors, there seems to be no shortage of questions and discussions regarding the best roller cover, what kind of primer to use, and similar issues. While technical issues certainly have some merit and can be helpful, they seldom matter in the long-term.
It is a statistical fact that 90% of small businesses fail within 5 years. Painting contractors don’t fail because of the primer they use or what they pay for a gallon of paint. They fail because they don’t know how to run a business.
Forgive me for being blunt, but the odds are that you will be out of business within 5 years. And I personally believe that the odds will increase significantly if your worry more about roller covers than you do marketing, sales, cash flow management, systematizing, and more.
In other words, running a painting business isn’t really about primer and caulk and roller covers. It’s about marketing, sales, and finance.
If I don’t generate enough leads, I can’t sell jobs. If I don’t sell jobs (at the right price), I can’t pay my salary. If I can’t pay my salary, my cats won’t eat. And if my cats don’t eat, they won’t be happy. (Unhappy cats are not pleasant to be around). In short, if I don’t take care of business, it really doesn’t matter what roller cover I use.
Building a business is not easy. Statistics prove it. But it can be done, and statistics prove that as well. Building a business requires focusing on the right things—business things. Things like marketing, sales, and administration. In the end, business isn’t about primer or caulk. It’s about business.
© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008
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