Brian’s Wonderful Landscaping Adventure

When I first purchased my home more than ten years ago, the yard had been grossly neglected for a long time. There were large patches of bare dirt, the soil was compacted, and various bedding plants were sprouting up in areas with no beds. In addition, I discovered landscaping stones buried throughout the yard—apparently a relic of some long lost civilization that had attempted some bizarre horticultural practices.

My task at first seemed a bit overwhelming. I knew that improving the condition of my soil would be a key to any long term success. I also knew that the eleven live oaks on my lot were going to limit where grass would grow, as well as the other types of landscaping I could plant.

I would like to say that my landscaping adventure went off without a hitch. But that wouldn’t be true. I killed more than a few plants, and spent countless hours hauling stones, planting shrubs, and laying sod. Much of my effort, particularly in the first few years, was good for little more than exercise.

For example, I had an area in the back yard measuring approximately 25’ by 25’ that remained a barren wasteland no matter how much sod I place on it. The combination of poor soil, lack of drainage, and filtered sunlight simply did not provide a good environment for grass. Several years ago I admitted the futility of my endeavor, and built a large deck. That was certainly one way to solve the problem.

The pride and joy of my landscaping is our pond, which is also a story of grand mistakes and joyous successes. At one time we had three ponds, which were interconnected by waterfalls and a stream. While it was nice to look at, and a constant source of delight, it was a maintenance nightmare. The stream would easily clog with debris, which would cause an overflow and the water level in the ponds would fall dangerously low. We eventually removed two of the ponds and the stream, and installed a disappearing fountain and a dozen azaleas in their stead.

Around the remaining pond we have two pittsoporums that have become larger than I ever imagined such plants could grow. Despite regular, and often severe, pruning, they easily stand 12 feet tall. They make a wonderful backdrop to our waterfall. The beds around the pond also contain ferns, some ground cover, and several Encore azaleas. It makes for a very relaxing environment.

My yard is now virtually filled with lush, green grass. The few remaining thin areas should fill in this summer. And my hibiscus are thriving now that they get full sun virtually all day long.

My gardening and landscaping adventure has been a fun and rewarding hobby, albeit one often filled with frustration. But the results have been worth the effort.

You may wonder what this has to do with paint contracting. My answer is this: My landscaping adventure has taken time to perfect. I developed systems—such as installing watering systems—to make my work easier. This all took patience, perseverance, and a focus on my end goal. And this is precisely what it takes to run a successful contracting business.

Kissing Butt to Get the Sale

Some time ago I read an interesting thread on a forum that shall remain nameless. Contractors were discussing various tactics for getting the sale, including “kissing butt”. One commented that he would do whatever it takes to land the job.

On the surface this might sound like a reasonable approach. Certainly we must take into consideration the customer’s needs, concerns, and values. But to mix metaphors, “kissing butt” is not skin deep.

I will let you imagine the literal meaning of the phrase. In practice it isn’t a pretty sight. In principle, it isn’t any better.

I compared this tactic to that of a prostitute—doing “whatever it takes” means just that. You will do anything the customer requests, no matter how unreasonable. (I seriously doubt that the poster meant this, but I take words for their actual meaning.) A prostitute will debase herself simply to get the job—in fact, debasement is her job.

A painting contractor who adopts this tactic becomes nothing more than a patsy. He allows the customer to dictate the terms of their relationship. His constant appeasement makes him a docile pawn, manipulated into satisfying whatever whim happens to strike the customer. And the more he does, the more he reinforces the customer’s power lust.

This is not to say that we should be bullies and give the customer a “take it or leave it” proposition. It does mean that we must seek a relationship that is mutually beneficial, not just in the short term, but also in the long term.

“Kissing butt” focuses on the short term. The contractor’s concern is on the immediate moment—landing this job now. In the process, he undermines his long term success. We need customers, but not any one particular customer. We need paint jobs, but we do not need any one particular job. In short, don’t kiss butt to get a job. You will wind up with something much nastier than egg on your face.

With Help Like This...

One of the most common questions from new painting contractors is how to bid jobs. And there is no shortage of “experts” eager to share their “knowledge”. However, often that “knowledge” is inadequate, and sometimes it is downright wrong. For example, consider the advice offered here.

The first suggestion is: “Find out what your competitors are charging for the same service by having them come and do an estimate for you (I wouldn't tell them what you're up to, though).” This advice is wrong, both morally and practically.

Morally, this is dishonest. Such actions are misleading, waste the time of the competitors, and the information is gained under false pretenses.

Practically, the information gained is meaningless. What others charge does not tell us anything about what we should charge. This is a classic case of the blind leading the blind, or more precisely, the blind leading the dishonest.

Along the same lines is this little tidbit: “Going rate for painters is 29.00 if you roll and 31.00 an hour if you spray. I charge 25.00 hour but I roll. It keeps me in the ball game.”

Charging $25 an hour might “keep you in the ball game”, but what kind of game are you playing? Professional contracting is not a game—it is a business. If you treat it like a game, you will likely find yourself sitting on the bench.

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

All of us like saving money. But sometimes the attempt to do so is far more costly in the long term.

Take Carol Taddei for example. When her toilet needed a repair, she concluded that it would be less costly to replace it. So far, so good. However, she also thought that she could save even more by replacing it herself. Everything was fine until the ceiling in the room below collapsed—the new toilet was leaking. Her efforts ultimately cost her $3,000, all because she wanted to save the cost of paying a plumber to install her toilet.

As a professional contractor, you have probably seen your share of DIY projects gone bad. And, while sloppy cut in, or using the wrong product, or a bad drywall repair isn’t likely to create a mess similar to Taddei’s, it can often cost more to fix such problems than it would have to hire a professional from the start.

The same applies to our business. In an effort to save money, many contractors will design their own logo and marketing materials. They might do their own web site and keep the books. All of these can save money, and besides, anyone can do a web site (just like “anyone can paint”).

While the consequences of a bad toilet installation will eventually be very evident, the results of a poorly designed marketing piece can be less so. But they can be just as costly.

I have seen countless contractors try some form of marketing, get bad results, and then declare that “X doesn’t work”. Then seldom consider that the problem may not be with the media, but with the particular piece. Not only do they waste money, they dismiss a particular media as worthless. In doing so, they slowly conclude that marketing is ineffective.

It is easy to laugh at a toilet installation gone wrong. But it isn’t so funny when marketing goes wrong.

Keeping Busy

Painting contractors often express concern about keeping their crews busy. "If I don't keep them busy," the contractor says, "I'll lose them." Since the tightening economy has likely made this even more of a concern, I am happy to offer a two-step program for keeping your crews incredibly busy.

1. Charge very low prices. This will likely increase your closing rate, so you will have more jobs. Of course, you might lose money on each job, but you can make it up in volume. When you have a ton of jobs, you will gain some economies of scale. For example, you can get better pricing on ProMar 700, and the pennies you save will help reduce your losses.

2. Have your painters use nothing but 2" sash brushes. Certainly they will be less efficient, but imagine how long it will take them to paint interior ceilings and walls. That job that used to take a week can now be spread out for an entire month. Combined with low prices, inefficiency will keep your crews very busy.

I hasten to add that this program does have a few negative consequences. One is ticked off customers. They will not appreciate jobs taking so long. But this problem will be overcome by another negative result--bankruptcy. You probably can't implement this program for very long before discovering that when you spend more money than you bring in, you will go bankrupt.

But financial considerations aren't my concern here. Keeping crews busy is. And this program is guaranteed to work--at least for a few weeks.

Getting Out of the Office: An Update

Last year I wrote about getting out of the office--structuring my business so that I had more time for other pursuits. I am happy to report that I have largely been successful in accomplishing this goal.

To be honest, I cannot take complete credit for this. Our leads have declined, partially because of some reduced advertising and partially due to the economy. Regardless, my business requires much less effort than in previous years--often less than 10 hours a week.

So what am I doing with my time? I have been doing a great deal more writing. I have also been spending a fair amount of time working in my yard. Earlier this year I remodeled my dining room and laundry room.

I could certainly spend 40 to 50 hours a week working on my business. I choose not to. I make an income that is satisfactory, while having the time to pursue other interests. I have created a lifestyle business--that is, a business that allows me to live the lifestyle I desire. While more money is always welcome, it isn't all about the money. There are other factors to consider as well. Besides, some of my other interests are also producing income.

The reduced workload has allowed me to spend more time with my wife. Actually, I am with her a lot anyhow, since she works with me. But we are now spending time doing things that are more enjoyable. And she also has more time for pursuits that are of more interest to her.

A lifestyle business isn't for everyone. Many people have children to feed, college to finance, or other financial considerations that make a lifestyle business impractical. But when money is not the highest priority, such a business has a lot of benefits.