A Family Affair

Many paint contracting businesses are family affairs. This can add to the complexity of the business, as the lines between our personal and professional lives get blurred. Unfortunately, many such businesses do not have clearly defined roles for each family member and the business is operated like a democracy.

While input from family members can be a good thing, too many chefs can spoil the soup. If each person is adding a pinch of this and a pinch of that, you can wind up with a rather nasty tasting soup.

As Erin Duckhorn writes on the E-Myth blog,

If you tell a child one thing, and your spouse tells them another, how does the child know what they are supposed to do? Mixed messages lead to trouble. The same thing goes for an employee, and it's especially important when the employee is reporting into a family situation. It's vital to have a clear management structure so your employees know exactly who they report to and what's expected of them.

A family business is no different from any other business, except that it can be more difficult to operate. A business should not be a democracy. Clear lines of responsibility should be drawn, as in any business.

Certainly, the emotions involved and the personal knowledge of family members can complicate matters. But family members must realize that when they enter the business door personal issues must be pushed aside. The success of the business demands it.

Tough Times

Tough times demand tough talk
Demand tough hearts demand tough songs
Demand...

Rush, "Force Ten"

It is no secret that we are in tough economic times. The stock market goes up and down faster than a roller coaster. Financial institutions are struggling with bad debt. Consumers are understandably uneasy, and that can translate to tough times for painting contractors.

So what is a small business owner to do? I don't think tough songs is the answer, but a tough heart might do the trick.

Weathering tough economic times can test the mettle of anyone. Selling skills can become more crucial. Leads can become more precious. Duct Tape Marketing offers seven suggestions for dealing with tough economic times. While all of these tips don't necessarily apply to the typical painting contractor, they do provide a good starting point.

More importantly, the advice offered applies to all economic conditions. The best time to deal with tough times is before they occur.

The Hurricane Experience

Having lived in Houston for 28 years, I have been through hurricane preparedness more times than I can count. Prior to Ike, I've only experienced one direct hit, and that was nearly 25 years ago. My wife had never experienced a hurricane, and was somewhat excited about the possibility.

The hurricane first made its presence felt at my home shortly before midnight Friday. Hurricane force winds continued for about 10 hours, and we had tropical force winds for many hours after that. We received about 8 inches of rain during the hurricane, and another 3 inches on Sunday morning.

It is hard to explain hurricane force winds, particularly when they last for 10 hours. The best description is to imagine driving 100 miles an hour with your head out of the window. There is a continual, loud roar which became almost calming at times, because when a gust blew through the noise was very eerie. That this was occurring in the dark certainly did not help.

When we were finally able to emerge from our house (which suffered about $20 of damage) we found that our neighborhood had been transformed. Limbs, branches, leaves, and other debris littered yards and the roads. At least a half-dozen trees in my neighborhood were uprooted.

In the days since, as we have cleaned up debris, tolerated the absence of electricity, and basically engaged in glorified camping, my wife has remarked that hurricanes are not quite as exciting as she had imagined. She had only considered the actual hurricane part of the experience-- the anticipation, the wind, etc. She had not considered the aftermath--the destruction, the inconveniences, and the disruptions. In short, she had not considered the consequences.

This is not a negative comment about my wife. To be honest, the destruction and inconvenience has greatly exceeded anything I anticipated. I knew that some would lose power. I did not expect the entire city to lose power.

Similarly with our businesses. We must do more than look at the short term impact of a particular action or policy. We must look beyond, and identify what will result further down the road. A short term benefit (like the "joy" of a hurricane) can ultimately lead to consequences that are less pleasant (like no electricity for days).

So if we don't market we get the short term benefit of saving money. In the long term we have fewer leads. If we don't develop systems, we cannot delegate. If we don't write plans, we blow around in the wind. And if those winds happen to be of hurricane magnitude, the results can be quite unpleasant.

Lessons from Ike

Some of the details may bore you, but my experience with Hurricane Ike provided a few valuable lessons. I will likely post on some of my experiences and the lessons learned over the next few days.

We had been aware of Ike for about 2 weeks. Living in a hurricane zone, we get frequent updates on tropical disturbances, storms, etc. that may develop into hurricanes. We have made some level of preparation at least 3 times this year, as hurricanes posed some threat to the Texas coast. This is a drill that is relatively commonplace for residents of the area.

Part of the preparation process is to secure water and food for at least 3 days. The food should be non-perishable, as power may be off. These are the steps that individuals are expected to take to provide for their sustenance while repairs are made and other supplies brought into the area. We are also encouraged to have batteries for radios and flashlights, candles, and other items to help us during the initial days after the storm.

The winds began picking up at my house shortly before midnight on Friday night. Hurricane force winds continued for more than 10 hours. Our lights flickered several times over the next few hours, finally falling into darkness at about 2:30 AM Saturday morning. Our power has not been restored as of Wednesday afternoon.

On Sunday we took a break from cleaning debris to listen to the radio. Less than 1 day after a major hurricane, citizens and "leaders" were complaining about the lack of supplies that were being brought into the area by FEMA. There seemed to be an endless stream of people complaining that they had no water or food. Those complaints have continued.

Within Houston, few homes were damaged beyond habitation. The complainers were not wiped out-- they had simply refused to properly prepare. They had refused to take even the slightest step in the direction of self-responsibility. Instead, they lined up to complain to radio reporters that others were not providing for them.

Such people get absolutely no sympathy from me. They had weeks to prepare. The preparations are not difficult-- a couple of bottles of water and a can of tuna fish would suffice for a day. This is not gourmet dining, but living through the aftermath of a major hurricane is not a fun time.

Those of us who took responsibility for our own well-being have no complaints. We had plenty of water and food. We also had plenty of gasoline (we were told to fill our gas tanks prior to the storm). Life has not been pleasant, but we do not spend our time driving around the city looking for water, gas, food, or ice.

I hasten to add that I am not claiming that every person who ran out of water, food, or gas acted irresponsibly. But those who apparently made no preparations were irresponsible.

The lessons from this apply directly to our paint contracting business. Those who blame the economy or illegals for their lack of work, or complain about the inevitable winter slow down are no different from those who refused to purchase bottled water. Operating a business, like preparing for a hurricane, requires foresight. It requires identifying what actions are required to survive and thrive, and it also requires taking those actions. A business owner, like those who live in a hurricane zone, must prepare for the future.

In the end, those who fail to prepare get exactly what they deserve (unless others protect them from the consequences of their actions). It is no fun stockpiling water and food, filling tubs of water to flush toilets, or devising plans to air out a stuffy and humid house. Nor is it particularly fun making cash flow projections, job costing, or developing marketing plans.

But if you wish to live in reasonable comfort after a hurricane you must take the requisite actions. It is no different when you own a paint contracting business.

Advice You Don't Need

On occasion I stumble across an article that purports to give good advice for starting a painting company. Last week I was pointed to such an article by a post on PaintTalk.com This article, like many of the sort, offered advice that was not just bad, but actually destructive.

The article begins on a very bad footing:

If you would like a service business that will keep you busy, house painting is the one! A truck or van, ladders, brushes and some drop cloths are the main mechanical needs; you are the other ingredient needed for a thriving business. This is a business where you can get by with the bare minimum investment at first, then build slowly as your business increases -- adding sir compressors, electrical paint rollers, and other fancy equipment as you need and can afford it.

I've been in business for 22 years, and I do not know what a "sir compressor" is. But I suspect that it is some fancy equipment, like an electrical paint roller. Regardless, this article starts by essentially saying that anyone can paint. But don't take my word for it:

As long as you can take care of the paperwork, you can hire helpers to do much (if not most) of the actual painting. Consider hiring high school and college kids during the summer, and don't overlook retirees. One entrepreneur went to a senior citizen's club and found a group of retired men who would go out and paint his houses without supervision. They did excellent work, kept their own time records, and did the jobs for less than half what a painting contractor would have charged!

Now I have nothing against high school kids-- I used to be one-- or seniors-- I hope to be one some day. But this is just silly advice. Certainly such individuals could learn to paint properly, but the article says nothing about training.

More interesting (or maybe depressing) is that the seniors did the work for "less than half what a painting contractor would have charged!" So apparently the business being described is not a paint contracting business. Further, the author is advocating either low-ball pricing or ripping off the workers or something equally inane.

But it gets better:

One contractor sizes up his prospective clients and adds 10% to his bid for those he suspects will want a lot of modifications. When the job is completed, you will hopefully be paid in full. Here is where you can get into trouble! You have already paid for the materials and your helpers (or owe them), and the owner wants to pay you "next week." One or two cases like this will teach you to get a clear understanding of payment BEFORE you start the job!

Has this author ever heard of a change order? To arbitrary add 10% because a customer might want to modify the orginal agreement is simply horrible advice. If the customer modifies the agreement, you simply write a change order and charge accordingly.

Then, when you are done, "hopefully" you will get paid. I do agree that if you don't get paid you could be in trouble, and that is probably the only sentence in the article with which I agree. But rather than advocating requiring a deposit and progress payments, the author suggests getting a clear understanding of the payment schedule. In other words, ask the customer when he intends to pay you.

That's like asking the wolf to guard the chicken coop. A painting contractor should establish his terms and conditions and communicate those to the customer.

It's bad enough that there are low-ball hacks passing themselves off as painting contractors. But when someone writes an article encouraging people to open a painting business because it's easy, well it just makes me want to spit. Or write a blog post about what a disservice they do to our profession.

PDCA Standards

Due to Hurricane Ike appoaching Houston, today's post is short.

Every painting contractor should refer to Painting and Decorating Contractors of America standards in his contract, even if he is not a member. These standards provide objective means for assessing a painting job. You can download the standards here.

Estimating for Success

One of the most frequent questions asked by new painting contractors is how to price a job. Even seasoned veterans sometimes have estimating questions.

While estimating isn't rocket science, it can be approached scientifically. In other words, estimating does not have to be a guessing game.

An estimate is a projection of the labor and material required to complete a specific job. The most accurate way to do this is to use historical data. If it takes 30 minutes to paint a door at Mr. Smith's, it should take 30 minutes to paint the same style door at Mrs. Brown's. If you know your historical production rates, estimating can be a relatively easy task.

Out of the Bucket.com recently released Estimating for Success. This comprehensive manual explains how to determine production rates (sample rates are also provided), measuring, pricing the job, and much more. Estimating for Success is regularly priced at $69, but our Blog readers can save $20 by clicking here.

Special Customer Service

Painting contractors love to beat up on Home Depot, particularly their installation services and the Behr paint they sell. But when someone does something right, even if it's Home Depot, it is worth mentioning.

Bill Hogg tells a wonderful story about customer service:

It seems that a 6 year old boy wanted to get a part-time job, just like his older brother. Like many 6 year olds, he liked to build things, so he indicated he wanted to work at Home Depot. When his father suggested he write a letter he did, so his father dropped the letter off at the Customer Service desk. Dad thought he had heard the last of this.

However, about 6 weeks later they were in Home Depot and the son reminded Dad that they had not heard from Home Depot yet and insisted on checking on the status of his job. Needless to say, Dad was thinking his son was in for a big disappointment.

I won't spoil the story, but it is a good demonstration of customer service-- of identifying a unique way to do a little extra.

The story reminds me of an experience I had many years ago. We were painting an exterior, and the young daughter (maybe 5 years old) liked to watch us work. She was very precocious and the crew enjoyed her presence. Near the end of the job, I presented her with a company t-shirt. Her father later told me that she wore it to bed every night.

Planning for 2009

The third quarter will soon be ending and before we know it a new year will be knocking on the door. I typically spend a large portion of the fouth quarter planning for the coming year. I do this for several reasons:

1. Planning a a very effective process to idneitfy goals and the means for attaining those goals.
2. Spending 3 or so months on the process allows me to carefully think about the various issues without being rushed.
3. I can begin implementing my plan before the new year. For example, if I want leads to increase in January, I cannot wait until January to start placing new ads.

All of this planning might seem like a waste of time. You might take the Nike approach, and "just do it". But plowing ahead without a plan can waste a lot more time than it takes to formulate a direction to travel.

Consider a cross country car trip. I doubt you'd just hop in the car and take off. You'd probably look at a map and determine the best route to take. That process might only take 15 minutes, but it could save you hours on the road. The same is true in our business.

Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Job You Love, has a nice planning tool on his web site. You should check it out.

All Work and No Play

It's been said that all work and no play make Brian a very dull boy. Okay, that hasn't been literally said, but the general idea is true. While I work hard, I also have numerous interests outside of paint contracting.

If you have read my blog for long, you likely know that I like gardening. In some ways, gardening is much like running a business. You plan seeds, you nurture the young plants as they grow, and some time in the future you harvest delicoius vegetables and beautiful flowers.

I also enjoy writing, another fact you likely know. Recently I have been directing my writing towards a passion that I have long held-- defending property rights.

Back in the early 1990's the City of Houston proposed to implement its first zoning ordinance. I wrote OpEd articles gave speeches, spoke to City Council, was interviewed, and more. On my birthday in 1993 I received one of the best birthday gifts possible-- the ordinance was defeated in a binding referendum. In 2007 I traveled to Hobbs, NM to help defeat a similar proposal there.

Earlier this year it became apparent that zoning advocates will make another attempt in Houston. I launched a blog and resurrected the organization I had founded to fight zoning in the 1990's.

So, while fighting City Hall is not exactly play, it is something I am passionate about. It is something that gives me immense satisfaction, particularly when the good guys win.

The Little Engine That Could

The Little Engine That Could is a classic children's story that teaches the value of optimism. While larger trains refused to try, the little engine kept repeating "I think I can". In the end, the little engine succeeded.

Simply believing we can achieve a goal does not mean that it is possible or that we will achieve it. However, if we say "I can't" we will most certainly prove ourself correct. Brian Tracy has a nice little video on the subject. He applies it to sales, but the same optimistic attitude applies to virtually every area of life.



Self-confidence is a crucial part of sales success. If we do not believe in the painting services we are selling, that will be projected to the customer. If we do not have confidence in our price, that will be projected to the customer.

Saying "I think I can" doesn't mean that I can. It does mean that I will try. And before I can, I first must try.

Following Through

The following is from an email newsletter sent by Jean Moroney. I highly recommend subscribing to her newsletter. There is a link at the end of this article.

"I'm going to carve out an hour each morning to think about strategy." "I'm going to the gym tomorrow at noon." "I'm going to _________."

It's easy to say you'll do something, and not as easy to follow through. What often makes the difference is one crucial step. Do you think through, very concretely, how you'll do it? This step is more important than many people credit.

To think concretely about how you'll do something is not hard. You simply visualize exactly where and when you will do the task, what you'll need for it, what might get in your way, and what to do then.

For example, when planning your strategy session, you might ask yourself "How will I prevent interruptions?" and "How do I ensure I get to my desk at 9:00 a.m.?"

This thinking process raises "obvious" issues. For example, you might note you should let voicemail take your calls. Or to exercise at noon, you observe you should bring your workout clothes to the job, and keep your schedule clear.

But the point is, although these issues are obvious if you think about them, they aren't obvious if you don't. The logical connection between your goal and the concrete facts of your workday don't get made unless you figure them out. When you skip this step, you hit obstacles and wind up saying to yourself, "I should have thought of that." A more precise lament would be: "I should have taken the time to think through how I'd do this, and if I had, I would have likely thought of that."

Thinking concretely about "obvious" issues has another benefit. It plants mental reminders that help you follow through. The reminders trigger as needed. So, when the phone rings, a little internal voice says to you "let voicemail take that." Or if you're asked to a meeting that might conflict with your workout, the voice asks, "will it be over by noon?"

These internal reminders are vital to success. They give you an alert at the exact time you need one. And you set that reminder by visualizing the concrete circumstances in advance.

So, the next time you're tempted to say, "I'm going to do _______," delay for five minutes to do some crucial mental preparation. Identify, concretely, the most obvious issues that might get in the way. Then you can commit with the confidence that you have laid the mental groundwork to follow through.

Jean Moroney teaches thinking tactics to managers and other professionals grappling with the pace and complexity of business. When they get pulled in multiple directions or caught in details, thinking tactics help them concentrate, re-orient, and think through issues - so they can get a quality job done, on schedule. This article originally appeared in her free email newsletter. To subscribe, visit http://www.thinkingdirections.com or send an email with your name to subscribe@thinkingdirections.com.