Lessons from Child Rearing

Even though I don’t have children, I find the topic of child-rearing interesting. Getting Things Done—a personal productivity site—recently had an interesting post involving children. The author was going to spend the day with his children, and involved them in planning the day.

They began by listing some of the activities they wanted to do. They then identified how long each activity would take—there is no sense in trying to cram 10 pounds of potatoes into a 5 pound sack. I won’t relate the entire story, but it turned out to be a fun day for everyone.

The lesson in the story is directly applicable to small business owners. Often, we simply dictate to our employees how things will be. After all, we are the boss and if they don’t like it… But this often gets us results different from what we want and expect. We don’t get “buy in”.

Like the parent who involved his children in planning the day, we should involve our employees in the decision making process. This doesn’t mean that we give in to whatever ideas they come up with, but it does mean that we give their ideas serious consideration. Not only are they more likely to approve of the results, and therefore implement them, there is a good chance that they will have some better ideas.

I certainly don’t mean to equate children and employees, but in a certain sense there is a similarity. In both relationships, we have the final authority. In both relationships, we are looked upon as the expert and the guiding force. We are the leader. While this requires a firm hand, it does not mean that we should be dictators.

I am familiar with parents who tell their children to do something “because I said so”. This hardly helps the child understand the rationale behind the directive. However, when the parent explains his reasons (in a manner the child can understand), the results can be much more satisfactory to all involved. The same applies to our employees.

Building Tree Forts

When I was a child, it seemed that every kid in the neighborhood owned a few boards. I don't recall how this came about, but I seem to remember that we would beg our fathers for whatever scraps he had laying around.

During the summers we would often gather with our friends du jour and build some kind of tree fort. Most of these structures would surely be condemned by the local authorities, but being children we were unaware of the proper procedures to follow. But I digress.

Often we would spend the better part of the day "designing" and building our fort. And nearly as often, by the time the structure was complete a disagreement had erupted. It was not unusual for demolition to occur the same day as construction, as each of us took our lumber and went home, only to repeat the process a few days later.

In retrospect, the whole thing was silly for several reasons. One, we seldom got to enjoy our work for long. Two, I had one of the largest lumber supplies in the neighborhood and I should have exerted more authority over the proceedings. Three, you can only pound so many nails into a board before it becomes splintered and useless.

But a lesson was learned. On the rare occasions when everyone would cooperate for a prolonged period, we built some pretty fabulous forts. Well, they seemed fabulous to us at least. We would use the fort for a variety of purposes, such as hiding from the Indians who frequently attacked the neighborhood. Or, if the fort were perched among the lofty birch trees, we would use our position to lob various items at unsuspecting kids who were not "in" on that particular day.

As kids we could not get past our petty differences to see the benefits of working together. Instead, we would act like children (which I guess was appropriate) and stomp off, dragging a pile of 2"x4"s behind us. We all would have been better off to take a deep breath, talk about our dispute, and work together to our mutual benefit.

The same is true in our paint contracting business. As owners, we can easily fall into the mindset of "my way or the highway". While this makes for a pithy comment, it is seldom an effective way to build a business. That approach resulted in forts that did not last long. The same will happen to a business that adopts it.

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.

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.

Communicating with Employees

I've written a lot about the importance of communicating with customers during the estimating/ sales process for a painting job. We do this to: 1. learn what they want, need, and expect; 2. explain how we can meet those values.

But employees are "customers" too. We must communicate our vision to them, as well as how we intend to pursue that vision and their role in that process. Too often that communication involves little more than the owner pontificating. As Bill Hogg points out, "if it isn't two-way, it isn't communication. It's simply message distribution."

There is certainly a time and place for one-way communication. But if this is our modus operandi we become little more than benevolent dictators, imposing our ideas on employees. Now only does this deprive us of ideas that the employees might have, it can also lead to less acceptance of our ideas. As Hogg asks, "Do you have a process set up that stimulates a conversation or is your messaging primarily just being pushed out from the communications team?"

This does not mean that we should operate our business as a democracy. Employees want and need leadership. But they also want to feel like their ideas matter. And that can only happen if we talk with them, not talk at them.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008

Brian Doesn’t Know

Over the years I’ve hired dozens and dozens of painters. No matter their experience, their ethnicity, or their gender, one idea seems to ultimately come out of the mouth of virtually every one of them—Brian doesn’t know anything about painting.

My company has painted thousands of homes. Since I land about 1 in 3 jobs I look at, this means I’ve looked at a tremendous number of jobs.

I have had 3 to 5 crews in the field for the past 15 years. While each individual crew only sees the job they do, I have seen 9 to 15 jobs. In other words, I see and experience far, far more than any individual crew or painter. Yet, I know nothing about painting.

This idea seems to arise because I do not have a paint brush in my hand. If I'm not painting, how could I possibly know anything about the subject? But I don't need to poke myself in the eye with a stick to know that it will hurt. There are other ways to learn about something besides actually doing it.

These comments usually arise when I make a suggestion about the project. This is particularly true when my suggestion involves doing some new. My comments are met with blank stares, shakes of the head, and/ or dismissal.

Despite the fact that I know nothing about painting, guess what happens when they have a question or a problem? They are calling me. Which means, while I don’t know anything about painting, I am also supposed to have all of the answers. Kind of ironic, huh?

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008

Making Use of Rain Days

Rain days are a fact of life for a painting contractor, unless you only do interiors. Rain days can wreck a schedule, play havoc with cash flow, and generally make life difficult.

However, there is one way to find a silver lining in those dark clouds. Use rain days for training.

To effectively use rain days for employee training, it is necessary to have a training program. This does not need to be an elaborate program, but you should have topics and materials prepared ahead of time.

One of the most effective topics for training is production management, i.e., methods and procedures for managing a job site. Even if you are “in the bucket” and work along side your crew, training better production management will enable you to delegate some responsibilities.

There are two key components to effective production management:
•Controlling the Job Site—A customer can quickly take control of a job site by being demanding and/ or unreasonable. Controlling the job site begins the moment the crew arrives, by establishing responsibilities and expectations. It also requires that each team member understand how to deal with customers.
•Job Site Administration—Properly managing the job involves good communications between the job supervisor and the customer, and between the supervisor and the crew. It means anticipating potential problems and addressing them early. It means establishing the proper job sequence.

Having the entire crew on board regarding these issues can save time, reduce problems, and create a better experience for the customer.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008

When the Cat’s Away

Have you ever left a job site for a while, and upon your return, found that your crew did little or no work? You would be unusual if this has never occurred.

Quite often, when the cat is away the mice will play. When Sylvester is at the vet getting his shots, the little vermin will scamper about the house with impunity. They take an extra break, wander out to the van to get some caulk, or check out Oprah. They might do a little work, but they won’t act like they do the boss is there.

There are several possible ways around such a problem. One way is to never leave the job site. Another is to mount webcams on every job site. Or you could pay one of your painters to be an informant. Of course, all of these will likely create other problems—like animosity and poor morale.

A more effective and practical approach is piece work. Pay your people for what they produce, not for the hours they work. Pay them for what they do, not for just showing up.

In it’s simplest form, a painter would be paid $X for painting a door, $X for fixing a drywall crack, etc. If it takes him an hour to do the door, he makes $X per hour. If he can do 2 doors in an hour, then he makes twice X per hour.

Under piece work the mice may still play when the cat is away. But they will be doing it on their own dime, not yours.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008