A successful painting contractor in Sacramento drew up a critical list that helped many other painters across the United States to be successful in all that they did. It is such a simple outline that anybody can follow it and not have to work any harder than they normally would. It is a set of steps that anybody who is serious about painting should follow. Being a painting contractor is not easy, so if you want to make it work, be prepared for a bit of labor.
Table of Contents
Get Your Experience
Creating a long experience as a painting contractor takes a lot of hard work, but it will pay off when you go to work out there in the big world. Customers will expect a lot from you. The higher quality work that you provide for them, the happier that they will be when you are done. This way, they are prone to tell all of their friends about you. In the beginning, you may not be all that good of a painter, so be sure to get as much experience as you can from doing odd jobs or working as an employee. This way, you will have all of the necessary life tools when you go out on your own.
Be Prepared To Work
Painting is not an easy job. Sometimes it is easier than other times, but for the most part, you have to go out there and put lots of work in every day. In some homes, you may have to climb several floors of steps over and over again in order to get the job done. In other homes, you will have to climb up and down on a ladder for hours, unless you have your own lift. Lifting paint buckets, taping off edges, carrying your tools, and getting up earlier than the rooster’s crow is all part of a typical day on the job as a painter. If you stay in shape, eat right, and go to bed every night at a reasonable time, you’ll be just fine.
Enjoy A Non-Regular Schedule
As a painting contractor, you will quickly learn that your customers are the ones with regular schedules, and you are the one that has to work around theirs. They are working during the weekdays, so a lot of times, you will have to work weekends to accommodate them. In the summer months, be prepared for some evening work as well. Although being a painter can be very rewarding and lucrative, it is not a typical 9 to 5 job with paid holidays and sick leave. You have to roll with the punches of life as they come.
Customer Service Skills
As with any other business owner, you need to have the ability to provide high-quality customer service. If you’re not a people person, you need to turn into one. Sometimes customers can be extremely demanding and grossly picky. Say, for instance, you paint a house in a degree of a lighter shade than the customer had planned on. What do you do? The initial reaction would probably be to argue with them about it. However, it is the ultimate goal to make sure that every customer is happy and satisfied. If they are frustrated, you have to allow them to speak their minds and tell you what the problem is. Calm and cool from your end will ultimately keep the peace, and allow you to come to a fair conclusion for both of you. You may have to repaint the house. They may allow the color to remain for a lower price. Either way, you please the customer and don’t ruin your name.
Knowledge Of The Industry
In order to be a successful painting contractor, it takes a high level of know-how. Just like any other kind of contractor, like a concrete pumping service, you have to understand that you are an expert in your field. As concrete workers need to know what kinds of concrete are used in what kinds of circumstances, painters have to know everything there is to know about paint and what types of paint to use in different jobs. There is exterior paint, which is most likely oil-based, there is interior paint, which can vary on what kind of surface is being painted. There is even wood stain for decks and fences. Not to mention the different kinds of textures and epoxies that some jobs will call for. Even when you know all of your paints, you have to know when it is best to use them and how much to apply.
Perseverance
Since painting is a seasonal type of job, sometimes the winter months can go very slowly. You have to be able to save up your earnings on the offseason so that you can get through to the work season. You have to push yourself to keep going even when you don’t want to. Many painting contractors end up making a lot of money and being able to pay other people to do the work for them. This is an example of what you can achieve if you don’t give up.
