Control the job site

Brian Phillips

We’ve probably all had customers who seemed to take over the job and dictate our every move. It can seem impossible to get any work completed and the job appears that it will last forever.

Even though we are a “guest” in the customer’s home, it is imperative that we take control of the job site. We are the professional painting contractor, and we should dictate how the job will proceed.

Controlling the job site actually begins before the crew ever arrives. It begins with the salesman and how the job is sold– that is, the terms, conditions, and promises. The salesman must establish reasonable expectations and the customer’s responsibilities.

The Project Manager must reinforce these expectations and responsibilities. He should review them with the customer at the start of the job and at appropriate points during the job. Once he gives control of the job site to the customer, he will have a difficult struggle regaining it.

Controlling the job site does not mean being rude or combative. It does mean being firm. The contract should state customer responsibilities, and it is the responsibility of the Project Manager to enforce them.

Open and frequent communications can go a long ways toward maintaining control of the job site. Keeping the customer informed about the job progress, expectations, and problems will breed confidence. And a customer who is confident in the leadership skills of the Project Manager will be less likely to take over control.

June 5th, 2010 | Tags: , | Category: Production | Comments are closed

The minutes matter

Brian Phillips

The typical direct costs– labor and materials– for a paint contracting business are about 50% of revenues. Overhead– advertising, insurance, owner’s salary, rent, depreciation, etc.– are paid out of the remaining 50%, and what is left is the company profit. A net profit of 10% is a reasonable goal.

It is generally assumed that a painter will have 6.5 productive hours, or 390 minutes, in a day. Half of his time, or 195 minutes, goes to direct costs, approximately 156 minutes goes towards overhead, and 39 minutes contributes to company profits.

But what if the painter doesn’t actually produce for those 390 minutes? What if he makes a few extra trips to the van, or wanders around looking for a tube of caulk, or somehow manages to waste a few minutes here and there?

That wasted time reduces the company profit. In other words, each wasted minute costs the company money. If the wasted time exceeds 39 minutes, the painter isn’t even covering the company’s overhead. Which means, the company can’t pay its bills. (More likely, the owner won’t be paid his full salary.)

If this scenario occurred one time it wouldn’t be a big issue. But what if it occurred almost daily? What if it was repeated by 3 or 4 or more employees? Very quickly the company could be facing a significant financial problem.

The fact is, the company’s profit is typically earned in the last hour of the day. Anything that reduces productivity, by even a minute, reduces the company profit.

This isn’t meant to imply that we should be slave drivers. We must have reasonable expectations. And we must also provide employees guidance in the most efficient methods for completing their tasks. The success of our business requires it.

June 4th, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: Production | Comments are closed

What kind of primer should I use?

Brian Phillips

As a long time participant on various forums for painting contractors, there seems to be no shortage of questions and discussions regarding the right primer to use, the best caulk, or how much everyone is paying for paint. 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. If I made a $100 bet with everyone reading this that they would close their business within 5 years, I would make a fair amount of money. And it’s a bet I would be willing to make, except it would be hard to collect.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The painting forums can be a great resource for technical issues. I occasionally run into something that is new, and being able to tap into the experience and knowledge of other members is incredibly helpful. But solving an occasional technical issue isn’t going to make or break my business.

However, if I don’t generate enough leads, I’m going to have serious problems. If I don’t sell jobs at the right price, I’m going to have serious problems. If I can’t manage my crews and run my office, I’m going to have serious problems. In other words, if I don’t take care of every piece of the puzzle, I won’t be around to worry about Mr. Smith’s door peeling.

I realize that each of us has different goals and defines success differently. But whatever your goals are, your business is the means to that end. And your business will not succeed if you don’t have a good handle on the business side of the operation. If you don’t market and sell you will be a statistic.

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.

May 21st, 2010 | Tags: | Category: Production, Systems | Comments are closed

Getting Out of the Bucket

Brian Phillips

Do you want to take your painting business to the next level?

Do you want a steady lead flow? Do you want to sell jobs at the right price? Do you want to have motivated crews?


From: Brian Phillips

Dear Professional Painting Contractor,

Let’s be honest. You want to improve your contracting business. I have an e-book that will help you do that, and I want to sell you a copy.

I’m not going to waste your time telling you how great my book is. I’m not going to make wild promises about how much money you will make if you buy my book. But I will tell you what is in my book and how it can help you build a better contracting business—if you apply the ideas.

I have owned a paint contracting business for 25 years. For much of that time I struggled, enduring the same frustrations as most contractors: insufficient leads, customers telling me that my price is too high, painters who wouldn’t show up, and more. I made a lot of mistakes. And then I discovered the power of business systems.

You know how to paint a house. You know what steps that you must follow to produce a durable, attractive job. You also know that if you skip one of those steps or do them in the wrong order, the job probably won’t turn out well. You won’t get the results that you want. This same principle applies to every aspect of your business—do the right things time after time and you will get the results you want time after time. Systems will allow you to get predictable, consistent results.

And Getting Out of the Bucket will help you develop systems for your business.

This powerful 330-page e-book covers every aspect of a paint contracting business:

  • Marketing
  • Estimating
  • Sales
  • Finance
  • Production
  • Administration
  • And more…

Getting Out of the Bucket comes with forms, worksheets, sample marketing materials, and action steps to help you build the business you want.

What’s Your Problem?

Do you have trouble finding good employees? Do you wonder why they won’t do things the way you want? Do you ever think that if you want it done right, you need to do it yourself? Getting Out of the Bucket will help you:

  • Hire employees who don’t need baby sitting
  • Set quality standards to insure that the work is performed properly
  • Develop a compensation system that rewards your employees adequately
  • Develop forms and checklists to help your crew leaders operate more efficiently and with greater customer satisfaction

Getting Out of the Bucket comes with sample employment ads, an application and employee test, interview tips, and more.

Do you have trouble generating enough leads? Do you often wonder where your nest job will come from? Are you tired of “tire kickers”? Getting Out of the Bucket will help you:

  • Systematize your marketing to develop a steady lead flow
  • Analyze your marketing to make informed decisions about your marketing
  • Develop a low-cost, effective marketing plan

Getting Out of the Bucket comes with sample marketing materials, a simple yet effective marketing plan template, a spreadsheet for analyzing your marketing, and more.

Do you worry about estimating jobs accurately and profitably? Do you find yourself fretting over estimates, wondering if you have the right price? Getting Out of the Bucket will help you:

  • Develop an estimating system that will produce accurate, consistent, and profitable pricing
  • Calculate the selling price you need to be profitable
  • Monitor and improve your estimating skills

Getting Out of the Bucket comes with estimating forms, sample production rates, a sample spreadsheet for estimating, and more.

Do you have trouble selling for a profitable price? Are you tired of hearing “your price is too high?” Getting Out of the Bucket will help you:

  • Develop a sales process that fits your style and personality
  • Develop trust and confidence so that customers will pay a higher price
  • Sell more jobs at the price you need

Getting Out of the Bucket comes with a sample contract, sales forms, a spreadsheet to calculate your selling price, and more.

Do you seem to always run out of time? Are you tired of working nights and weekends? Do you struggle to find time for your family and hobbies? Getting Out of the Bucket will help you:

  • Delegate tasks so that you can focus on your priorities
  • Identify and focus on your long-term goals
  • Reduce time consuming and stressful emergencies

Getting Out of the Bucket comes with tips on identifying solutions to those nagging problems that waste your time, create stress, and cause frustration. You will also get hundreds of sample procedures that you can modify to fit your business.

I am blown away by the depth of your systems and excited about implementing it ASAP. Jamie

Getting Out of the Bucket addresses all of the common contractor complaints and more.

BONUS #1: As a bonus, you will also get our Operations Manual Templates. These templates include hundreds of sample procedures in sales, estimating, production, and administration. We sell these templates for $79 and they are yours for free when you buy Getting Out of the Bucket.

BONUS #2: We’ll also include seven hours of audio recordings from our teleconference on estimating.

This powerful business building e-book and both free bonuses are now only $109. After payment you will receive an email from BEP Enterprises with download instructions for immediate access.


September 28th, 2009 | Category: Administration, Estimating, Finance, Marketing, Production | Comments are closed
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