How To get The Perfect Painting Estimate

How To Get The Perfect Painting Estimate

When you think about painting your home or business, the first thing you need is a painter to call.

You ask around or you may Google search or look on social media to find the perfect one.

Once you make your call and a few call you back you make an appointment and that's it.

But in reality, this is the start of a little bit of work you should do to be prepared
for your estimate as a client.

Be Prepared

The painter and estimator also have their work cut out for them, you cannot just show up.
You must be prepared and also prepare your client for this estimate.

Sending information out before the estimate prepares the client for the perfect estimate.

By answering questions before arrival,  you avoid any confusion, while showing
you're an expert.

What questions are asked? Answer them in an email, blog or video

As a client, you must know what you want to have done and be able to
either express it on the estimate or have it written down. 

Not expressing your expectations to the estimator is problem number one
that can come back to bite you. 

Whenever we have an issue on a project is typically comes down to
missed expectations that were never expressed to the estimator.

No Two Are Alike

Do not assume each painting company is going to offer the
same level of service or the same quality.

Do not assume you're receiving the top of the line level of work if it
was not discussed or paid for.

Let me say that again, you cannot expect to receive a new BMW when
your paying for a used car with 200,000 miles on it. 

A budget should be discussed, no one wants to talk about money but why?
It's the perfect time to discuss a budget, you can both agree on what will be done
and not done and how much it will cost.

Once you have met, discussed the budget and expectations of the project,
the best time to make a commitment is now.

Do It Now

It makes no sense to not take care of this now, especially if you have
pre-planned and know how much you can afford.
You do not want to be pressured however and this goes back to be comfortable
with your estimator.

Discuss the price openly, it is not a bad thing to discuss pricing at all,
if you can’t discuss pricing with the person you want to hire, maybe it isn't the
right person to hire?

Once your budget is discussed and the price is agreed upon making
sure everything you discussed is written in the proposal.

This is important for us because our painters get a copy of that wording
and this is what they will do on a project, no more or less, again you want this
to be clear now, not when you have painting happening inside your home.

Once everything looks great, sign the proposal and a copy is typically emailed right over
to you,
now you are set to go on to the next step which is scheduling.
We will review that is another video

10 Free Paint Jobs

10 free Paint Jobs

We are offering 10 free painters for the day for property managers, facility managers or operation managers who have not used our painting services before.

Some companies have not used us or do not know about our services and what better way to find out by trying us with a no-risk,no-cost day of painting? 

Why?

Why not? The facility will get a free small paint job and in turn, when the painting is needed in the future "we just ask to be considered for that work, that is all that's expected" says Ryan Amato

If you already have a painting company and are thrilled with them that is awesome, don't lose them or switch just because of a lower price. But if your not happy or have had issues we would love to be able to show you what we can do for your facility or property

The catch?

There is none, you supply the paint and any materials, we will bring one painter for 8 hours of work, typically a painter can paint the walls of a small 8x10 room, or maybe some doors. We won't be able to do exterior work, epoxy floors or anything other than the 8 hours of work which may eliminate some work, heavy patching. What we suggest is contacting us, we can come out and take a look at the work to show you what can be done or not.

Win-Win

It's a win-win, best case you love us, you get a free small paint job, worst case, you don't and we never have to see each other again and you owe nothing except a little paint, tape etc

Contact us through this link 

The painting business

The painting business

When you think of the painting business you think about the painters who are fly by night, the drinking and the horror stories you hear from your friends and some of those things are true to say the least.

But there are also great people in this industry who are business people, have great families and are awesome to be around so in this blog we will focus on that.

I have the luxury each day to be able to meet all types of people from all walks of life, small business owners, large facility managers, potential clients, and the great ones always stand out.

Just yesterday I was able to meet a former fireman/ crime scene investigator, I noticed his pictures on a shelf and asked and he was nice enough to share his stories with me and you could see him open up as soon as we began talking about it. I could have stayed there all day had I not had other estimates to get to.

New business owners

Last week I had the chance to talk with two painters who just started their own business and to see their excitement in that was awesome, I love to see other people who are inspired and striving hard towards a goal.

Typically I am fending of salespeople who others who are trying to get something from us but even there you have to realize they are just doing their job, it's similar to what we do while trying to find clients and salespeople are some of the best people to talk to, they always have great stories and I do appreciate their hustle, frankly, we are in the same business.

It's not you, it's them

The podcasts and blogs I am able to do I created just so I would be able to talk with people I am interested in and it has been simply awesome, each one has had a uniques story however they all related to one another. Every day remember we all have our goals, struggles, and successes and failures, yes you may run into the occasional nasty, grumpy person, the easiest way to push them aside is to feel sorry for them, they must be very sad to be so nasty to other people,l it's not you, it's them.

Appreciate your daily meetings

Take a moment to realize the great people you meet each day, have gratitude, talk to them, put your phone down and listen to their story. There are so many people that can bring value to your life just by opening up your ears and really listening

Why using subs isn't a bad thing

Why using subcontractors doesn't have to be a bad word

We all have heard horror stories about subcontractors, they messed up our yard, or house or insert any other area of your home or business but the same can be said for employee-based companies as well.

We had been there, 25 plus employees working each day, missing work, calling off, their truck broke down, they have no license or any other excuse in the book. Jobs took forever because it didn't matter to them how prompt they completed jobs, they were paid hourly.

Jobs became longer, schedules compacted onto each other, no one was seemingly happy except for the painters who were making money with no cares in the world until one day when it all changed.

Pay For Performance

We decided to try a production-based pay, now the first thing I knew that would happen is we would lose the underperforming painters, I didn't realize how quick though. When someone realizes they aren't as good as they think I believe the realization the feel hits their ego hard. They blame the company, they point fingers at anyone but themselves, they have zero accountability, for us, this was all a precursor to using subcontractors in our painting business, just like many other companies you use each day such as the cable company, contractors, landscapers, roofers they all may use "subs"

The switch

Once all the underperforming painters were gone it was time to make a switch to using subcontractors, I have to admit I totally changed my perception of this practice from over the years, once I saw there were companies that didn't want to deal with marketing, sales or the other business aspects and solely wanted to perform the work we had a match that was perfect. We are good at finding top talent and making sure they are successful, to be able to do this on your own as a client is a tough task, so we took it all away, we hire, fire, schedule and manage the project, being a liaison between the painters and the client to make sure it is a successful project.

Not always smooth

It wasn't all roses, there were mistakes, bad contractors, jobs that we had to correct just like every other painting contractor.

But what happened is one day we had all these great contractors around us, bringing their positive attitudes, great work and low and behold jobs were getting done at a pace we always expected. Great review after the review came streaming in and in the office, the happiness meter went way up.

Sometimes the preconceived notions about things are completely not true and this was a huge one for us.

The S word

So the next time you hear the word remember it is just a different way to pay someone, a sub receives a 1099 and that is the only difference, you should never feel any sort of different experience when working with any subcontractor, remember they only want to make you happy too. While the other employees are milking the time our subs can come in and get the real work done.

Kitchen Cabinet Painting Does Not have To Be Expensive

Kitchen Cabinet Painting 

Kitchen cabinet painting can be rewarding and change the entire look and feel of your kitchen minus the large expense of totally purchasing new cabinets or refacing them.

With a professional painter who has done many sets of cabinets, professional products and the proper preparation of the surfaces you can be assured your project will turn out the way you want and expect.

Painting kitchen cabinets is the hottest thing right now because it can save so much money, good quality kitchen cabinets are not inexpensive, there is no way to match the cost of painting compared to buying a new set unless you purchase very inexpensive cabinets and then you will have issues of them holding up down the road.

Typical costs of painting your kitchen cabinets can range from $1750 all the way up to $5000 and more depending on the number of doors and drawers, unique pieces such as wine racks, glass fronts or other items as well as the number of colors you are requesting.

It all starts with the estimate, when choosing a painting company to do your work you want one who has done a lot of these, this is not the "let's find the cheapest painter" type of estimate. Your cabinets need to be prepared correctly and they are all different, different types of wood, finishes, all requiring a unique process. I have been in the painting stores watching painters ask the person behind the counter how to paint kitchen cabinets, you do not want that in this case.

Many things can happen with a bad job such as peeling (not chipping) hard to wash surfaces and uneven finishes (sheens) 

With chipping we have to have realistic expectations, we are painting your cabinets and although we use very good products no paint can withstand abuse such as wood rubbing on wood, high use areas such as corners being hit, they will knick and chip but the best thing about this whole process is you can touch them up easily. Hopefully, your painter left you to touch up paint, there is no need to pay someone to come out and do this unless you simply do not have enough time. with a small foam brush or roller corners can easily be touched up.

You do not have to be scared of this process, for a few days of minimal disruption you can have an entirely new kitchen for a very affordable price tag.

Get your estimate here