Our Painting Business Hit $300K Per Year And Is Still Growing
This is a follow up story for Hometown Painting LLC. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published about 2 years ago, check it out here.
Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.
I am Matt Stone and five years ago my wife and I started Hometown Painting LLC. We are a painting company that specializes in residential repaints. We are an upscale, full-service painting company that focuses on the customer journey and provides a great experience. We have done this by researching our industry to find the best practices being used today.
We have grown our revenue to over $330,000 over the last 12 months and have continued to help more and more customers every year.
One of our biggest achievements in the last year was that I, as the owner, was able to completely step back from painting. Before I was involved in all areas of the business including actually painting the houses. Now, we can subcontract all of our work to a responsible painter so I can focus on marketing and sales.
Tell us about what you’ve been up to. Has the business been growing?
In the last couple of years, our business has grown steadily. We anticipate growing significantly in the next year and have been implementing many processes to prepare for this.
Here are our revenue numbers for the last 5 years:
Year 1: $102,000
Year 2: $220,000
Year 3: $260,000
Year 4: $336,000
Year 5: Our goal this year is to reach $750,000 in revenue.
Most of our preparation for future growth involves getting technology in place to stay organized and creating standard operating procedures (SOPs) to standardize our systems.
The first piece of technology we got in place was a robust CRM. This will allow us to have effective communication with our clients including automating parts of our client journey. It will also facilitate communication with the team we plan to build as the business grows. We now have all our client information, messaging, and notes in one place where they can be accessed by anyone on the team.
We have also worked on creating SOPs for our company. We want to formalize and document all the processes that happen in our company and what makes them work smoothly. We want all our clients to experience a similar, smooth process on each job.
We have also started working with video. We have been producing short videos to post on our social media and YouTube accounts. These include tips for homeowners in our area and some before and after footage of our work. We have found this to be an effective form of advertising for our company.
I have learned that often to reach the next stage in business you need to become the kind of person who lives at that stage first. If you want to own a million dollar business you need to become the kind of person who would own a million dollar business.
What have been your biggest challenges in the last year?
One of our biggest challenges has been selling jobs at a premium price in an inflationary economy. We have found many prospects to be more hesitant about making large purchases. They are looking for bargains more often than in the past. We have worked on improving our sales process to explain why our company offers a better service than the typical painting company to justify the premium price.
Also, I have found myself stretched thin at times. Our industry is seasonal so there are times when things are very busy. I don’t have a team around me yet so in these times I have to try to keep everything in the business going.
What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?
The biggest lesson I learned is to think of my company as a group of independent though interrelated parts. While the company works best as a whole, it often makes sense to think of each component of the company (marketing, sales, production, etc.) as a separate entity that can be worked on and improved on its own.
This systems-thinking means I don’t have to try to “fix” my entire company all at once. First, we get the marketing working to bring in leads. Then, we work on our sales process to convert the leads. Finally, we deliver on our promises through our production team.
If we can at least get a minimally viable system in place for each of these areas of the business I can then focus 100% attention on getting each one where it needs to be individually.
What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?
In the upcoming year, we want to increase our revenue and hire team members. Our goal for the year is to hit $750,000 in gross revenue. We will begin by hiring a production manager who can oversee the jobs and make sure that the production side is moving along smoothly.
In the next five years, we plan to grow the company to at least $2MM in sales and continue to grow the team to support this effort. We want to continue making our client journey as easy as possible.
What’s the best thing you read in the last year?
I finally read The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. I was intrigued by his ideas. Especially in how we self-sabotage ourselves so often in a business endeavor. I have seen this in myself many times over the years.
Our company started very small and I often have a small mindset when looking at my company. Instead of thinking that I can grow and achieve more, I limit myself to what I have already done.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?
I would advise you to get around other business owners in your industry who are further along in their business than you are. See how they operate and the kinds of practices they have adopted.
I have learned that often to reach the next stage in business you need to become the kind of person who lives at that stage first. If you want to own a million dollar business you need to become the kind of person who would own a million dollar business. We may not know what that looks like until we get around entrepreneurs who have reached that level.
Whatever stage you’re looking to achieve, find those role models who are already there and become that kind of person.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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