Episode Transcript
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Speaker 02 (00:01):
This is the
Fredericksburg Neighbors
Podcast, the place where localbusinesses and neighbors come
together.
Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 03 (00:13):
Welcome back to
another episode of the FXBG
Neighbors Podcast, where weshare the stories of our
favorite local brands.
I'm excited to introduce you tomy guest today.
Joining us, we have OscarEspinoza with Alpha Painting.
Oscar, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 00 (00:32):
Thank you for having
me, Dori.
I t's a pleasure.
Speaker 03 (00:35):
Well, I'm excited to
dive in and learn more about
you and your business.
So let's start there.
Share with the listeners alittle bit about Alpha Painting.
Speaker 00 (00:46):
Yes, Alpha Painting
was created in 2019.
I am a painter by trade.
I started in 2005, uh doingdrywall, and then the company
that I work for, they neededpainters because we did
everything from the framing, thedrywall installation, the
finishing, and then thepainting.
And they needed painters.
(01:06):
And they told me, Oscar,tomorrow you're gonna paint.
And I said, Yes.
And that's how I started tolearn.
My best friend was the man, theuh the foreman, and he taught
me everything I know.
Uh so when I moved here toVirginia from uh New York for
New York, uh, I saw theopportunity.
I saw that there was somethinglacking that we could do better,
(01:29):
which is uh customer and clientsatisfaction.
And that's where we are today.
Speaker 03 (01:34):
I love that.
I love that.
So uh it's interesting um thatyou found that there was a need
here.
So talk to us a little bitabout what separates alpha
painting apart.
Speaker 00 (01:47):
Of course, uh,
what's separate us is simple.
Uh, we have three core values,which are integrity, uh, we are
discipline and honesty is alwaysour three core values.
I have them, thus, my crewshave them.
And the jobs that we do aregoing to be the best so far
(02:09):
because all the experience thatwe have acquired in every other
job is going to be put into yourproject.
So all the mistakes that wehave done throughout life
because we are not perfect arenot going to be made in your
project.
You're going to be communicatedwell.
You have just going to betreated with the utmost respect.
(02:29):
Uh, everyone is going to be uhas much as we can quiet and
working and uh be diligent ineverything we do.
And you're always going to meetme in the morning, in the
afternoon.
You're always going to have acallback.
Uh, we're going to be on top ofeverything.
And I guarantee you that ifyou're not satisfied, we're
(02:49):
going to make you sure thatyou're satisfied, but you don't
pay.
That's simple.
Speaker 03 (02:54):
Yeah, and that's all
so important.
And I love how much care youhave put into the customer
experience.
And the fact that youpersonally, as the owner, have a
personal touch in your all ofyour jobs.
That is a really bigdifferentiator, just right
there, isn't it?
Speaker 00 (03:15):
Yes.
Um, I'm able to, if somebodywill ask me, Oscar, what do you
like about being a businessowner?
One of the things is I get tomeet so many people from every
place, every uh, every place inthe country.
They told me they uh we movefrom California, we move from
Washington, we move fromeverything, and I get to meet a
(03:38):
lot of people.
And I'm a people's guy, youknow, I love to meet people, I
love to connect.
And uh that's what I like, uh,that connection.
Uh, and I'm and and the factthat they give us the
opportunity, they give us thechance to help them uh with the
project.
Can it be a kitchen, a room, awhole house, uh, or sometimes
(04:00):
there are moments in life thatyou're gonna have a baby and you
no longer have the time topaint yourself and said, I'm
gonna call Oscar.
And and then we come and do theestimate and we recommend the
best products uh for your babyfor the house, paint that has
zero VOCD, there's not gonna besmelly for your baby.
So, all of those things I'mreally, really grateful that I
(04:23):
got the opportunity to meet andhelp people.
Speaker 03 (04:26):
I love that.
And it it really shows how muchcare and how much uh love and
passion you have for what youdo.
And starting in 2000, uh, whatyear did you say that you
started?
Speaker 00 (04:39):
We started in 2019.
Speaker 03 (04:40):
2019.
So congratulations on yoursuccess.
You have surpassed a bigmilestone uh surpassed uh the
five-year mark.
So uh congratulations, andyou've gotten some accolades and
you have really great reviews.
So that's a testament to uhyour hard work.
So congratulations on that.
Speaker 00 (05:00):
Thank you.
I am very grateful for theclient that hired me when it was
just me and my wife in aminivan and Kia Sedona.
That was it.
And and the only thing that Icould offer was honesty, hard
work, and and to make sure thateverything that you were going
to love that project.
And I love it.
(05:21):
Uh I love that the band theband died.
The band, the minivan.
Uh, and he had a name.
Uh that name was calledEnriqueta.
We love that band.
Uh, now now we have otherbands, but it's always in my
heart.
And and it's always in my heartthe clients that hire me when
they call me and I get in theafternoon and it was full of uh
(05:43):
drywall dust and paintsplatters, and my hands were
full of paint.
I am grateful for those clientsthat they open the door and
they hire me.
Uh, because nowadays I I when Icome to your house, I look like
this.
But the first the first clientswill always have a special
place in my heart.
Um, they will call me, theywould say, Oscar, I want you to
(06:06):
paint this coloring book.
I'll do it.
I'll do it.
But then for the first client,I'll do it.
It's yes, get the pencils, I'vepainted for you because I I am
great.
Speaker 03 (06:15):
Yeah, they're
they're the ones who got to you
to where you are today.
I love that.
So let me ask you this in yourindustry or your business, are
you finding that there are anymisconceptions?
Speaker 00 (06:30):
Yes, uh, many.
Uh one of them is that paintingis easy.
I can do it, you know.
I can and and many can, manycan, you know, uh do it
yourself.
You can go to uh any uh big boxstore and grab the paint and
bring everything, but when youget to your house, then you
spend so much money on tools andladders, and now uh you cannot
(06:54):
do the high ceilings on thefoyer, so you're gonna have to
call me because it's dangerous,and we do this every day.
Uh we are a company that doesonly painting.
That's the painting especially.
We don't do a tile, we don't docarpet.
No, alpha painting, just dopainting.
And yes, uh, misconception one,painting is super easy, we can
(07:16):
do it.
And no, uh, sometimes theclients find that it was harder
to do, uh, and then they callus.
Uh, number two, uh,misconception, or people, some
have been taken advantage of byother contractors that they tell
them they're going to show up,or they give them a prize in the
middle of the project, theytell them it's more money, or
(07:38):
they run away with their depositbecause uh again, they don't
have integrity, they are nothonest, and the clients are
reluctant to hire again.
And I tell them that uh some ofthe cases, it doesn't matter
how much the project is, we onlyrequire a small deposit of
$500.
And they have my word thatwe're going to be there and get
(08:00):
the job done and make everyother memory disappear.
Speaker 03 (08:05):
Yeah, unfortunately,
there's some bad contractors
out there that make it moredifficult on the great ones like
you.
Speaker 00 (08:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 03 (08:14):
So let me ask you
this.
Uh, you put in a lot of hardwork in in those uh you know
beginning days of your business.
Speaker 01 (08:21):
Yes.
Speaker 03 (08:22):
And it's you know,
it's not easy starting something
new.
So if someone came to you andasked you for your advice, they
were thinking about startingtheir own business.
What would you tell them?
Speaker 00 (08:34):
I would tell them
one of the big mistakes is you
have to move at your own pace.
You are your own company.
Don't look at the other guys,like in a video game when I used
to play a lot.
I still play.
So you start at level one andyou see the guy that is at level
15.
(08:54):
You want to be, I wanted to belevel 15.
So that's a big mistake.
You're level one, then you moveto level level two, level
three.
You gotta keep moving at yourown pace and look at your
company, and you have your ownset of values, and uh, your
guys, everything is going tomove at your own pace, and
(09:15):
you're gonna get there, it'sgonna take longer.
But do not try to move fromlevel one to level 15 in six
months because it's gonna beharder for you, you're gonna
make mistakes, you're going toallocate uh many of the
resources, money, into thingsthat were not meant to happen
that fast.
Uh, number two, if you arehired and you said that you're
(09:39):
going to do something, do it.
That's it.
And you said you're going toshow up at seven o'clock in the
morning on Monday.
Mrs.
Smith is waiting for you atseven o'clock in the morning.
Have it work, have integrity,have honesty, be disciplined,
um, get ready and be gratefulfor everything that the clients
(10:00):
let you.
They let you into your theirhome, which is a safe place.
It's to me, that's that's thebiggest thing that they're
allowing me into their home.
When we're starting whensomething happens, where do you
go?
I need to go home.
So when the client allows us tobe in their home, to me, it's
sacred, it's a sacred place.
(10:21):
So be grateful, move at yourown pace, and always do what you
say you're gonna do.
If you give a bad estimate andyou need to lose money, lose
money, learn from theexperience, but don't put it on
the client.
It was your fault.
Always be the last one is thisis the most important.
Everything in your company isyour fault, no one else's.
(10:45):
Everything in your company isyour fault, it's not the fault
of your guys, it's not the faultof the comp of the uh painting
company.
No, it's my fault.
I will get it done, and theclient needs to know nothing
about the bad experiences ifthey made a mistake at the paint
store.
The client doesn't need toknow.
You're gonna show up before Ienter the client, the client's
(11:08):
house.
I think about how grateful Iam, and I said, Good morning,
Mrs.
Mean.
We're here to paint.
Let's have a great day.
Speaker 03 (11:17):
That's really good
advice.
Thank you for that.
I love that.
So clearly, you work very hardon your business, you put a lot
of personal touch uh into all ofyour projects.
So I need to know when you'renot working hard, what are you
doing for fun?
Speaker 01 (11:33):
Yes.
Speaker 00 (11:34):
Um I uh me and my
wife, you can find us every day
at 5:30 in the morning atCrossFit retro.
We do CrossFit and I love it.
Um, we we are there every dayfrom Monday to Friday.
Um I also do muay, uh, theenlisted night of RAF 17, uh, to
(11:56):
leave off some stress.
So yes, um, and my daughtersthey practice uh wrestling and
jujitsu.
So um we are uh we always umoccupy by them and and they give
us great, great uh times.
Um so yes, we do um CrossFit,Muay Thai, and I love to be with
(12:20):
my best friend, she's my wife.
Uh I spend all the time that Ican with her cooking, laughing
on Friday.
We drink wine by the fire withthe kids.
That's where we find me athome.
Speaker 03 (12:33):
I love that.
It sounds wonderful, and I lovethat you start your day off
with exercise.
It's so important to get yourhead right before the day and
puts you in the right, you know,head space to tackle the day.
I love that.
Yes, and I love that you you doall that with your family.
That that makes it even better.
Speaker 00 (12:51):
Yes, that's the best
part.
When we have uh partner workand my wife is my partner, I
love it.
Speaker 03 (12:56):
That's awesome.
I love that.
So, what is something that youwish the listeners knew about
alpha painting?
Speaker 00 (13:05):
Yes, uh, I want
everyone to know that once the
moment you call me, you willfeel the difference.
The moment I pick up the phoneand I talk to you and say, How
can I help you?
You're gonna feel you are umpeople care that I care, my guys
care.
And like I said, I told Dori,every project, your project is
(13:29):
gonna be the best becauseeverything that we have done,
we're not going to do it at yourhome.
All the experience, all thecombined experience of all the
crews are going to be put intoyour home.
Um, it's gonna be the bestproject that we have done.
I've been doing this since2005.
Now it's to 2025.
(13:50):
So all those years ofexperience, all the interaction
that we have had with theclients, are going to you're
going to see what we can do inyour home.
And it's guaranteed uh we arelicensed in the state of
Virginia.
Uh, you can see our reviews,you can we are uh members of the
Better Business Bureau, we'remembers of the Painters
(14:10):
Contractor Association.
So we do everything every dayon trying to be better for my
client so we can be the bestcompany in Fredericksburg.
We are not yet the best becauseI think that every day we
learn.
I don't know everything that isneed to know in painting.
I work every day until I'm thebest.
(14:32):
I will never be, but I willalways look for uh that new tip,
that new tool.
I will always keep looking tobe the best.
We're not there yet.
Speaker 03 (14:43):
Yeah, I love that
you have a growth mindset.
It's so important to always belearning, always be growing.
And so, how are you keeping uhtrack with um new trends in in
painting and and also tell usabout um how you work with uh a
designer with your new clients?
Speaker 00 (15:04):
Yes, um we are like
I I mentioned, we are members of
the PCA Painters Constructorsof America.
We go to the convention, bigconvention every year, uh next
year, I think in Arizona, and wegot all the new technologies
that they show us.
Um being part of a greatorganization like that.
(15:27):
Keep us on edge of what's next,what can we do, what new
product, what paint, what newpaint can we use for this, for
that, for the foundation, foryour cabinet, for your ceiling.
Uh there's a stain on yourceiling, what's next?
Um, new product means uhbetter, more uh faster and and
(15:47):
and better for the client andthe quality because we all about
quality.
Uh, most of the time, uh, andsome clients are very good.
I am not if there was 10colors, I can only choose one.
But and and many clients havethe same problem, they don't
know what color to paint, theywant to paint.
And so, Oscar, I don't knowwhat to paint.
(16:09):
And I said, Me neither, becauseI'm biased.
Yeah, I only have two colorsthat I love, which is purple and
gray.
But in this case, I can tellyou if you hire alpha painting,
I will put you in contact withour uh interior designer, and
this is what they do every year.
Trends change, every color ofthe year, and all of that.
(16:31):
I love it, but I don't do it.
Yeah, it's not my fourth day.
So if you were to hire alphapainting, we will send you our
uh interior designer for an hourso you can decide the colors
that you want in any color thatyou like.
Speaker 03 (16:48):
What a great value!
I love that.
So if the listeners want toconnect with you, learn more
from you, where can they findyou?
Speaker 00 (16:59):
Sure.
Uh they can read your magazinenumber one.
Uh huh.
We are always putting there uhour little nugget of knowledge
that we have acquired.
Uh they can go to our uh socialnetwork, Instagram, you can
find us, Facebook.
Um, you can call me 540 4666264.
(17:20):
I'm called away.
You can ask anything aboutpainting, and I will answer.
Uh, sometimes people call meand just ask me about primer
that they're at the Home Depot,what to use, and I tell them, I
have no problem.
You don't have to buy from me.
I'm here.
Um, like I said, I like to talkto people.
And uh yes, read the magazine,Fredericksburg Neighbors.
Speaker 03 (17:42):
Amazing, amazing.
Oscar, thank you so much forjoining me on the podcast today
and sharing Alpha Painting withus.
Speaker 00 (17:51):
It's been my
pleasure, Dori.
Thank you so much foreverything you do for the
Fredericksburg uh neighbors andcommunity.
Uh I don't know what we woulddo without you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 02 (18:02):
Thank you.
Thank you for listening to theFredericksburg Neighbors
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to FXBGNeighborsPodcast.com.