How Mile High Coatings Transformed from a One-Man Operation to a Family-Supporting Business

Meet the Host: David Nanninga, President of Mile High Coatings

What drives someone to build a business from scratch? For David Nanninga, president of Mile High Coatings, the answer has evolved dramatically since 2008 when necessity and youthful optimism propelled him to start knocking on doors after losing his job.

David takes us behind the scenes of his specialty coatings business that now delivers expert residential painting, concrete coatings, epoxy flooring, and custom garage storage solutions across Colorado's Front Range. With refreshing candor, he shares the marketing strategies that have worked (home improvement magazines and digital advertising) and those that haven't (newspaper ads). After 17 years in business, word-of-mouth referrals have become increasingly valuable, demonstrating the power of quality work and satisfied customers.

The most compelling part of David's story is how his "why" transformed from the thrill of entrepreneurial challenge to something deeper. "Now I have a number of employees that have families," he reflects, "and it's pretty cool to think about the fact that I have a business that can support employees and their families." Despite his leadership role, David still performs on-site estimates to maintain customer connections and feel the pulse of the market. His journey from solo entrepreneur to business leader showcases how purpose evolves alongside success.

Ready to transform your space with high-quality coatings? Visit Milehighcoatings.com for a free quote or call 970-314-1023 and experience the difference that 17 years of expertise can make for your home or commercial property.

To learn more about Mile High Coatings visit:
https://www.MileHighCoatings.com
Mile High Coatings
970-314-1023

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Mile High Coatings podcast, where we
elevate your spaces to a newpeak in quality.
Hosted by David Nanega,president of Mile High Coatings,
this podcast explores howexpert residential painting,
concrete coatings and epoxyflooring can transform garages,
basements, patios and commercialspaces across Colorado's front

(00:25):
range.
So grab your favorite beverage,sit back and dive into the
world of high-quality coatings.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Welcome everyone.
I'm Nick George, co-host andproducer here in the studio with
David Naninga, president ofMile High Coatings.
David, how's it going everyone?
I'm nick george, co-host andproducer here in the studio with
david nanenga, president ofmile high coatings.
David, how's it going good,nick how are you doing this
morning?
Good.
Over the years, you've grown aremarkable following.
However, some listeners may notbe familiar with your full
journey, so let's take it fromthe top.
Could you share a littlebackground about your company

(01:01):
and what you do?
Of course, so mile.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
so Mile High Coatings is a specialty coatings
contractor, so we do housepainting, commercial painting,
and then we do a lot of concretecoatings such as epoxy,
polyaspartic urethanes, and wedo concrete polishing and since
2016 we've also done cabinetinstallations and garages, so
like custom storage solutionscabinet installations and

(01:29):
garages.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
so like custom storage solutions.
Nice when you're not busyrunning your business.

Speaker 3 (01:32):
What do you do for fun?
Mountain biking.
In the winters we like to ski,also play in the basketball
league weekly and then in thesummers also, in addition to
mountain biking, we play somegolf.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
We know marketing is key to any business's success.
So how do you market yourbusiness?

Speaker 3 (01:50):
Well, you know, that's certainly been a journey.
What we're currently doing issome of our in-home magazine
kind of advertisements.
Like the Home Mag, it's kind ofthose monthly mailers that you
get in the mail and they've gota bunch of, you know, home
improvement type of businessesand those seem to generate some

(02:12):
interest.
And then you know online searchand paid ads.
Those are the two main avenuesof marketing that we do now, but
over the years it's been a lotof stuff from bus fetches and

(02:32):
kind of the billboard stylethroughout northern Colorado.
At one point I tried advertisingthrough the newspaper and that
didn't yield great results.
But yeah, and then, of course,word of mouth, you know is huge.
Now, you know, now that we'veestablished and we've been
around for you know 17 years,that that that's huge.
You know, repeat, repeatbusiness.
We work with a.

(02:53):
You know a number ofcontractors as well.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
So David, you're a very busy person, in your own
words.
Why are you doing this?

Speaker 3 (03:05):
Well, I'd say, first and foremost, the most important
thing is family.
So I have a family in the sport.
I've got a wife and three girls.
So that would be the first andforemost, but that wasn't, of
course, always the case when Istarted.
Myeloma Coatings in 2008.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
I didn't have a family, I wasn't married.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
So so I I think the why has certainly evolved, you
know.
You know initially it was, itwas garnered out of it.
You know some previousexperience that I had at college
, you know, while attendingColorado State, and I was kind
of thrust into sort of startingmy own business because I was

(03:52):
working at another company herein Fort Collins and it got sold
and that company completely shutdown and so you know, it was
kind of one of those momentswhere it's like, do I look for
another job or do I give it a goand start my own business?
And obviously I decided tostart my own business and you
know we started by pounding thepavement and I mean literally

(04:14):
knocking on doors to get, youknow, leads and generate
business that way.
And it was certainly tough, butyou know I knew it was an
effective way, you know, andcheap, you know I knew it was an
effective way, you know, andcheap, you know I mean it was
all me, you know, relying onliterally as much time as I
wanted to put in it.
You know knocking on doors, youknow, and I knew it would yield

(04:42):
the results and it did.
And so yeah, I guess the why hascertainly evolved.
You know, certainly those firstcouple of years were
challenging and everything.
And I think that was certainlythe initial.
Why was the embrace of thechallenge?
You know, I was still, I was inmy 20s, you know I didn't have
a lot to lose, so it was like,okay, embrace this challenge,
see if it works.
And it was.
You know, it was really fun andyou just have, like you know

(05:06):
that, that young eternaloptimism and uh, you know, and
then as things grow and evolve,you know the why changes and and
now it's.
you know I have a number ofemployees and uh and people that
we work with that that havefamilies and and so it's pretty
cool to think about the factthat you know I have a business
that that can support.

(05:27):
You know employees and theirfamilies, so that's certainly
pretty cool.
So I really enjoy that aspectof it and certainly I still do.
You know on-site estimates, youknow, occasionally just to make
sure that I'm, you know,feeling kind of the pulse of the
market, and you know I enjoyreading and talking to people as

(05:47):
well.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
Love it.
Pulse of the market, and youknow I enjoy reading and talking
to people as well, so love it,David.
We'll catch you on the nextepisode where we'll dive into
some frequently asked questions.
You have a fantastic rest ofyour day, oh thanks, nick, you
too.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
Thanks for tuning in to the Mile High Coatings
podcast.
Ready to give your space afresh, durable finish, visit
milehighcoatingscom for a freeprice quote or call 970-314-1023
.
At Mile High Coatings, we'renot just painting walls, we're
setting a new peak in quality.

(06:24):
Until next time, keep yourstandards high and your coatings
higher.