Unlock the secrets to a successful home build or remodel with me, Chris Kirby, at the helm of three thriving construction companies. Get the inside scoop on why prioritizing exceptional customer service and choosing top-tier products like luxury paints can elevate your business to new heights. Throughout our dynamic discussion, I break down how being responsive and respectful not only wins over clients but also ensures their loyalty, turning one-time projects into lifelong partnerships. Plus, discover why embracing the latest payment methods and staying ahead of the curve with continuous learning can be your ticket to industry leadership.
Hear firsthand how trust and accountability form the cornerstone of any reputable contracting business - a testament to the power of a well-crafted reputation. We dive into the profound impact of community involvement and why taking responsibility as a company leader sets a precedent for success. The conversation extends to the importance of mentorship and collaboration within the contracting sphere, underscoring how these connections can raise the bar for everyone. And don't miss out as we tease our next focus, diving into the world of interior design and the trending products that are reshaping our industry. Join us for these insights and leave equipped to tackle your next construction challenge with confidence.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Home Building and Remodeling Show.
Let's go.
Welcome everybody to the HomeBuilding and Remodeling Show.
My name is Chris Kirby and I'llbe your host.
(00:21):
I am the owner of threeconstruction companies on the
Alabama Gulf Coast.
The show is about residentialconstruction.
We're going to cover topics ofhome building and remodeling.
Are you thinking of doing aremodel or building a home?
Are you a contractor looking toimprove your knowledge base or
grow your business?
Have you ever done a remodelproject or built a home?
(00:42):
There were so many things youwish you knew or that you could
have done differently during theprocess.
Then this show is for you.
We break down the process ofbuilding and remodeling and how
to have the best results duringyour project.
Whether you're a DIYer lookingfor tips, someone looking to
hire a contractor to do aproject, or a contractor looking
(01:04):
to expand your knowledge baseor your business, welcome aboard
.
Glad to have you.
Stay tuned.
We kick off the show with mythoughts on home building and
remodeling.
I'll share best practices andtalk about some of our
experiences in business and outin the field.
These shared thoughts andlessons learned are meant to
help you on your very ownjourney.
(01:25):
Let's go.
Number seven focus on customerservice.
That to me, is self-explanatory.
Everything you should do shouldbe client-centered,
client-focused and making surethat you answer their calls, you
meet their needs, you have somesort of warranty that if
there's a callback, that you'vetaken care of them.
So I am not going to spend ahuge amount of time on the
(01:49):
customer service side.
Those are some, just that is avery general.
Easy thing to do is make surethat you do what accounting
properly and show up on time anddo what you say you're going to
do with the client.
(02:10):
Take care of the client, berespectful, make sure your team
is respectful and the client isgoing to take care of you for
the most part.
That's number seven focus onclient customer service, all
right.
Number eight use high qualityproducts.
So we talked about using toolsand upgrading your tools as you
(02:30):
go and making sure you're usingthe proper tools, but using high
quality paints and products.
That is super important becauseyou can.
So we all know there aredifferent levels of paint.
There are different levels ofinterior.
So we all know there aredifferent levels of paint.
There are different levels ofinterior exterior.
There are different levels ofindustrial paint coatings
there's just different levels.
And cost and budget come tomind when you're talking about
(02:56):
paint, but for the most part,you, as the painter, you may not
want to make a colorrecommendation, because that's
not really your job, but as faras making a product
recommendation, you, as a paintcontractor, need to know about
products.
You may not be the specialist,so, for instance, there are reps
(03:16):
that work at these local paintcompanies that you can defer to.
I recommend that if you're nota seasoned painter and you can't
vouch for the paint performingthe way it's supposed to.
However, you need to knowenough and to know what types of
paint to use where.
And then, furthermore, thereason you need to be able to
(03:38):
explain to the client the reasonyou use higher end products and
paint, because it actually doesmatter.
The coverage matters, how manycoats you're going to do matters
.
So just knowing and usinghigher end products and paint
does matter, and you need to beable to educate the client on
that as a paint contractor.
(03:59):
Number eight was use highquality paint.
Number nine expand your paymentoptions, and this is one that
you know we.
We offer credit card payments.
We offer debit card.
They can call pay over thephone.
We use QuickBooks online forall of our, all of our payments,
(04:19):
and tracking as far as thatgoes.
But, uh, you know people beingable to just have a little
square for their phone, thelittle square card, so they can,
you know, use their credit cardon site, being able to pay you
cash, being able to give you acheck.
So, having a bank account as acontractor, that's for your
business.
(04:39):
If you're going to have abusiness instead of being an
individual contractor, then youneed to make sure all these
things are in place.
They need to be able to writeyou a check that you can cash.
They need to be able to, youknow, charge as far as a credit
card and know is there a feeassigned to it?
They need to be able to usePayPal, use Venmo.
So all of these are differentplatforms and they make you more
(05:04):
accessible if the client hasmultiple ways to pay you.
So, number nine expand yourpayment options.
And also so, before I get off,number nine there's financing
programs strictly forcontractors.
There are banks who willfinance projects I don't know so
much on the paint side, butcould be, because some paint
(05:24):
jobs are large jobs.
So, making sure that if you canoffer financing, if that's a
route that you want to take.
Then you go down that route, doyour diligence, get with the
right program, get with theright bank and maybe they
finance the project.
So it's just another offeringyou can do and that expands your
payment options to the clientNumber 10.
(05:48):
Critical Continuously learn andadapt.
So we are doing this show andwe do this podcast and we do our
how to's so people can expandtheir knowledge.
We are not the know all be alland industry standard of every
trade.
There's just no way to reallydo that.
What we do is we have I have onmy team people who specialize
(06:15):
in each trade and I let them dothe how to's.
And what we do is study andlearn in the background,
professionally develop thingslike courses, classes.
The NCCER offers a PANKcurriculum that you can actually
get certified through and getyour wallet card from the NCCER.
Expand your knowledge becauseproduct is changing all the time
(06:39):
, especially in paint.
There's new products, there'snew applicators.
Applicators is a term mySherwin-Williams guy uses, which
is paintbrush, your rollers,different things like that.
There is so much to be learnedother than just on the site.
Hey, get that roller and rollthat wall.
Well, what type of roller, whattype of rig are you using?
(07:03):
What type of paintbrush?
There's just so many differentthings that you can learn.
How does paint work?
Is it toxic?
You know just a lot of stuff inthe education piece that
matters.
But also because you want togrow your business, I think
education in the trades iscrucial, and being able to bring
somebody in that's green,completely new to the trade, and
(07:25):
teach them in a manner that isduplicate, that you can
duplicate, is huge, because asyou get them trained and more up
to speed and professionallydeveloped, the quicker they'll
be able to be an asset to you.
So once you develop a trainingprogram that you can repeat, you
are really, really gonna launchyour business, and so I really
(07:47):
recommend making sure that youknow where, how and when.
You can get your education inthe trades and specifically
paint and learn, and it makesyou talk to the clients a little
bit different, it helps you toanswer questions of the clients
a little bit better, and Ireally believe in professional
(08:09):
development.
I really believe inprofessional development, I
really believe in trade schoolsand I think it is crucial for
you to continually learn.
So number 10 is to continuallylearn and adapt to the new
environments.
So let's go through the list onefinal time.
Number one specialize in aniche.
(08:30):
Number two invest in qualitytools and supplies.
Number three offercomprehensive services.
Number four build a strongonline presence.
Number five implement a goodreferral program.
Number six keep your sitepristine.
(08:51):
Keep it clean.
Number seven focus on customerservice.
Number eight is use highquality paints.
Number nine is expand yourpayment options.
Number 10 is continuously learnand adapt my thoughts,
listening to our guests,listening to the designers.
(09:12):
We appreciate you so much andthe month of May will be tile
month.
We look forward to it and untilnext time and now we move into
Shop Talk, it's the portion ofthe show where I bring in a
co-host and we cover trendingtopics in home building and
remodeling.
Hope you enjoy.
Let's go.
We want people to come in ourdoor that chose this, that chose
(09:37):
to do this, and it's notattractive right now.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Right, people see construction as a dirty laborers
, but there's so many Becauseeverybody's been taught to push
college and push this, and doyou want to be a construction
worker when you grow up?
Or dig ditches as well?
Exactly that.
And so it was a bad thing.
Yeah, and the trade if you lookback in the 1940s for painters,
they literally came dressed up,shirts, tucked in yeah, like
(10:05):
they were true tradesmen thatcame and did their job and they
respected it and they took pridein it.
And so we're doing the samething as we're trying to build
that culture back up again.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
So where do you balance the need for skilled
employees and what you willtolerate from an employee?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Well, I just went through that this week.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
I go through it every now and then too, so I knew
that was a touchy and tough one.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
It is because I just went through it this week.
But if you will acceptresponsibility and you quit
making that same mistake, Ithink is where we can work on it
.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
It's got back to kind of some some of the the gut
thing too, though, because I'vealways I know who I got and I
know what their triggers are.
I know you know where they'regoing to push back on me, and
there comes a time where Ialways started to just listen to
(11:00):
your gut, because you know,eventually, whatever that
initial gut instinct is is goingto come to fruition in one way,
shape or form, and there's onlyso much you can coach or talk
or train out of or into people.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Right, that person that you thought you needed to
fire.
You think you need to fire now.
You should have fired a longtime ago because you already
knew they should have wentAbsolutely, but you were either
too nervous to have thatconversation or you felt like
they were too valuable to thecompany to let go.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
But they're damn a company, yeah, and you know it.
It.
It's so hard sometimes becauseyou look, and I know, as the
owner, I'm not out therebreaking my back every day.
Now, sometimes I am getting itin, but for the most part at
this stage of what I do, I haveproduction teams that are doing
the work and I know they arebusting their hump every day for
(11:53):
me, and so I always try toreflect on how hard they are in
fact working and the fact thatme going out there and trying to
even accomplish what some of myskilled team can do, it's not
going to happen.
And so again, I say I overreachor overcompensate sometimes
(12:13):
because I'm like man, I don'twant to go back to where we were
.
So you know what, here it is,I'll accommodate you and you
know, and I knew every time Idid it I probably shouldn't have
.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
That's right, and the ones who deserve it most
usually yes, they're not askingfor anything, they're just doing
their stuff every day.
But you'll lose those in aheartbeat if you let the other
people stay around.
That's right.
That's because it makes badwork environments for those
other people.
Yeah, and so that brings usback to the new guys you were
talking about.
That is, I don't want to be outthere pushing the paintbrush,
(12:49):
sure.
That to be out there pushingthe paintbrush Sure, that's not
why I started this.
And so I have to trust thepeople out there.
If I can't trust to leave youon a job, you can't work for us.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, and you're to a point in your career where you
can call it pretty quick now,yeah, and you don't have to
settle.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Well, if you build a strong culture, people don't
stay along anyway.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Yeah, once that culture gets there, if somebody
are coming to work for you, yourcompany and with your team, and
you have to protect yourcompany and your team.
And so what I tell any newemployee when they come in and
(13:29):
we hire them, a part of theorientation and the talk that we
give is we've got 32 people,but that means we have roughly
70 mouths to feed and I'm notgoing to let you jeopardize 70
people because you're selfish oryou're doing something wrong.
You know and and and that doingsomething wrong and and things
(13:50):
like that.
You talk about branding.
There's nothing that can harmyour brand more than allowing a
cancer to stay in inside of thecompany.
A hundred percent, yeah, and soyou know identifying those
triggers the negative people gowith your gut but then also
keeping that name.
So we're talking workforcedevelopment and how you retain
(14:12):
employees or hire employees andthings like that.
But I want to circle out intothe community aspect of this,
because a part of for us aspectof this, because a part of for
us, because community is big.
It's one of the largestcommunities or counties in
Alabama, but the actualcommunity is very, very small.
Everybody's everybody.
That's right.
(14:33):
And so for you to besustainable, how do you approach
that community, because you'rea sound businessman, you will do
quality work.
But what about the communityside, the give back or anything
like that?
What, what do you, what do youdo there and how do you feel
(14:53):
about, you know, communityservice?
Speaker 2 (14:56):
we donate.
You know you've got yourregular things your dancers and
your ball players and yousponsoring fields and stuff like
that but we get involved incommunity events.
You know we we stay involved.
How can we help out?
We usually donate one or twojobs a year to help somebody out
that's in need.
You know that can't afford todo it.
We had a lady that her househad burned up or caught fire in
(15:17):
the kitchen last year and so wecame in and we cleaned it all up
and we painted it and she wastrying to write us a check.
You know she was like we don'tneed that Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
And that that sometimes that trade makes makes
doing things like that easierthan giving money or giving
giving time, and the quality oftrade and work and taking care
of people in that manner rightIs is huge.
And then it it gives your nameand your company more
credibility.
When you do things like thatand you do the right thing and
(15:49):
you're local and you'rereinvesting your time back into
the community.
It's so valuable to be able todo those things.
Even being in a business grouplike what you're in, and being
consistent and showing up andbeing a part of that says
something about what you'regoing to do.
When somebody hires you or yourcompany and you know, I always
(16:12):
give the advice about beingaccountable, no matter what,
because you're going to run intoissues, you're going to run
into problems, but you alwaysshould be accountable as a
contractor and I think for themost part if you are at least
accountable and trustworthythose two things right there
you'll be okay.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Well, trust is what it's all about.
So people do business withpeople that they trust, yeah,
and you've got your priceshoppers, we're not going to
talk about that whole thing.
Yeah, let me get the cheapestdeal.
But your average person outthere, out there, they're gonna
do business with who they trust.
That's right.
And so we we try not to damagethat trust.
I'm kind of old school and my,my family wasn't really like
(16:51):
that so much, but like my lastname means a lot.
We raised our kids.
That the carpenter name is islike that's what you live by,
that's right.
He says right, zach carpenter,I don't want that to be a bunch
of crap talking over here likethat.
And what you live by, that'sright.
He says right, zach carpenter,I don't want that to be a bunch
of crap talking over here likethat.
And then in my business side ofit I was talking to one of my
lead guys monday.
That was one of the toughdiscussions I'd have, yeah, and
(17:12):
I told him you know, we'vealways heard that crap rolls
downhill, that's right.
You know it comes from the top.
Well, in my company it don'troll down, it rolls back uphill,
because I accept responsibilityfor everything that happens on
the job.
Yeah, even though I know yourresponsibility was to make sure
that happened, I missedsomething when you didn't have,
when it didn't happen.
Yeah, you know it rolls outpeople's here yeah, you know it
(17:35):
is always.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
nobody's ever going to care as much about your
company as you do, even the bestemployees, and so you have to
be accountable and right.
You know, at the end of the day, you could, you may, fire
somebody, you're stillaccountable for whatever that
person did.
That's right.
Nobody else you are.
You know.
Now you've got team members whowill step in and help you out,
(17:58):
but the liability is all yours.
That is your business.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
I built this company.
I grow this company.
I'm responsible for everythingthat happens in this company.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Absolutely All right.
Well, I appreciate you comingin, as always, man.
We've talked about a lot ofthings, but in particular, you
know, I think the value inhiring contractors is getting to
know what they're about theirbusiness is about.
It should be more than atransaction, right, it's
definitely a relationship,because you know maintenance has
(18:26):
to be done and you know part ofwhere you make your bread and
butter is repaints, and peopleare going to call you again when
they want to repaint or touchup or redo something.
So you know, keeping your brandstrong, keeping your name
strong, is something that I knowyou do and I know you're out
there doing the right thing andthat's why I wanted to bring you
on for paint month, Cyclops.
(18:48):
So talk to us about where theycan find you your website
Cyclopspaintingcom.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Facebook, instagram, tiktok, we're getting out there.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
I love it, and so if anybody wanted mentoring or
guidance, um, is that somethingthat you do?
Are you open to like ifsomebody's watching this and
they say, hey, can, can I reachout to Zach?
Obviously, I'm not going to get.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
yeah, here's his phone number, but people do it
all the time.
So one of the biggest problemsthat we have in our industry is
just a a mindset of this is mybusiness, I ain't helping nobody
else.
We build a much strongercommunity the more people that
are working together to the sameset, pricing structures, all
that kind of stuff.
So if I can help you withanything, zach Carpenter, on
(19:33):
Facebook, you'll see my grandnational on my page and you just
click on it and send me amessage there you go and listen.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
When it comes to the mentorship side and coaching I
know you've been a part of someof that Please don't hesitate to
reach out, go see his work, askhim questions.
I think for people like him,and especially for people like
me, we feed off of thatinteraction.
Part of what we want to do isset the the standard and and
(20:02):
help people out, and othercontractors especially so.
If you're a paint contractorand you have any questions
generally about starting yourown business or how to run your
business or anything like that,I would recommend reaching out
to zach carpenter with cyclops,please, uh, feel free to message
us, inbox us.
I can get you in touch withthem or go follow this page.
(20:24):
All right, thanks, man, thanks,pleasure.
Yeah, now we're going to moveinto the portion of the show
where we talk interior design.
We're going to bring in aninterior designer and we're
going to talk trending designand products.
Hope you enjoy, let's go.
Design and Products Hope youenjoy, let's go.
(20:46):
And a paint consultation is Now.
If you're going to go work on aproject with us, is a paint
consultation a part of theoverall design package?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
What I heard was that we have three colors for our
estimate.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Up to up to.
Let me clarify what she'ssaying is we charge a per square
foot price or per project price.
But when you start to addmultiple colors in multiple
rooms to the project, it doesadd money.
You're not just going to buy afive gallon bucket of a standard
color and painting throughout.
(21:25):
Where it's quick and you can,you're starting to add colors.
You're having to do a littlemore work.
It takes a little more effortand more time.
We do allow three colors andthen, beyond the three colors we
do, we charge.
We charge a little more, and sothat's something just to be
aware of for you is they getthree colors and then if they
(21:48):
want more than we have to chargefor more.
Right.
But so when you're I'm sayingin general if you're doing a
project and for us we have a fewways to make money, the
consults and things like thatare one of them but if you're
putting together a package for anew home or a remodel and
saying, hey, I'm going to do 10hours or I'm going to spend 20
(22:10):
hours on your project, is thepaint a part of that package
originally?
And if they want just a paintconsult, then we do just a paint
console.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
And that would usually just be an hourly rate,
and then when the other onesthat you're speaking of are all.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
We package Package, yeah, we package selection.
You're picking all and you'respending time shopping and then,
when you're I can'toveremphasize it We'll close it
out with this and you just tellme your thoughts on it.
Essentially for us.
I know some people might thinkwell, $150 is a lot of money,
but some of the paint jobs we doare tens and twenties of
(22:55):
thousands of dollars and thelast thing you want to do is
spend $20,000 on a paint job andnot like it.
$150 isn't even a percent of$20,000, right?
Would you agree with that?
Is that why the emphasis is sohigh?
And it is really important?
Because it's not the painter orcontractor's fault Once they
(23:21):
paint it.
If they did a good job and didget paint everywhere, kept the
job clean and it's a good paintjob, it's not on them to repaint
the house because you don'tlike the color and it is worth
whatever, and that's just whatwe charge.
Other people may chargesomething different, but it is
absolutely worth that.
(23:42):
To know, you need to get apaint consultation from a
professional.
Who knows?
That's true.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Good.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
All right, Thanks.
Thanks for joining us today.
As always, we are grateful forour listeners and your continued
support.
Please subscribe to our YouTubechannel.
Follow us on social media viaFacebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Follow us on social media viaFacebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Get more info at our website,wwwthehomebuildingshowcom.
(24:09):
And, as always, remember who weare the Home Building and
Remodeling Show.
Outro Music.
The Home Building and Remodeling Show.
Let's go.
Welcome everybody to the HomeBuilding and Remodeling Show.
My name is Chris Kirby and I'llbe your host.
(00:21):
I am the owner of threeconstruction companies on the
Alabama Gulf Coast.
The show is about residentialconstruction.
We're going to cover topics ofhome building and remodeling.
Are you thinking of doing aremodel or building a home?
Are you a contractor looking toimprove your knowledge base or
grow your business?
Have you ever done a remodelproject or built a home?
(00:42):
There were so many things youwish you knew or that you could
have done differently during theprocess.
Then this show is for you.
We break down the process ofbuilding and remodeling and how
to have the best results duringyour project.
Whether you're a DIYer lookingfor tips, someone looking to
hire a contractor to do aproject, or a contractor looking
(01:04):
to expand your knowledge baseor your business, welcome aboard
.
Glad to have you.
Stay tuned.
We kick off the show with mythoughts on home building and
remodeling.
I'll share best practices andtalk about some of our
experiences in business and outin the field.
These shared thoughts andlessons learned are meant to
help you on your very ownjourney.
(01:25):
Let's go.
Number seven focus on customerservice.
That to me, is self-explanatory.
Everything you should do shouldbe client-centered,
client-focused and making surethat you answer their calls, you
meet their needs, you have somesort of warranty that if
there's a callback, that you'vetaken care of them.
So I am not going to spend ahuge amount of time on the
(01:49):
customer service side.
Those are some, just that is avery general.
Easy thing to do is make surethat you do what accounting
properly and show up on time anddo what you say you're going to
do with the client.
(02:10):
Take care of the client, berespectful, make sure your team
is respectful and the client isgoing to take care of you for
the most part.
That's number seven focus onclient customer service, all
right.
Number eight use high qualityproducts.
So we talked about using toolsand upgrading your tools as you
(02:30):
go and making sure you're usingthe proper tools, but using high
quality paints and products.
That is super important becauseyou can.
So we all know there aredifferent levels of paint.
There are different levels ofinterior.
So we all know there aredifferent levels of paint.
There are different levels ofinterior exterior.
There are different levels ofindustrial paint coatings
there's just different levels.
And cost and budget come tomind when you're talking about
(02:56):
paint, but for the most part,you, as the painter, you may not
want to make a colorrecommendation, because that's
not really your job, but as faras making a product
recommendation, you, as a paintcontractor, need to know about
products.
You may not be the specialist,so, for instance, there are reps
(03:16):
that work at these local paintcompanies that you can defer to.
I recommend that if you're nota seasoned painter and you can't
vouch for the paint performingthe way it's supposed to.
However, you need to knowenough and to know what types of
paint to use where.
And then, furthermore, thereason you need to be able to
(03:38):
explain to the client the reasonyou use higher end products and
paint, because it actually doesmatter.
The coverage matters, how manycoats you're going to do matters
.
So just knowing and usinghigher end products and paint
does matter, and you need to beable to educate the client on
that as a paint contractor.
(03:59):
Number eight was use highquality paint.
Number nine expand your paymentoptions, and this is one that
you know we.
We offer credit card payments.
We offer debit card.
They can call pay over thephone.
We use QuickBooks online forall of our, all of our payments,
(04:19):
and tracking as far as thatgoes.
But, uh, you know people beingable to just have a little
square for their phone, thelittle square card, so they can,
you know, use their credit cardon site, being able to pay you
cash, being able to give you acheck.
So, having a bank account as acontractor, that's for your
business.
(04:39):
If you're going to have abusiness instead of being an
individual contractor, then youneed to make sure all these
things are in place.
They need to be able to writeyou a check that you can cash.
They need to be able to, youknow, charge as far as a credit
card and know is there a feeassigned to it?
They need to be able to usePayPal, use Venmo.
So all of these are differentplatforms and they make you more
(05:04):
accessible if the client hasmultiple ways to pay you.
So, number nine expand yourpayment options.
And also so, before I get off,number nine there's financing
programs strictly forcontractors.
There are banks who willfinance projects I don't know so
much on the paint side, butcould be, because some paint
(05:24):
jobs are large jobs.
So, making sure that if you canoffer financing, if that's a
route that you want to take.
Then you go down that route, doyour diligence, get with the
right program, get with theright bank and maybe they
finance the project.
So it's just another offeringyou can do and that expands your
payment options to the clientNumber 10.
(05:48):
Critical Continuously learn andadapt.
So we are doing this show andwe do this podcast and we do our
how to's so people can expandtheir knowledge.
We are not the know all be alland industry standard of every
trade.
There's just no way to reallydo that.
What we do is we have I have onmy team people who specialize
(06:15):
in each trade and I let them dothe how to's.
And what we do is study andlearn in the background,
professionally develop thingslike courses, classes.
The NCCER offers a PANKcurriculum that you can actually
get certified through and getyour wallet card from the NCCER.
Expand your knowledge becauseproduct is changing all the time
(06:39):
, especially in paint.
There's new products, there'snew applicators.
Applicators is a term mySherwin-Williams guy uses, which
is paintbrush, your rollers,different things like that.
There is so much to be learnedother than just on the site.
Hey, get that roller and rollthat wall.
Well, what type of roller, whattype of rig are you using?
(07:03):
What type of paintbrush?
There's just so many differentthings that you can learn.
How does paint work?
Is it toxic?
You know just a lot of stuff inthe education piece that
matters.
But also because you want togrow your business, I think
education in the trades iscrucial, and being able to bring
somebody in that's green,completely new to the trade, and
(07:25):
teach them in a manner that isduplicate, that you can
duplicate, is huge, because asyou get them trained and more up
to speed and professionallydeveloped, the quicker they'll
be able to be an asset to you.
So once you develop a trainingprogram that you can repeat, you
are really, really gonna launchyour business, and so I really
(07:47):
recommend making sure that youknow where, how and when.
You can get your education inthe trades and specifically
paint and learn, and it makesyou talk to the clients a little
bit different, it helps you toanswer questions of the clients
a little bit better, and Ireally believe in professional
(08:09):
development.
I really believe inprofessional development, I
really believe in trade schoolsand I think it is crucial for
you to continually learn.
So number 10 is to continuallylearn and adapt to the new
environments.
So let's go through the list onefinal time.
Number one specialize in aniche.
(08:30):
Number two invest in qualitytools and supplies.
Number three offercomprehensive services.
Number four build a strongonline presence.
Number five implement a goodreferral program.
Number six keep your sitepristine.
(08:51):
Keep it clean.
Number seven focus on customerservice.
Number eight is use highquality paints.
Number nine is expand yourpayment options.
Number 10 is continuously learnand adapt my thoughts,
listening to our guests,listening to the designers.
(09:12):
We appreciate you so much andthe month of May will be tile
month.
We look forward to it and untilnext time and now we move into
Shop Talk, it's the portion ofthe show where I bring in a
co-host and we cover trendingtopics in home building and
remodeling.
Hope you enjoy.
Let's go.
We want people to come in ourdoor that chose this, that chose
(09:37):
to do this, and it's notattractive right now.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Right, people see construction as a dirty laborers
, but there's so many Becauseeverybody's been taught to push
college and push this, and doyou want to be a construction
worker when you grow up?
Or dig ditches as well?
Exactly that.
And so it was a bad thing.
Yeah, and the trade if you lookback in the 1940s for painters,
they literally came dressed up,shirts, tucked in yeah, like
(10:05):
they were true tradesmen thatcame and did their job and they
respected it and they took pridein it.
And so we're doing the samething as we're trying to build
that culture back up again.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
So where do you balance the need for skilled
employees and what you willtolerate from an employee?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Well, I just went through that this week.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
I go through it every now and then too, so I knew
that was a touchy and tough one.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
It is because I just went through it this week.
But if you will acceptresponsibility and you quit
making that same mistake, Ithink is where we can work on it
.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
It's got back to kind of some some of the the gut
thing too, though, because I'vealways I know who I got and I
know what their triggers are.
I know you know where they'regoing to push back on me, and
there comes a time where Ialways started to just listen to
(11:00):
your gut, because you know,eventually, whatever that
initial gut instinct is is goingto come to fruition in one way,
shape or form, and there's onlyso much you can coach or talk
or train out of or into people.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Right, that person that you thought you needed to
fire.
You think you need to fire now.
You should have fired a longtime ago because you already
knew they should have wentAbsolutely, but you were either
too nervous to have thatconversation or you felt like
they were too valuable to thecompany to let go.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
But they're damn a company, yeah, and you know it.
It.
It's so hard sometimes becauseyou look, and I know, as the
owner, I'm not out therebreaking my back every day.
Now, sometimes I am getting itin, but for the most part at
this stage of what I do, I haveproduction teams that are doing
the work and I know they arebusting their hump every day for
(11:53):
me, and so I always try toreflect on how hard they are in
fact working and the fact thatme going out there and trying to
even accomplish what some of myskilled team can do, it's not
going to happen.
And so again, I say I overreachor overcompensate sometimes
(12:13):
because I'm like man, I don'twant to go back to where we were
.
So you know what, here it is,I'll accommodate you and you
know, and I knew every time Idid it I probably shouldn't have
.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
That's right, and the ones who deserve it most
usually yes, they're not askingfor anything, they're just doing
their stuff every day.
But you'll lose those in aheartbeat if you let the other
people stay around.
That's right.
That's because it makes badwork environments for those
other people.
Yeah, and so that brings usback to the new guys you were
talking about.
That is, I don't want to be outthere pushing the paintbrush,
(12:49):
sure.
That to be out there pushingthe paintbrush Sure, that's not
why I started this.
And so I have to trust thepeople out there.
If I can't trust to leave youon a job, you can't work for us.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, and you're to a point in your career where you
can call it pretty quick now,yeah, and you don't have to
settle.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Well, if you build a strong culture, people don't
stay along anyway.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Yeah, once that culture gets there, if somebody
are coming to work for you, yourcompany and with your team, and
you have to protect yourcompany and your team.
And so what I tell any newemployee when they come in and
(13:29):
we hire them, a part of theorientation and the talk that we
give is we've got 32 people,but that means we have roughly
70 mouths to feed and I'm notgoing to let you jeopardize 70
people because you're selfish oryou're doing something wrong.
You know and and and that doingsomething wrong and and things
(13:50):
like that.
You talk about branding.
There's nothing that can harmyour brand more than allowing a
cancer to stay in inside of thecompany.
A hundred percent, yeah, and soyou know identifying those
triggers the negative people gowith your gut but then also
keeping that name.
So we're talking workforcedevelopment and how you retain
(14:12):
employees or hire employees andthings like that.
But I want to circle out intothe community aspect of this,
because a part of for us aspectof this, because a part of for
us, because community is big.
It's one of the largestcommunities or counties in
Alabama, but the actualcommunity is very, very small.
Everybody's everybody.
That's right.
(14:33):
And so for you to besustainable, how do you approach
that community, because you'rea sound businessman, you will do
quality work.
But what about the communityside, the give back or anything
like that?
What, what do you, what do youdo there and how do you feel
(14:53):
about, you know, communityservice?
Speaker 2 (14:56):
we donate.
You know you've got yourregular things your dancers and
your ball players and yousponsoring fields and stuff like
that but we get involved incommunity events.
You know we we stay involved.
How can we help out?
We usually donate one or twojobs a year to help somebody out
that's in need.
You know that can't afford todo it.
We had a lady that her househad burned up or caught fire in
(15:17):
the kitchen last year and so wecame in and we cleaned it all up
and we painted it and she wastrying to write us a check.
You know she was like we don'tneed that Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
And that that sometimes that trade makes makes
doing things like that easierthan giving money or giving
giving time, and the quality oftrade and work and taking care
of people in that manner rightIs is huge.
And then it it gives your nameand your company more
credibility.
When you do things like thatand you do the right thing and
(15:49):
you're local and you'rereinvesting your time back into
the community.
It's so valuable to be able todo those things.
Even being in a business grouplike what you're in, and being
consistent and showing up andbeing a part of that says
something about what you'regoing to do.
When somebody hires you or yourcompany and you know, I always
(16:12):
give the advice about beingaccountable, no matter what,
because you're going to run intoissues, you're going to run
into problems, but you alwaysshould be accountable as a
contractor and I think for themost part if you are at least
accountable and trustworthythose two things right there
you'll be okay.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Well, trust is what it's all about.
So people do business withpeople that they trust, yeah,
and you've got your priceshoppers, we're not going to
talk about that whole thing.
Yeah, let me get the cheapestdeal.
But your average person outthere, out there, they're gonna
do business with who they trust.
That's right.
And so we we try not to damagethat trust.
I'm kind of old school and my,my family wasn't really like
(16:51):
that so much, but like my lastname means a lot.
We raised our kids.
That the carpenter name is islike that's what you live by,
that's right.
He says right, zach carpenter,I don't want that to be a bunch
of crap talking over here likethat.
And what you live by, that'sright.
He says right, zach carpenter,I don't want that to be a bunch
of crap talking over here likethat.
And then in my business side ofit I was talking to one of my
lead guys monday.
That was one of the toughdiscussions I'd have, yeah, and
(17:12):
I told him you know, we'vealways heard that crap rolls
downhill, that's right.
You know it comes from the top.
Well, in my company it don'troll down, it rolls back uphill,
because I accept responsibilityfor everything that happens on
the job.
Yeah, even though I know yourresponsibility was to make sure
that happened, I missedsomething when you didn't have,
when it didn't happen.
Yeah, you know it rolls outpeople's here yeah, you know it
(17:35):
is always.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
nobody's ever going to care as much about your
company as you do, even the bestemployees, and so you have to
be accountable and right.
You know, at the end of the day, you could, you may, fire
somebody, you're stillaccountable for whatever that
person did.
That's right.
Nobody else you are.
You know.
Now you've got team members whowill step in and help you out,
(17:58):
but the liability is all yours.
That is your business.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
I built this company.
I grow this company.
I'm responsible for everythingthat happens in this company.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Absolutely All right.
Well, I appreciate you comingin, as always, man.
We've talked about a lot ofthings, but in particular, you
know, I think the value inhiring contractors is getting to
know what they're about theirbusiness is about.
It should be more than atransaction, right, it's
definitely a relationship,because you know maintenance has
(18:26):
to be done and you know part ofwhere you make your bread and
butter is repaints, and peopleare going to call you again when
they want to repaint or touchup or redo something.
So you know, keeping your brandstrong, keeping your name
strong, is something that I knowyou do and I know you're out
there doing the right thing andthat's why I wanted to bring you
on for paint month, Cyclops.
(18:48):
So talk to us about where theycan find you your website
Cyclopspaintingcom.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Facebook, instagram, tiktok, we're getting out there.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
I love it, and so if anybody wanted mentoring or
guidance, um, is that somethingthat you do?
Are you open to like ifsomebody's watching this and
they say, hey, can, can I reachout to Zach?
Obviously, I'm not going to get.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
yeah, here's his phone number, but people do it
all the time.
So one of the biggest problemsthat we have in our industry is
just a a mindset of this is mybusiness, I ain't helping nobody
else.
We build a much strongercommunity the more people that
are working together to the sameset, pricing structures, all
that kind of stuff.
So if I can help you withanything, zach Carpenter, on
(19:33):
Facebook, you'll see my grandnational on my page and you just
click on it and send me amessage there you go and listen.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
When it comes to the mentorship side and coaching I
know you've been a part of someof that Please don't hesitate to
reach out, go see his work, askhim questions.
I think for people like him,and especially for people like
me, we feed off of thatinteraction.
Part of what we want to do isset the the standard and and
(20:02):
help people out, and othercontractors especially so.
If you're a paint contractorand you have any questions
generally about starting yourown business or how to run your
business or anything like that,I would recommend reaching out
to zach carpenter with cyclops,please, uh, feel free to message
us, inbox us.
I can get you in touch withthem or go follow this page.
(20:24):
All right, thanks, man, thanks,pleasure.
Yeah, now we're going to moveinto the portion of the show
where we talk interior design.
We're going to bring in aninterior designer and we're
going to talk trending designand products.
Hope you enjoy, let's go.
Design and Products Hope youenjoy, let's go.
(20:46):
And a paint consultation is Now.
If you're going to go work on aproject with us, is a paint
consultation a part of theoverall design package?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
What I heard was that we have three colors for our
estimate.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Up to up to.
Let me clarify what she'ssaying is we charge a per square
foot price or per project price.
But when you start to addmultiple colors in multiple
rooms to the project, it doesadd money.
You're not just going to buy afive gallon bucket of a standard
color and painting throughout.
(21:25):
Where it's quick and you can,you're starting to add colors.
You're having to do a littlemore work.
It takes a little more effortand more time.
We do allow three colors andthen, beyond the three colors we
do, we charge.
We charge a little more, and sothat's something just to be
aware of for you is they getthree colors and then if they
(21:48):
want more than we have to chargefor more.
Right.
But so when you're I'm sayingin general if you're doing a
project and for us we have a fewways to make money, the
consults and things like thatare one of them but if you're
putting together a package for anew home or a remodel and
saying, hey, I'm going to do 10hours or I'm going to spend 20
(22:10):
hours on your project, is thepaint a part of that package
originally?
And if they want just a paintconsult, then we do just a paint
console.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
And that would usually just be an hourly rate,
and then when the other onesthat you're speaking of are all.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
We package Package, yeah, we package selection.
You're picking all and you'respending time shopping and then,
when you're I can'toveremphasize it We'll close it
out with this and you just tellme your thoughts on it.
Essentially for us.
I know some people might thinkwell, $150 is a lot of money,
but some of the paint jobs we doare tens and twenties of
(22:55):
thousands of dollars and thelast thing you want to do is
spend $20,000 on a paint job andnot like it.
$150 isn't even a percent of$20,000, right?
Would you agree with that?
Is that why the emphasis is sohigh?
And it is really important?
Because it's not the painter orcontractor's fault Once they
(23:21):
paint it.
If they did a good job and didget paint everywhere, kept the
job clean and it's a good paintjob, it's not on them to repaint
the house because you don'tlike the color and it is worth
whatever, and that's just whatwe charge.
Other people may chargesomething different, but it is
absolutely worth that.
(23:42):
To know, you need to get apaint consultation from a
professional.
Who knows?
That's true.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Good.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
All right, Thanks.
Thanks for joining us today.
As always, we are grateful forour listeners and your continued
support.
Please subscribe to our YouTubechannel.
Follow us on social media viaFacebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Follow us on social media viaFacebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Get more info at our website,wwwthehomebuildingshowcom.
(24:09):
And, as always, remember who weare the Home Building and
Remodeling Show.
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