Are You Earning This Much as a Painter?

Brandon, this may be the most helpful email you’ll ever read from me. Delete it at your own personal peril…

The other day, I was on the phone with a brand new member who had been on my email list for a long time. 6 years to be exact.

He knew things weren’t going very well in his business, but thought he’d “figure it out” on his own.

During the assessment, I asked what he made last year.

He said $50,000. That’s not good.

To make things worse, he also employed three other painters.

I could tell, right off the bat, that this painting contractor didn’t really understand the fundamentals of how money is made in painting.

Neither do a lot of owners doing sales over $1 million.

Let me break it down for you so you know if you’re on the right track.

Or, the wrong track.

#1 – You buy labor wholesale and sell it retail. That’s what you do for a living. You are not “a painter.” You are an owner.

#2 – There are about 2,000 working hours per year, per painter. If you have three painters, plus yourself, you have “bought” 8,000 labor hours wholesale – and you sell them “retail” to your clients.

#3 – So, if you work 2,000 labor hours at $50.00/hour, you make $100K. Just you, by yourself. No helpers.

If your three painters work 6,000 hours at $50.00/hour, at 50% gross profits, you make $150,000 off their labor.

This assumes you come in on budget. Your charge rate and pay rate may vary in your market, but at 50%, you should have $250K in gross profits.

If your overhead is 20%, you should have $200K in cash-flow-to-owner… better known as personal income.

#4 – If you’ve been painting for years and this does not describe your understanding of this business or your personal results, you are in a state of emergency.

Yeah, you can “hope you’ll figure it out,” but I find very few do without coaching, tools and direction.

Look around at the paint store. There aren’t a lot of painters or owners rolling in the dough.

This isn’t because the money isn’t out there – it is.

It’s because the average owner has never taken a season of his life to learn how to run the business professionally – not as a tradesman, but as an entrepreneur and general manager.

You may ignore this message if you like.

It’s like being overweight and unhealthy – while turning your nose up as the basics of diet and exercise.

You may ignore reality, but reality has its way regardless of your opinions – and you will be left to live with the results, unnecessarily.

Most of the time, I can help someone double their month-over-month income in 60-90 days, depending on how aggressive they are at implementation.

It’s not complicated. There are only about 12 essential business systems in painting. You can make a ton of additional money by using even 2 or 3.

I don’t “major on the minors” like a lot of taking head business coaches. Here at the APPC, I keep “the main things the main things.”

It makes me sad that so many are in such a lucrative industry, but they die broke… with a company they can’t sell! It’s ridiculous.

If you’d like help, let me know by replying to this email or calling.

If not, I’ll talk to you in 6 years 😉

Have a great weekend!

Brandon Lewis
Founder, Painters Academy
423-800-0520