Will you pass on your painting business to your son?

Please don’t find this subject-line offensive. I don’t write the mail, I just deliver it.

As best I can determine in auditing my subscriber lists name-by-name, ownership in independent painting businesses skews 97% male. I’m not giving an opinion on it, simply stating the observable reality.

It’s no surprise that you find a lot of father-son teams in operation. Granted, there are also father-daughter, brother-brother, and obviously husband-wife teams.

However, when a painting business is finally “passed down,” most often it is father-to-son. It makes sense if you think about the 97% number repeating itself again and again as owners retire.

I’ve worked with a lot of father-son teams over the years. Working with family is tough. Damned tough.

Not only do you have the extraordinary challenge of running a painting business predictably and profitably, you also have the “strengths and weaknesses” that accompany working with family.

* Primary Strength, They Care About You: This means they will not leave you in the lurch and you can trust them not to rob you blind. They’ll do more and expect less when hard times or difficult situations present themselves.

* Primary Weakness, Business Becomes Emotional and Personal: When family isn’t involved, business problems can be impartially identified and fixed as they arise. When family is involved, often logic and reason take a back-seat to emotions driven by concerns about damaging the relationship.

For every yin, there is a yang.In father-son painting businesses, it is challenging to find the balance between the strengths and the weaknesses if the company and legacy is to be successfully passed down.

Mike and Zach Ausherman of Ausherman Painting are doing a great job of finding this balance.

They are also putting new and inventive systems in place to make sure their established, respected painting business is more predictable and its future is secure – while growing the number and type of clients they serve.

At the 2019 Painting Profits Summit, Mike will talk about what it felt like to bring Zach into the painting business. Zach will share how they have worked together to meld their perspectives, overcome challenges, and chart a new course using their unique skill sets to complement one another.

If you want to pass along your painting business successfully to your son or another family member, you owe it to yourself to join us and hear what this father-son team has to say!

Brandon Lewis
Founder, The Academy for Professional Painting Contractors
Publisher, Painter’s Weekly