DYB Podcast

In this episode of the DYB podcast, Steve welcomes painting expert, Ron Gerharz. Ron has been in the business for 31 years and owns Hi-Tech Painting and Decorating, a successful company based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

In this podcast, Ron shares his inspiring story of working at a factory when he was young and the journey he made that led to founding a million-dollar company. Steve and Ron tackle topics about the workplace, motivation, faith, and family. Ron also shares some insights he has learned along the way by joining DYB and shares some advice on life, tech and even good books to read.

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• Ron's painting business startup journey
• Work, faith, and family balance
• Ron's insights and lessons learned from DYB
• Tech in painting

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“I started and I kinda faked it ’til I made it so to speak because I’m a go-getter.”

“I was always just telling myself, I’m just gonna do it… and once I did it, I just never looked back.”

“Motivation and determination say a lot and can do a lot for oneself.”

“You know, when we joined the DYB, that was the big paradigm shift.”

“One thing is having the knowledge, it’s knowing what you’re talking about, it’s standing different from the rest of your competitors, that you know what type of product would be best for a particular situation for the customer.”

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2:14 How Ron got started in the business

10:40 Ron talks about the early stages of his company

12:08 The workplace, family and faith

13:16 Ron shares some major paradigm shifts

14:44 Ron talks about tech

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Lead for God’s Sake by Todd Gongwer (book)

The 10x Rule by Grant Cardone (book)

The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

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In this episode of the DYB Podcast, Steve, Greg, Scott, and April bring in Mike Williams of Clik Wiz, a digital marketing platform for painting companies. Mike and the team cover a range of topics regarding website optimization.

Mike differentiates between commonly used web tools and explains how to utilize them for marketing a painting business online. He explains how conversion rates and optimization work. He also points out which data to look out for and track using Google Analytics. Mike goes on to give some tips on search engine optimization and how to improve online presence to ultimately increase lead generation.

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• How website optimization and conversion works
• Available web tools for marketing a painting business online
• Important data to track in Google Analytics
• Search optimization and lead generation

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“A conversion rate would be, if I get a hundred visitors to my website, how many leads do I get? If you get five leads, that would be five percent.”

“People like to do business with people they know right? And so adding some authenticity and some personality to the site would be one way to improve.”

“I like to see search engine traffic as the biggest number and so one of the things that we really look at is how many visitors are you getting from the search engines today versus a year ago.”

“Make sure you’re tracking not only the leads, but tracking the visitors and then we can get the conversion rate and increase the rate to get your website to be a lead generation machine and it’s possible and doable, it’s the goal.”

“There’s thousands of online directories out there where you can submit your business to, the biggest thing with doing that is making sure your name, address and phone number and your website are all consistent on all of those directories.”

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3:20 The differences between Wix, Wordpress and other website providers

7:50 What is conversion optimization?

12:25 Utilizing Google analytics

19:51 How to know if the website is performing well

23:30 Risks of website modification

26:35 Search engine optimization and online reviews

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Top 50 Citations

Hostgator.com (website hosting platform) 

Wix.com (website service)

Wordpress.com (web tool)

CallRail (app) 

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Connect with Steve on Facebook here

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In this episode of the DYB podcast, Steve brings in Greg and Scott to talk about managing client expectations. The team takes a close look at the customer experience and how to improve it, from estimates to referrals.

Greg and Scott break down the communication process with clients and highlight the necessary practices in setting up appointments, showing up properly, building rapport and dealing with the details of the transaction. They also share gestures that can surely leave clients happy and satisfied.

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• How to improve customer experience
• Communication process
• How to build rapport with clients
• The little gestures that leave clients happy and satisfied

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“One of the big things that I think people are missing out on is the follow-up phone conversation that happens after the appointment is booked. Anyone that is booked on your website, you need to call.”

“The customer is really looking for you to direct the process.”

“You should talk very little in the process, you should listen.”

“Take the time to listen to the customer and understand their pain”

“Quality is a baseline, elevate the company in the experience.”

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1:06 Communication process

5:45 What are good practices for salespeople?

14:33 What to do after getting the job?

22:27 End of job practices

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Youcanbookme (calendar app)

Acuity (calendar app)

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Schedule Your Free Strategy Call With Steve

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Connect with Steve on Facebook here

Connect with Greg Miller on Facebook here

Connect with Scott Lollar on Facebook here

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SUMMARY:

In this episode of the DYB Podcast, the DYB team welcomes virtual assistant and entrepreneur Nadia Burnett. Nadia and the team discuss virtual assistance and modern online technology that can be employed to streamline the business and possibly save a lot of money in administrative expenses.

Nadia explains digital marketing, automation via Zapier, and other important tools that can and should be used today. She also sheds light on some modern technological concepts and services (which her company offers) such as search engine optimized blog posts and Zapier workflows. The DYB team also talk’s about delegation and having a clear vision so as to properly take advantage of these powerful technological advancements.

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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• How virtual assistance & modern online tech can save you money
• Importance of digital marketing
• Zapier and other automation tools
• The Importance of delegating with clarity

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QUOTES:

“Normally, between the different workflows, I would say it normally starts from your scheduling tool or however the lead enters your funnel.”

“A zap can look like this: when I get a new thing in program A, I want it to do this other thing in program B. So the first part is called the trigger and the second part is the action and zapier will run the workflow automatically based on the trigger without you having to do anything”

“I use so many Zaps myself, so really it’s a matter of asking yourself ‘What do I do every single day that makes me wanna pull my hair out; I don’t want to do it over and over again and so how can I automate this?”’

“Automate, delegate and focus on only what you can do.”

“There’s just so much powerful work that can be done, so many solutions but we need clarity, super clarity, about what we’re trying to accomplish so that we land right on the dot.”

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HIGHLIGHTS:

1:27 How Nadia learned digital marketing

7:53 What is Zapier?

10:46 When and how to use a Zap

13:57 Nadia talks about other services her team offers

21:06 On delegation and clarity

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LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Join DYB

Automate Your Admin | Zapier Flowchart for Painting Contractors

www.dybvirtual.com

[email protected]

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ADDITIONAL FREE RESOURCES:

Schedule Your Free Strategy Call With Steve

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Connect with Nadia Burnett on Facebook here

Connect with Steve on Facebook here

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In this episode of the DYB podcast, Steve is joined by Scott, Greg, and Nadia to talk about technology. They discuss how it has changed over the years, why it’s crucial to the painting business and more importantly, what are the most useful and popular tech today that can help streamline any painting company.

The DYB team members dive into different types of technology available today. They talk about important apps and automations that help them and also critique and compare certain tools that offer the same services. The team also share insights on technological progress and its effect on customer relationship management and other aspects of the business.

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• Why technology is important to your business
• Types of tech that can help you streamline your painting business
• An overview of the most popular apps and automations

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“One of the biggest opportunities that most people miss, that I’m just obsessed with, is following up.”

“People put these lofty goals, ‘I want to do this much in sales’ but how what does that translate to as far as your lead flow and what is your close ratio and how do you track that? And it [CRM and PipelineDeals] gives you a very precise and strategic way to keep track of these people and connect with them..”

“From a scalability standpoint, CRM plays such a crucial role because you’re absolutely able to see what your sales performance is for all your employees.”

“Technology is the new economy.”

“Technology is meant to improve our business, it’s not to take the substitute of customer service.”

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1:40 Types of technology

4:20 Basecamp and PipelineDeals

7:14 Time-tracking software and customer relationship

14:30 Nadia talks about the most common programs used via Zaps

16:45 Quickbooks and other financial services

20:08 Clock-in utilities

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Estimate Rocket (app)
Basecamp (app)
PipelineDeals (app)
TSheets (app)
PetCloud (app)
Zapier/Zaps (app integration)
Youcanbookme
Quickbooks
Veryclock (app)
Bill.com (financial service)

Join DYB

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Schedule Your Free Strategy Call With Steve

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Connect with Nadia Burnett on Facebook here

Connect with Greg Miller on Facebook here

Connect with Scott Lollar on Facebook here

Connect with Steve on Facebook here

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In this episode of the DYB podcast, Steve is again joined by Ron, Greg, and Scott to talk about time management strategies during the busy season. The team tackles the challenges of the busy season from different perspectives.

The DYB team members discuss productivity, time management and ways to implement methods for proper communication with clients and employees. They also talk about delegation and prioritization and how a ‘jam session’ can help out with plans and strategies. They give valuable time management as well as tips for personal well-being in order to operate not only with efficiency but also with integrity.

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• Time management strategies during the busy season
• Proper communication methods with both clients and employees
• Delegation and prioritization during a busy season
• Personal wellness tips for maximum efficiency and productivity

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“Set up your system so employees allocate the proper time for each task, and another huge thing is that as we start getting really busy, a lot of people throw away their operational systems and that’s just a big no go!”

“Do the estimate on the spot and be done with it.”

“A lot of things that end up in your idea graveyard are things that just never got the proper focus.”

“When I can get out there and when I do get out there early morning and get my exercise in first, ideas start flowing, things make sense, the answers come in and everything just flows.”

“If you don’t honor a commitment to yourself, nobody’s going to respect your boundaries as well.”

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3:41 Challenges with employees and coming up with estimates for clients

9:48 What is a jam session in DYB terms?

14:12 Scheduling and prioritization

16:15 Exercise, daily routines, and personal well-being

21:30 Delegation and keeping track of business activities

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Join DYB

Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt (book)

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Schedule Your Free Strategy Call With Steve

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Connect with Ron Ramsden on Facebook here

Connect with Greg Miller on Facebook here

Connect with Scott Lollar on Facebook here

Connect with Steve on Facebook here

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In this episode of the DYB Podcast, DYB team members talk about the challenges of the seasonal crush, specifically, when exterior jobs start kicking off. Given that Steve, Ron, Scott, and Greg work with different companies, they exchange various perspectives on seasonal crush, the challenges and the strategies to deal with it to maximize opportunity.

The team dives into the important aspects of the business when things get busy, such as qualifying, price adjustments, and staff management. They discuss proper communication with clients and some things to be considered regarding overtime and expenses. As any DYB podcast, the team gives valuable tips, tried and tested by experience, on how to stay on top of things during seasonal crush and ultimately achieve financial freedom.

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• The challenges and the strategies to deal with a busy season.
• How to qualify your leads, adjust prices and manage your staff during seasonal crush.
• Proper communication with clients.
• How to handle overtime and expenses.

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“Don’t take every lead that comes in.”

“If you can’t even give them an estimate for two weeks, they may assume that you will never get to the actual paint job. You need to have open slots in your schedule for estimates and pre-qualify deeper.”

“If it’s an A-plus customer referral, we need to take a pause and follow through and communicate and understand their situation to find a way to do that estimate.”

“You really should adjust your pricing according to the demand when you’re getting that kind of backlog because the fact is, you’re not able to do any more work and you’re gonna be stuck at those prices.”

“I think that when it gets crazy busy, especially for emerging or growth contractors, they can really lose sight of the reality of their business… I think sometimes, we get lulled into a sense of profitability.”

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3:58 Analyzing leads and qualifying properly

10:12 Price adjustment

14:23 Hiring and managing staff

17:07 Scheduling and communication with customers

24:27 Dealing with overtime, numbers, and expenses

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Join DYB

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Schedule Your Free Strategy Call With Steve

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Connect with Ron Ramsden on Facebook here

Connect with Greg Miller on Facebook here

Connect with Scott Lollar on Facebook here

Connect with Steve on Facebook here

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In this episode of the DYB podcast, the team tackles the differences and similarities between a residential and commercial painting contractor and how to move between the two especially if one would like to expand to the other, which is usually from residential to commercial.

The team discusses the advantages and disadvantages of taking on commercial projects. They share their company processes and give valuable advice on handling new construction projects, getting paid, dealing with general contractors and other challenges involved in commercial painting jobs.

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• The differences and similarities between a residential and commercial painting
• Pros and cons of commercial projects
• How to add commercial painting to your business
• Challenges involved in commercial painting and how to handle them

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“Residential is not always about the price, it’s about relationship and quality.”

“In the commercial world most of the time they’re not spending their own money, so they’re really just looking for the best result

“There is this misconception that, you need a better painter to do your residential than you do your commercial and I’m not sure that’s completely accurate.”

“When you’re working with a management company or a business owner, there’s no reason not to get a deposit because it’s really a similar transaction as to what you do day in and day out.”

“If it [a project] sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true.”

“Having a credit line, I realize is a real tool for business.”

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0:55 What makes a commercial project and what are HOAs?

5:50 Product quality in commercial projects

11:20 Relationships in both the commercial and residential worlds

19:37 New construction projects, general contractors and how to get paid

29:06 Other reasons for doing commercial work

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Connect with Ron Ramsden on Facebook here

Connect with Greg Miller on Facebook here

Connect with Steve on Facebook here

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In this episode of the DYB Podcast, the DYB team discuss job profitability. They give a rundown on how to properly track the right information for growth and profit as these are the real indicators of a successful business. The team tackles this from different angles on what should and should not be included in job costing.

The DYB team also share their company processes and some details on how to do job costing properly, what should be taken into account for each job, from labor costs and overheads such as employment taxes and insurance to other things like Porto-johns and sundries. They give practical tips and tools to streamline paperwork and ensure better job profitability.  

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• The job costing process
• How to properly track the right information for growth and profit
• How to track and account for business overheads
• Lead sources that provide the best profitability

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“If we don’t job cost and there are a few jobs going on, it all kind of blends together and then you realize, or you don’t realize the job that you shouldn’t be taking.”

“From time to time, depending on the job, because we have what we call ‘per diem’ which is travel-work where we pay out for meals and also for hotel stays and we will include that in the larger projects because it’s part of the bid process.”

“One of the things about job costing is that it’s not an exact science, sometimes you adapt for it and really, at the end of the day, what matters is figuring out who your top performers are.”

“I find that people work better with different people.”

“Where do we want to invest our time and money in marketing? Well, you would definitely put it into your most profitable lead sources and so if you don’t keep track of that, then you’re not going to have any clue.”

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1:10 Ron’s process on job profitability

6:37 Greg shares his job costing process

8:55 Accounting for sundries and vendor relationships

18:46 The labor portion of job costing

23:00 What’s the use for all the job costing data?

25:59 What lead sources provide the best profitability?

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Connect with Scott Lollar on Facebook here

Connect with Greg Miller on Facebook here

Connect with Ron Ramsden on Facebook here

Connect with Steve on Facebook here

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In this episode of the DYB podcast, Steve, Ron, Scott and April talk about how to start a painting business from scratch. The DYB team shares their backgrounds on how they started and what prompted them to do so, providing some insights on starting the business.

The team also dissects the necessary attitude and mindset in building up the business rooted on being hardworking, frugal and positive. They discuss practical ideas on how to go through the uncomfortable phases as an entrepreneur and share perspectives on the essential aspects such as business visibility, social media utilization, following up on the work, and setting up a business strategy not just to start but keep the business going successfully.

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• How to start a painting business from scratch
• The necessary attitude and mindset required to grow the business
• How to navigate uncomfortable business phases
• Protecting your mindset from negativity
• How to set up a business strategy that will keep your business going successfully

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“Most of us start as tradesmen, we learn the trade first and we learn how to paint first.”

“It’s about thinking through the process and spending just a little time making some lists, getting some advice and doing it right from the scratch when you can.”

“We have to embrace a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset.”

“We don’t say ‘how’s the job going?’, we’d say ‘how’s the customer experience?’”

“All of the activity is critical, together as an aggregate it’s what makes you successful and gets people to call you.”

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3:06 Steve and friends share how they started their businesses

9:51 Networking and looking sharp

12:03 Looking at the corporate structure and business visibility

16:08 Friends and family referrals

20:16 Closing deals and following up

37:47 Protecting one’s mindset from negativity

41:27 Knowing the numbers and setting a budget

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Join DYB

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Connect with Ron Ramsden on Facebook here

Connect with April Burnett on Facebook here

Connect with Scott Lollar on Facebook here

Connect with Steve on Facebook here

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