PaintED Podcast

People have been complaining about “kids these days” since before the dawn of time. This whole “young people are entitled and don’t know how good they have it” thing isn’t new, and it seems to be an especially well-used trope in trades and construction. When you have young 20-somethings demanding a higher hourly wage than you ever made and the quality of their work is suspect, it's tough NOT to be a little cynical. This puts you in a tough spot because as infuriating as some of the Gen-Zers and Millennials are to you, the physically demanding nature of your business means you need to find a way to connect, attract and lead young people.

The other pitfall of cynical thinking is that you paint a huge population with too broad a brush. Writing off 70 million people as “lazy” is, ironically, a form of laziness in and of itself.

For every blue-haired tick tocker that makes your eyes roll, there is a quiet mechanically minded kid who wants to work with their hands... and it's your job to find these youngsters and showcase what an amazing lifestyle and career IS possible through trades and construction. Our education system definitely ain’t doing it, so like it or not, this responsibility lies squarely with you… the evolving contractor.

To bridge this gap and debunk some myths, we’ve brought in Eric Termuende, a leadership author, speaker, and entrepreneur. Eric specializes in working with organizations to build incredible teams and attract the next generation.

Eric delivers north of 75 keynote speeches a year to large organizations like John Deere, Zoom, Amazon, Toyota, and various Trade Associations. He is the author of the book, RETHINK WORK and has been unpacking the generational challenge for the last 7 years.

In this episode we cover:

- How the changing world ends up shaping each generation in a unique way

- Why approaching the conversation in terms of this generation vs that generation is ass backward

- How to leverage the story you already have to catch the attention of ambitious, driven, and loyal young people.

- How the physically demanding hands-on nature of your business may actually be its most attractive feature rather than a detractor.

- How you need to conduct yourself as the owner and leader of the company to bring in young talent

- The super-simple method any leader can use to quickly build trust in their teams

PCA Overdrive is free for members.

What exactly is a "cash crunch"? And what can we do about it?

A "cash crunch" occurs when a company does not have enough money to carry out its regular operations. Have you had to deal with a situation like this before in your company? In this episode, Join Torlando as he discusses with Chris Moore, founder of Elite Business Advice, efficient business solutions to execute and overcome any cash crunch problem at your company. They also discuss why so many contractors are experiencing cash flow problems and what they can do about it. Don't miss this episode to learn how to avoid a cash crunch by examining your company's cash flows in depth.

PCA Overdrive is free for members.

Skills may be taught, but attitudes, love, and enthusiasm for a job cannot be taught.

Maggie Kuyper, Co-Founder, and Co-Owner of Harpeth Painting shares her journey from $0 to $5.5 million in just 5 years. She discusses some of the emotional struggles that come with managing such rapid growth, as well as the unique challenges created by running a painting business with her husband. Maggie provides great insight into how she has built trusting relationships throughout her network, and why that has been such a critical component to the growth of Harpeth Painting.

Topics Discussed:

- Why you should "seek relationships, not work" when building your commercial painting business

- The importance of hiring for personality traits and values, not resumes and skills

- How to balance a family while running a successful painting business with your partner

- Why there could be more opportunity in your future than you've ever imagined

PCA Overdrive is free for members.

Every salesman and estimator in the painting industry sells more than paint and convenience…they sell color! Do you know how to help your customers match paint colors to their preferences and goals?

In this session, attendees will learn from the color experts at PPG how to better understand color in such a way that helps you better match color choices to both residential and commercial customers’ preferences. Color advice may be one of the most important tools in your belt for closing a sale. Learn how to make your sales vocabulary more instructive and colorful in all the right ways.

After an unprecedented year, EXPO 2022 will take place at the Hyatt Grand Cypress Hotel in Orlando, FL. From March 2nd to March 4th, attendees will be able to enjoy 30 different breakout sessions, daily brain meld sessions, a tradeshow, an awards ceremony, and evening events hosted by industry partners Benjamin Moore, PPG, and Sherwin Williams.

If you have any EXPO related questions, don't hesitate to reach us at (800) 332-7322

Learn more about PCA EXPO

Become a PCA member

Here's the answer to the eternal question, "How much should I charge for x?"

Estimating is the act of examining data to predict the amount of time, money, and resources required to complete a project. In this episode, Nick Slavik explains to us his favorite methods for determining price, as well as the best ways to determine if that price is correct. Don't miss this episode and learn everything there is to know about the basics of estimating.

PCA Overdrive is free for members.

In this panel discussion, you will get the opportunity to witness a debate between painting contractors about which is best: using sub-contractors or using employees! This will be a fun and lively debate about the merits of each approach, and you’ll have a chance to learn which model might be best for you. Get your answers from the experts!

After an unprecedented year, EXPO 2022 will take place at the Hyatt Grand Cypress Hotel in Orlando, FL. From March 2nd to March 4th, attendees will be able to enjoy 30 different breakout sessions, daily brain meld sessions, a tradeshow, an awards ceremony, and evening events hosted by industry partners Benjamin Moore, PPG, and Sherwin Williams.

Don't wait until it's too late and register NOW! Room Block is closing on February 4th

If you have any EXPO related questions, don't hesitate to reach us at (800) 332-7322

Learn more about PCA EXPO

Become a PCA member

Maintaining a good work-life balance may be hard as a busy parent, but it's not impossible.

Do you find it hard to balance running a business and being a good and present parent? You aren’t alone! In this episode, Rachel Grimm from Homes by Janell joins us to share some tips and tricks she’s learned along her journey of being a working Mom along with some philosophies that often help communicate our why to our children.

PCA Overdrive is free for members.

As a business grows, owners are required to learn and adopt new abilities and expertise.

Why are you working so hard?

Money for you and your family.

And the time to enjoy it.

Most evolving contractors want both. The finer details of the picture may change from entrepreneur to entrepreneur, we are all unique. But for a lot of us, our dream life and business is centered around more money and more time. You can’t really savor one without the other.

Now, as you’ve definitely realized already, this dream is impossible without competent staff who can independently solve problems, make decisions, and drive the business forward. Developing leaders within is essential because if everyone and everything needs us, we’ll never feel the freedom that motivated us to start our company in the first place. Do you want empowered teams and leaders that execute well without you? Or a bunch of worker bees who need constant babysitting? The choice is yours.

This is why “coaching” will always be more effective than “bossing”.

To help us move from boss and coach, we’re joined by James Dale, one of our favorite recurring guests. As you’ve heard in other episodes James is Director of Training and Development for Breakthrough Academy.

Today’s conversation is about situational leadership and how to coach your employees as they go through the 3 developmental stages associated with taking on a new role or learning a new skill.

If you can’t develop talent your business will always run you! To avoid this, here are a few key points we go over:

- How to tackle the very common scenario of moving a skilled employee into a management role

- What happens to contractors that don’t see themselves as a coach in their business

- How to work with someone when they have low skill but high commitment

- The coaching-style most contractors skip when their employees are doing OK holds back big opportunities for growth

- How NOT to lead employees that have high competency and high commitment

- What to do when you are too busy to properly coach each employee that reports to you

PCA Overdrive is free for members.

What do you know about having the Victor's mindset?

In this episode of PaintED, Torlando Hakes interviews Corrie Lester, the owner of "Inspired by You" cabinet refinishing. The two discuss what it takes to have the "Victor's Mindset" and how crucial it is to drop the victim mentality to take control of your day and be the best version of yourself.

PCA Overdrive is free for members.