Pro Painter Podcast

Experience is Key

On this episode, Nick talks to his paint source Mike Mundwiller, who was Nick’s Benjamin Moore sales rep 17 years ago and is now field integration manager, meaning he bridges the gaps between paint contractors, the chemists in the Benjamin Moore lab and the marketing team. Mundwiller shares his 32 years of experience and explains how Benjamin Moore develops new paints and how painters figure into that process. He takes Nick through the inception and production of Scuff-X, the paint on the walls of the IMayMedia office.

Visit Benjamin Moore's website www.benjaminmoore.com to learn more about their products and process or to find dealers in your area.

Leads, Leads, Leads

Today, on the Business Brush, Nick is joined by Scott Bondy and Logan Hall from the Denver-Based Vivax Pros. Vivax was founded in 2004 and, 14 years later, paints exteriors all over Colorado with hundreds of employees and subcontractors. Nick asks Scott, the director of marketing, and Logan, VP of production, about how a business that size collects and converts leads and the best ways for paint contractors to turn work into more work.

Also on this episode, Nick talks to Benjamin-Moore creative director Ellen O’Neill about their 2019 Color of the Year: Metropolitan, the value of neutral colors, and how Benjamin-Moore chooses a color to fit each year. Visit Vivax Pros’ website at www.vivaxpros.com to see how they do business and check out Benjamin-Moore’s Color Trends 2019 palette.

Jack of All Trades

Zach Kenney is a young contractor who planned on being a neurosurgeon until the he discovered the best use for his brain was running his own business, ZK Painting.

Kenney is a Fine Paints of Europe master certified painter and  Instagram whiz who didn’t know to call #s “hashtags” when he started out, until a random video of his painting a fence went viral in Brazil, starting him on the path to master marketing through Instagram to more than 13,000 followers.Visit his website at zkpainting.com/ and at @zkpainting on Instagram,

Bring Me the Money!

Today on The Brush Nick interviews Dana Tucker Co-Owner of Bella Tucker Decorative Finishes. Dana talks about how she has grown her painting business by organic growth of her website. She brings in over 90% of her business through her website. Dana also talks about how she has turned her conciliation services in a money-making opportunity. Nick and Dana end with talking about baby steps to turn your business model from subcontractors into employees.

Overcoming it All

Today on the brush we have Eddie. He is the founder of All Island Applications, in Long Island, New York. Eddie talks about his experiences of becoming a painter and his experiences at Crank Fall 2018. On the Podcast, Eddie discusses overcoming addiction and his documentary with Camp Campo, please click the link to hear more of Eddie's story.

Third Time's a Charm

Today on the brush we have Andrew Gaudet of Raven Painting, in Canada! Andrew is back for his third time on The Brush. Andrew goes over hiring workers on Facebook to his recent re-branding.

Join Nick as he talks live from Denver all about Facebook and how to use it to make more money.

To Franchise or Not to Franchise

Today on The Brush we have JD Mason of Emerald Pro Painting! JD stopped by the office to check out Nick’s operations at Walls By Design and the two sat down for a great chat on the pros and cons of franchising.

JD grew up in Utah, about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, and loved being out in nature. He’s got three kids, two boys, and a girl, but he and Nick both agree that weathering the teenage years has its challenges. Now, he's based out of North Carolina and is expanding Emerald Pro Painting across the country.

JD spent ten years in a paint store as a paint manager and outside seller, and he loved working with contractors. Five years ago, JD was recruited by a national franchise group and he did corporate training for them. He then started his own company with some of the systemized approaches he learned in corporate and focused on commercial and light residential work. But he had a non-compete contract with his former employer, a huge national franchise, and he found himself relocating to North Carolina, which he really liked and adapted to.

Emerald Pro does cabinet refinishing, exterior painting, and interior work, and JD loves getting creative with customers to fit their need. His model is starting with a subcontractor who moves into a full-time staff position. Right now, with his training here in Denver, he has ten franchises! He loves fine-tuning the systems and training and team building and all of that, so he’s in the right business. But it can be frustrating when franchisers don’t follow the system.

Listen to learn more, and connect with JD via email at [email protected]

The Business Brush Updates

Want to grow your business? Connect with Nick May and painters all across the country for

iMayMedia Web and Marketing with Tyler and Chandler

Welcome back to The Brush! Today we're ecstatic to have two members of Nick's iMayMedia group to talk all things digital. It's a great look at iMayMedia, our new media company specializing in audio, video, web, and digital marketing.

Gone are the days of canvassing, mailers, and cold calling. Now, being successful in the digital space is the kicker in getting new clients and growing your business. We're talking SEO, SEM, web development, concise writing, and creative solutions to showcase the unique aspects of your paint contracting company.

On the podcast you can also get to know Chandler, iMayMedia's web developer. She's originally from Nashville and became an expert on web development -- wait for it -- on her own time. Tyler's been a mainstay at Walls By Design and iMayMedia for years now, and will be speaking again at CRANK 2.0. Don't miss it!

The Business Brush Updates

To connect with other paint contractors, grow your business, make more money and free up more time to spend with friends and family, join The Business Brush Facebook group!

Don't forget, CRANK 2.0 is quickly approaching. It's a one-stop-shop for growing your business, here at iMayMedia headquarters in Denver, CO. Click here to learn more.

As always, reach out to [email protected] to be featured on the show.

Thanks for listening!

The Pains of Success

Today on The Brush we have Christian Militello of Militello Painting. He's a contractor based outside of Philadelphia and a family man with a really interesting perspective on hiring, time management, and building a business.

In his free time, Christian is into softball, golf and coaching his kids' sports teams. He loves to hang out with family and friends at the beach and in the Poconos. As for his favorite car, he's partial to '57 Chevys.

His family has ties in industry: his grandfather was a Korean war veteran and became a jack-of-all-trades handyman, and the knowledge was passed down to Christian. In high school and college, Christian played baseball instead of going to class many days and hoped to become a professional athlete. When that didn't work out, though, he fell into painting and was surprised to find that he enjoyed it so much. After a few jobs, he worked as a painter for a friend he knew through baseball. Luckily, the two maintained a friendship that has lasted to this day. Chris did learn a few things when painting: how he should act as a boss, the pros and cons of being in charge, and how to weather tough times.

Today, Chris employs eight painters and is partnered with Angelina, his wife, who has worked with him for about seven years sending out invoices, answering phones, doing payroll, and so forth -- all while raising the three kids! He also has three foremen and could use a crew leader. But he's slated to hit about a million dollars for the first time ever this year! (And the first million is the hardest to hit. It took Nick about 17 years.)

The two chat about growing pains, like adding new expenses and staffers that aren't directly income producing. Chris is focusing on being present at expos and events, starting a sales training program, and putting more thought and energy into hiring. They also dive into hiring processes, training, and marketing strategies.

Thanks for coming on the show, Chris! To learn more, visit his Facebook page and head over to www.millitellopainting.com! Don't be a stranger -- reach out to him to learn more!

The Business Brush Updates

Want to come on the podcast? Reach out through the Facebook page or directly to content manager Grant Stringer at [email protected].

Head over to The Business Brush Facebook page to get involved and grow your business.

And don't forget about CRANK 2.0! Click here to learn more.