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Download the C4C Job Profitability Spreadsheet Here
Contractors frequently blame their time-management problems on being busy. In reality, many of those problems begin with unclear scopes, incomplete job preparation, poorly defined roles, and owners who remain involved in every decision.
Rick Holtz joins the conversation to explain how H.J. Holtz & Son has built a team of approximately 65 people without requiring every customer issue, employee problem, or operational question to reach the owner.
Scott and Rick discuss how contractors can reduce time leaks before a project begins, determine when additional operational support is needed, and stop taking problem-solving opportunities away from their employees.
In This Episode
Key Takeaway
Your company cannot become less dependent on you until you stop rewarding dependency.
Create better systems, define who owns each responsibility, protect time for future-focused work, and coach your employees through problems instead of immediately solving those problems for them.
Free Resource
Download the C4C Job Profitability Workbook to calculate job costs and analyze profitability by:
Download the workbook now
Need Help Organizing Your Financial Data, Business Systems, or Solving A Business Problem That Is Beyond You?
Consulting4Contractors helps contractors create accurate charts of accounts, receipt-management systems, timekeeping processes, payroll workflows, and QuickBooks reporting structures.
Schedule a free strategy call with Scott
Visit: consulting4contractors.com
Download the C4C Job Profitability Spreadsheet Here
Most contractors know how much revenue a project generated. Far fewer can say exactly how many dollars—and what percentage—they actually made on that project.
Without accurate job costing, business owners are forced to make decisions based on feelings, incomplete reports, or money in the bank. A company may look busy and profitable while missed labor, employee burden, equipment rentals, dumpsters, lodging, subcontractor changes, and other direct costs quietly eat away at its margins.
In this episode of Success Beyond the Brush, Scott Lollar explains how to calculate a project’s true gross profit by subtracting its cost of goods sold from its revenue. He breaks down what should be included in job costs, how employee labor burden differs from subcontractor labor, and why seemingly small missing expenses can produce dangerously inaccurate results.
Scott also discusses gross-profit benchmarks for residential repaint contractors, why commercial contractors operate under a different model, and how job-cost data can reveal more than whether an individual project won or lost money.
When projects are categorized by service, salesperson, project manager, crew leader, subcontractor, and lead source, contractors can identify which parts of the business are actually producing profit—and which ones only feel successful.
Key Topics Covered
Key Takeaways
Revenue does not tell you whether a job was profitable.
A contractor must capture every direct project cost before calculating gross profit.
Employee labor costs more than the employee’s hourly wage.
Taxes, workers’ compensation, PTO, holidays, health benefits, retirement contributions, and other benefits must be included in the company’s labor burden.
Missing small costs creates inaccurate large decisions.
A lost lift receipt, unrecorded dumpster, incomplete timesheet, or subcontractor adjustment can materially change a project’s final margin.
Scott’s target for residential repaint work is approximately 50% gross profit.
A result above 45% may be acceptable, while repeatedly falling below 45% can make it difficult to cover overhead and produce a healthy net profit.
Job costing is a diagnostic tool, not merely an accounting exercise.
It can reveal estimating errors, production-rate issues, poor crew combinations, unprofitable services, and weak marketing sources.
Data must replace emotion.
A business owner should be able to prove profitability—not simply feel that the company is doing well.
Free Resource
Download the C4C Job Profitability Spreadsheet to calculate job costs and analyze profitability by:
Download the spreadsheet
Need Help Organizing Your Financial Data?
Consulting4Contractors helps contractors create accurate charts of accounts, receipt-management systems, timekeeping processes, payroll workflows, and QuickBooks reporting structures.
Schedule a free strategy call with Scott
Visit: consulting4contractors.com
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE 30 MINUTE CALL WITH SCOTT HERE
A contractor hires four new overhead employees and then asks a critical question:
“Can I afford all these positions?”
Without a real budget, the only honest answer may be, “I don’t know.”
In this solo episode of Success Beyond the Brush, Scott Lollar explains how contractors can create an accurate financial roadmap based on their actual revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, seasonality, and growth plans.
Scott walks through his process for exporting financial history from QuickBooks, building the initial budget in a spreadsheet, projecting monthly revenue, and using percentages of revenue to model labor, materials, subcontractors, and other direct job costs.
He also explains how to test future decisions before committing to them. Whether you’re considering a project manager, salesperson, administrator, new shop, or another major expense, your budget should show how that decision will affect the bottom line.
The goal isn’t to create a document that gets filed away. The goal is to create a working financial roadmap that can be reviewed throughout the year, compared against actual performance, and adjusted before a small problem becomes a financial emergency.
In This Episode, We Cover
Key Takeaways:
Start With Reality
A stretch goal can be useful, but it must still be connected to the company’s historical performance and production capacity. A business that has never produced $400,000 in a month needs a clear operational plan before placing that number in the budget.
Account for Seasonality
Revenue should not automatically be divided evenly across 12 months. Contractors need to consider weather, exterior-production cycles, holidays, residential buying behavior, and other recurring fluctuations.
Separate Direct Costs From Overhead
Cost of goods sold includes the costs required to produce a specific job. General company expenses that support the business throughout the year belong in the operating-expense section.
Model Decisions Before Making Them
A new project manager, salesperson, administrator, or facility affects more than one line item. Budgeting allows the owner to see the complete financial impact before making a commitment.
Review the Budget Throughout the Year
Your budget should be reviewed monthly—and sometimes biweekly—against actual results. This gives the company time to adjust revenue, spending, staffing, or expectations before the year is over.
Final Takeaway
A budget is not simply an accounting requirement. It is a decision-making tool.
When your financial data is organized correctly, you can stop making major decisions based on instinct or the current bank balance. You can determine whether the company can afford its plans, identify problems early, and make deliberate adjustments that protect cash flow and profitability.
Is your QuickBooks file accurate enough to guide important business decisions?
Consulting4Contractors helps contractors organize their financial data, understand what the numbers are actually saying, and turn that information into a practical plan for building a successful and profitable company.
Schedule a free strategy call with Scott to get started toward an accurate accounting system.
🔗 Links from This Episode
✨ Free Discovery Call with Scott Lollar
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/free-strategy-call/
🏗️ Consulting4Contractors Website
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/
⚙️ Operations Module Demo Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/0IUmPWk4GRI
✌️ Operations Module 2.0 Update Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/JTHtbLXyMBI
📲 C4C on Instagram
👉 https://www.instagram.com/consulting4contractors/
👥 C4C Facebook Community
👉 https://www.facebook.com/consulting4contractors/
💼 C4C on LinkedIn
👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/70241567
📧 Want to Be a Guest?
Send us an email → [email protected]
🎧 Credits
🎙️ Hosts:
Scott Lollar — Founder, Consulting4Contractors
🎵 Production:
Siren Mastering
https://www.sirenmastering.com
SIGN UP FOR A TASTE OF COACHING HERE 👇👇👇
Get coaching with SCOTT LOLLAR here
Get coaching with RICK HOLTZ here
******************************
In This Episode
Mark and Scott discuss:
Key Takeaways
1. Scope creep usually starts small
One extra patch, one added coat, one unplanned repair, or one customer request may seem harmless. But when those little extras pile up, they can turn a profitable job into a losing job.
2. The work order needs to be clear enough for the crew to execute
Scott explains that a properly written estimate should include enough scope detail, photos, notes, inclusions, and exclusions that a crew leader or project manager can understand the job without needing a second sales conversation.
3. Exclusions protect both the contractor and the customer
A vague proposal like “paint living room” or “paint house” creates room for misunderstanding. Clear exclusions help the customer understand what is not included in the price.
4. Change orders do not have to feel confrontational
Instead of saying, “That’s not in the contract,” crews can be trained to say something like, “We’d be glad to take care of that for you. Let me get you a price so you can decide how you’d like to move forward.”
5. T&M work still needs expectations
Time-and-material work can be useful, but customers often misunderstand what they are approving. Giving a range of expected hours and material costs helps prevent surprise invoices and sour endings to otherwise successful projects.
6. Great customer service does not mean giving away profit
Small value-adds can be part of a great customer experience, but contractors need to know the difference between going the extra mile and giving away hours, materials, repairs, or coats that were never included in the price.
🔗 Links from This Episode
✨ Free Discovery Call with Scott Lollar
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/discovery-call/
🏗️ Consulting4Contractors Website
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/
⚙️ Operations Module Demo Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/0IUmPWk4GRI
✌️ Operations Module 2.0 Update Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/JTHtbLXyMBI
📲 C4C on Instagram
👉 https://www.instagram.com/consulting4contractors/
👥 C4C Facebook Community
👉 https://www.facebook.com/consulting4contractors/
💼 C4C on LinkedIn
👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/70241567
📧 Want to Be a Guest?
Send us an email → [email protected]
🎧 Credits
🎙️ Hosts:
Scott Lollar — Founder, Consulting4Contractors
Mark Black — Owner, Men In White Painting, Mt. Vernon, IL
🎵 Production:
Siren Mastering — Original music, artwork, transcripts, show notes & audio engineering
https://www.sirenmastering.com
SIGN UP FOR A TASTE OF COACHING HERE 👇👇👇
Get coaching with SCOTT LOLLAR here
Get coaching with RICK HOLTZ here
******************************
General contractors often get a bad reputation in the painting industry. Many painting contractors have dealt with slow payments, unrealistic schedules, disorganized jobsites, scope creep, and pressure to do extra work without approval.
But does that mean GC work should be avoided altogether?
In this episode of Success Beyond The Brush, Scott Lollar is joined by C4C coach and Holtz & Son owner Rick Holtz for a practical conversation about how painting contractors can build profitable relationships with general contractors.
Rick shares how his company began working with remodelers and builders as part of a broader strategy to protect territory, create year-round work, and serve high-value neighborhoods more consistently. He also explains the hard lessons learned along the way, including a costly $11,000 mistake that reinforced the importance of reading plans carefully and clearly defining exclusions.
Scott and Rick discuss what makes GC work different from residential repaint work, why communication and trust are essential, and how contractors can avoid getting trapped by unclear scope, rushed timelines, and delayed payments.
In This Episode
Scott and Rick discuss:
Key Takeaway
Working with general contractors can be profitable, but only if painting contractors approach it intentionally. The right GC relationships can create steady work, open doors in valuable markets, and support year-round employment. But contractors need strong estimating, clear scope language, trained field leaders, active project management, and disciplined cash flow practices to make it work.
GC work is not something to jump into blindly. Start small, vet carefully, set expectations early, and protect your company before the first crew ever arrives on site.
🔗 Links from This Episode
✨ Free Discovery Call with Scott Lollar
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/discovery-call/
✨ Free Discovery Call with Rick Holtz
👉 https://calendly.com/rick-fjo/60min
🏗️ Consulting 4 Contractors Website
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/
⚙️ Operations Module Demo Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/0IUmPWk4GRI
✌️ Operations Module 2.0 Update Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/JTHtbLXyMBI
📲 C4C on Instagram
👉 https://www.instagram.com/consulting4contractors/
👥 C4C Facebook Community
👉 https://www.facebook.com/consulting4contractors/
💼 C4C on LinkedIn
👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/70241567
📧 Want to Be a Guest?
Send us an email → [email protected]
🎧 Credits
🎙️ Hosts:
Scott Lollar — Founder, Consulting4Contractors
Rick Holtz - President, H.J. Holtz & Sons, Inc., Richmond, VA
🎵 Production:
Siren Mastering — Original music, artwork, transcripts, show notes & audio engineering
https://www.sirenmastering.com
SIGN UP FOR A TASTE OF COACHING HERE 👇👇👇
Get coaching with SCOTT LOLLAR here
Get coaching with RICK HOLTZ here
******************************
In this episode of Success Beyond The Brush, Scott Lollar sits down with Rick Holtz to break down what it really takes to manage your management team effectively.
Most contractors rely on gut feelings when evaluating their team—but that’s where things start to break down.
Scott and Rick unpack how to move from emotional leadership to measurable leadership by focusing on clear expectations, consistent follow-up, and honest communication.
They also dive into the uncomfortable—but necessary—side of leadership: having hard conversations, addressing performance issues, and knowing when it’s time to move on from someone.
If you’ve ever felt unsure about how your team is actually performing—or struggled to hold people accountable—this episode gives you a practical framework to lead with clarity and confidence.
🔑 Key Takeaways
🔗 Links from This Episode
✨ Free Discovery Call with Scott Lollar
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/discovery-call/
✨ Free Discovery Call with Rick Holtz
👉 https://calendly.com/rick-fjo/60min
🏗️ Consulting 4 Contractors Website
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/
⚙️ Operations Module Demo Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/0IUmPWk4GRI
✌️ Operations Module 2.0 Update Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/JTHtbLXyMBI
📲 C4C on Instagram
👉 https://www.instagram.com/consulting4contractors/
👥 C4C Facebook Community
👉 https://www.facebook.com/consulting4contractors/
💼 C4C on LinkedIn
👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/70241567
📧 Want to Be a Guest?
Send us an email → [email protected]
🎧 Credits
🎙️ Hosts:
Scott Lollar — Founder, Consulting4Contractors
Rick Holtz - President, H.J. Holtz & Sons, Inc., Richmond, VA
🎵 Production:
Siren Mastering — Original music, artwork, transcripts, show notes & audio engineering
https://www.sirenmastering.com
Springtime brings more than just busy schedules—it brings callbacks, warranty claims, and profit leaks.
In this episode, Mark Black and Scott Lollar break down the real truth about warranties in the painting industry—what they should cover, what they shouldn’t, and how poor systems can quietly drain your bottom line.
They discuss:
If you’ve ever felt frustrated by warranty calls or callbacks that shouldn’t exist, this episode gives you a practical framework to fix it—without hurting your customer experience.
🔗 Links from This Episode
✨ Free Discovery Call with Scott Lollar
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/discovery-call/
🏗️ Consulting4Contractors Website
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/
⚙️ Operations Module Demo Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/0IUmPWk4GRI
✌️ Operations Module 2.0 Update Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/JTHtbLXyMBI
📲 C4C on Instagram
👉 https://www.instagram.com/consulting4contractors/
👥 C4C Facebook Community
👉 https://www.facebook.com/consulting4contractors/
💼 C4C on LinkedIn
👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/70241567
📧 Want to Be a Guest?
Send us an email → [email protected]
🎧 Credits
🎙️ Hosts:
Scott Lollar — Founder, Consulting4Contractors
Mark Black — Owner, Men In White Painting, Mt. Vernon, IL
🎵 Production:
Siren Mastering — Original music, artwork, transcripts, show notes & audio engineering
https://www.sirenmastering.com
Many contractors excel at sales or production… but fail in the space in between.
In this episode of Success Beyond The Brush, Mark Black and Scott Lollar discuss one of the most overlooked opportunities to create a premium customer experience: the pre-production phase.
After the contract is signed but before the project begins, many companies unintentionally create frustration, uncertainty, and doubt due to lack of communication and unclear expectations.
Mark and Scott break down how contractors can:
The reality is simple: customers don’t just evaluate your craftsmanship — they evaluate your communication.
If your company wants to stand out as a premium service provider, your pre-production systems must be just as strong as your sales and production systems.
Key Topics Covered
🔗 Links from This Episode
✨ Free Discovery Call with Scott Lollar
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/discovery-call/
🏗️ Consulting 4 Contractors Website
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/
⚙️ Operations Module Demo Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/0IUmPWk4GRI
✌️ Operations Module 2.0 Update Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/JTHtbLXyMBI
📲 C4C on Instagram
👉 https://www.instagram.com/consulting4contractors/
👥 C4C Facebook Community
👉 https://www.facebook.com/consulting4contractors/
💼 C4C on LinkedIn
👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/70241567
📧 Want to Be a Guest?
Send us an email → [email protected]
🎧 Credits
🎙️ Hosts:
Scott Lollar — Founder, Consulting 4 Contractors
Mark Black — Owner, Men In White Painting, Mt. Vernon, IL
🎵 Production:
Siren Mastering — Original music, artwork, transcripts, show notes & audio engineering
https://www.sirenmastering.com
👉 Book your FREE discovery call with Rick today 👈
Most contractors have revenue goals… but very few have a clear plan to reach them.
In this episode, Scott Lollar interviews Rick Holtz, owner of HJ Holtz & Sons Painting and a Consulting4Contractors coach, about the practical process of turning business vision into measurable results.
Rick shares how his company shifted from operating without structured planning to building a culture centered around clear targets, financial visibility, and team accountability.
They discuss how successful companies:
Rick also explains how transparency with employees around company performance creates stronger engagement, motivation, and trust — especially when profit sharing or performance incentives are involved.
Key Topics Covered
Whether you’re trying to scale past your current revenue plateau or simply want more control over your business results, this episode provides a practical framework for creating intentional growth.
🔗 Links from This Episode
✨ Free Discovery Call with Scott Lollar
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/discovery-call/
✨ Free Discovery Call with Rick Holtz
👉 https://calendly.com/rick-fjo/60min
🏗️ Consulting 4 Contractors Website
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/
⚙️ Operations Module Demo Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/0IUmPWk4GRI
✌️ Operations Module 2.0 Update Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/JTHtbLXyMBI
📲 C4C on Instagram
👉 https://www.instagram.com/consulting4contractors/
👥 C4C Facebook Community
👉 https://www.facebook.com/consulting4contractors/
💼 C4C on LinkedIn
👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/70241567
📧 Want to Be a Guest?
Send us an email → [email protected]
🎧 Credits
🎙️ Hosts:
Scott Lollar — Founder, Consulting4Contractors
Rick Holtz - President, H.J. Holtz & Sons, Inc., Richmond, VA
🎵 Production:
Siren Mastering — Original music, artwork, transcripts, show notes & audio engineering
https://www.sirenmastering.com
Hiring is one of the most consistent challenges facing contractors, regardless of company size.
In this episode, Mark Black speaks with Rick Holtz about how successful painting companies approach hiring, onboarding, and training new team members — especially as the busy season approaches.
Rick shares insights from managing a large team of 60+ field employees, including how his company maintains steady staffing throughout the year, how they evaluate potential hires, and why company culture plays such a significant role in retention.
The discussion highlights the three traits Rick believes every successful hire must have: skill (or willingness to learn), dependability, and a positive attitude. Without all three, long-term success becomes difficult for both the employee and the company.
They also explore practical topics such as:
• How to handle seasonal hiring fluctuations
• How to structure training time without damaging job profitability
• The importance of crew leaders embracing their role in developing new hires
• The challenges of setting compensation ranges when hiring skilled employees
• How company culture influences employee referrals and retention
Whether you're hiring your first employee or your fiftieth, this conversation reinforces that the fundamentals of leadership, culture, and accountability remain the same at every stage of business growth.
It’s about who you are.
🔗 Links from This Episode
✨ Free Discovery Call with Scott Lollar
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/discovery-call/
🏗️ Consulting 4 Contractors Website
👉 https://consulting4contractors.com/
⚙️ Operations Module Demo Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/0IUmPWk4GRI
✌️ Operations Module 2.0 Update Video (YouTube)
👉 https://youtu.be/JTHtbLXyMBI
📲 C4C on Instagram
👉 https://www.instagram.com/consulting4contractors/
👥 C4C Facebook Community
👉 https://www.facebook.com/consulting4contractors/
💼 C4C on LinkedIn
👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/70241567
📧 Want to Be a Guest?
Send us an email → [email protected]
🎧 Credits
🎙️ Hosts:
Mark Black — Owner, Men In White Painting, Mt. Vernon, IL
Rick Holtz - President, H.J. Holtz & Sons, Inc., Richmond, VA
🎵 Production:
Siren Mastering — Original music, artwork, transcripts, show notes & audio engineering
https://www.sirenmastering.com
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