The Painters Circle

If you’re new to the channel, I’m Tas, founder of Painter Coach.

I help painting business owners build more profitable, predictable businesses without sacrificing all their time to do it.

A little about me...

I grew up in the painting industry and built my own painting business before moving into coaching other painting business owners.

We help painters across Australia build better businesses.

We focus on the numbers, systems, sales, team and performance that actually move the needle.

We built PainterOS™ to help painting business owners get clearer on their targets and execute against them.

And through The Painters Circle, I share the lessons, mistakes and strategies I’ve picked up along the way.

THROWBACK 2020

Originally published in June 2020, this episode shares a message that’s just as relevant today.

One thing I’ve learned?

Your business won’t change until you do.

I’ve spoken to plenty of painting business owners who want to grow, get off the tools and stop working 12 to 14 hours a day.

But there’s one thing I hear over and over again.

“I don’t have time.”

No time to work on the business.

No time to invest in themselves.

No time to learn something new.

But here’s the thing.

You’re already choosing where your time goes.

In this throwback episode, I share why the words we use matter, how staying in our comfort zones holds us back, and why taking responsibility for our choices is essential to growing a business.

Because there’s a big difference between saying “I don’t have time” and recognising “I’m choosing to spend my time somewhere else.”

The goal isn’t to stop working hard.

It’s to recognise when working harder is keeping you from making real progress.

You can’t expect different results if you keep making the same choices.

Because ultimately, we get what we tolerate.

And nothing changes until we decide to change it.

Do you want help building a more predictable painting business?

PainterOS™ Accelerator:

https://accelerator.painteroperatingsystem.com/

🎙️ More from The Painters Circle:

https://pages.paintercoach.com/the-painters-circle

📺 Subscribe to Painter Coach:

https://www.youtube.com/@UCXCouZFFdbpuJc0XcBadK3A

Timestamps:

00:00 – Why Your Business Won't Change Until You Do

00:24 – Finding Time to Work on Your Business

00:50 – The “I Don't Have Time” Excuse

01:57 – How Your Words Shape Your Thinking

02:37 – A Personal Lesson About Time and Priorities

03:51 – Choosing Where You Spend Your Time

04:41 – Why Your Comfort Zone Holds You Back

05:45 – Personal Growth and Taking Responsibility

06:28 – Working Harder vs. Working on Your Business

06:54 – Understanding the Consequences of Your Choices

08:01 – Leadership Means Taking Responsibility

08:34 – Stop Waiting for the Right Time

09:05 – Why Results Matter More Than Effort

09:52 – You Get What You Tolerate

If you’re new to the channel, I’m Tas, founder of Painter Coach.

I help painting business owners build more profitable, predictable businesses without sacrificing all their time to do it.

A little about me...

I grew up in the painting industry and built my own painting business before moving into coaching other painting business owners.

We help painters across Australia build better businesses.

We focus on the numbers, systems, sales, team and performance that actually move the needle.

We built PainterOS™ to help painting business owners get clearer on their targets and execute against them.

And through The Painters Circle, I share the lessons, mistakes and strategies I’ve picked up along the way.

One thing I’ve learned?

You can't keep adding more things to your plate and expect to have more time to grow your business.

There's only 24 hours in a day.

And every hour you spend in your business needs to deliver some kind of value.

The question isn't just how much you're doing.

It's whether you're spending your time and energy on the things that actually move your business forward.

In this episode, I talk about the two constraints every business owner faces: time and value. We look at where your time is going, why your calendar can tell you a lot about your priorities, and how to decide what needs to come off your plate as you plan for the next year.

Because you can't do everything.

At some point, you need to decide what you're going to stop doing and what you're going to double down on.

The goal isn't to squeeze more into an already full calendar.

It's to make better decisions about where your time and energy go.

So before you start adding more to your business next year, ask yourself:

What's actually worth your time?

Do you want help building a more predictable painting business?

PainterOS™ Accelerator:

https://accelerator.painteroperatingsystem.com/

🎙️ More from The Painters Circle:

https://pages.paintercoach.com/the-painters-circle

📺 Subscribe to Painter Coach:

https://www.youtube.com/@UCXCouZFFdbpuJc0XcBadK3A

Timestamps:

00:00 – Making time for business opportunities

00:10 – Where is your time and energy going?

00:16 – The two constraints: Time and Value

00:26 – Why you can't do everything in your business

00:36 – What to remove or double down on next year

00:43 – The problem with adding more to your plate

If you’re new to the channel, I’m Tas, founder of Painter Coach.

I help painting business owners build more profitable, predictable businesses without sacrificing all their time to do it.

A little about me...

I grew up in the painting industry and built my own painting business before moving into coaching other painting business owners.

We help painters across Australia build better businesses.

We focus on the numbers, systems, sales, team and performance that actually move the needle.

We built PainterOS™ to help painting business owners get clearer on their targets and execute against them.

And through The Painters Circle, I share the lessons, mistakes and strategies I’ve picked up along the way.

One thing I’ve learned?

If every decision in your business still has to come through you, your team might not be the problem.

It could be the way they’ve been onboarded, the responsibilities they’ve been given and the boundaries you’ve created around your time.

In this episode, I break down how I onboard team members, how to give people responsibility for outcomes instead of constantly telling them what to do, and why your team shouldn’t need access to you every time they have a question.

The goal isn’t to disappear and leave your team to figure everything out.

It’s to create the right space to train and coach them until they can start solving problems for themselves.

Because there’s a big difference between micromanaging your team and coaching them.

Do you want help building a more predictable painting business?

PainterOS™ Accelerator:

https://accelerator.painteroperatingsystem.com/

🎙️ More from The Painters Circle:

https://pages.paintercoach.com/the-painters-circle

📺 Subscribe to Painter Coach:

https://www.youtube.com/@paintercoach

Timestamps:

00:00 Why Does Every Decision Come Through You?

00:49 The Importance of Onboarding

01:44 Replacing Yourself in the Business

02:22 Give Your Team Clear Outcomes

03:18 How Tas Onboards His Team

04:11 Set Boundaries Around Your Time

05:29 Coaching vs Micromanaging

06:26 When Your Team Starts Solving Problems

06:42 How to Stop Being the Bottleneck

If you’re new to the channel, I’m Tas, founder of Painter Coach.

I help painting business owners build more profitable, predictable businesses without sacrificing all their time to do it.

A little about me...

I grew up in the painting industry and built my own painting business before moving into coaching other painting business owners.

We help painters across Australia build better businesses.

We focus on the numbers, systems, sales, team and performance that actually move the needle.

We built PainterOS™ to help painting business owners get clearer on their targets and execute against them.

And through The Painters Circle, I share the lessons, mistakes and strategies I’ve picked up along the way.

One thing I’ve learned?

Marketing doesn’t need to be complicated.

At its core, marketing is about becoming more findable.

And video gives painting businesses an opportunity to get in front of potential customers before they ever pick up the phone.

In this episode, I break down three types of video content painting businesses should consider creating, why simply posting before-and-afters may not be enough, and how changes in search and AI are creating another opportunity for businesses that answer the questions their customers are already asking.

The goal isn’t just to create more content.

It’s to create content once that can keep working for your business again and again.

Do you want help building a more predictable painting business?

PainterOS™ Accelerator:

https://accelerator.painteroperatingsystem.com/

🎙️ More from The Painters Circle:

https://pages.paintercoach.com/the-painters-circle

📺 Subscribe to Painter Coach:

https://www.youtube.com/@paintercoach

Timestamps:

00:00 They Don't Know You Exist

00:10 Welcome to The Painters Circle

00:30 What Marketing Actually Is

01:08 The 3 Types of Video Content

01:15 #1 Case Study Content

01:44 #2 Offer Videos

02:48 The 3 Parts of an Offer Video

04:20 PainterOS Accelerator

After Midtro #3 Answer-Based Content

Later How AI Is Changing Search

Later Turn Your Content Into Leverage

If you’re new to the channel, I’m Tas, founder of Painter Coach.

I help painting business owners build more profitable, predictable businesses without sacrificing all their time to do it.

A little about me...

I grew up in the painting industry and built my own painting business before moving into coaching other painting business owners.

We help painters across Australia build better businesses.

We focus on the numbers, systems, sales, team and performance that actually move the needle.

We built PainterOS™ to help painting business owners get clearer on their targets and execute against them.

And through The Painters Circle, I share the lessons, mistakes and strategies I’ve picked up along the way.

One thing I’ve learned?

There’s a big difference between having to be on the tools and choosing to be on the tools.

I’m not here to tell every painting business owner they need to stop painting.

But if your jobs, quality, customers and team all depend on you personally being there, it’s worth asking whether you’re choosing to work on the tools or whether the business is making that choice for you.

In this episode, I share the experience that forced me to step away from the tools, why the business didn’t fall apart when I did, and what painting business owners can do to build a business that doesn’t rely entirely on them.

Because ultimately, your business should serve you, not the other way around.

Do you want help building a more predictable painting business?

PainterOS™ Accelerator:

https://accelerator.painteroperatingsystem.com/

🎙️ More from The Painters Circle:

https://pages.paintercoach.com/the-painters-circle

📺 Subscribe to Painter Coach:

https://www.youtube.com/@paintercoach

Timestamps:

00:00 I Had to Get Off the Tools

00:36 Do You Have to Be on the Tools?

01:05 “Have To” vs “Get To”

02:50 Why Tas Never Planned to Get Off the Tools

03:17 The Moment Everything Changed

06:43 Painting Is Only One Part of the Business

07:47 What “Getting To” Be on the Tools Looks Like

08:51 The World Didn’t Fall Apart

If you’re new to the channel, I’m Tas, founder of Painter Coach.

I help painting business owners build more profitable, predictable businesses without sacrificing all their time to do it.

A little about me...

I grew up in the painting industry and built my own painting business before moving into coaching other painting business owners.

We help painters across Australia build better businesses.

We focus on the numbers, systems, sales, team and performance that actually move the needle.

We built PainterOS™ to help painting business owners get clearer on their targets and execute against them.

And through The Painters Circle, I share the lessons, mistakes and strategies I’ve picked up along the way.

One thing I’ve learned?

Fear can quietly become one of the biggest bottlenecks in your business.

You hesitate on putting your prices up. You hold off on a marketing strategy. You avoid a difficult decision because you’re worried about getting it wrong.

But waiting doesn’t give you an answer.

Taking action does.

The faster you act, learn and adjust, the faster you create the feedback you need to make better decisions.

In this episode of The Painters Circle, we talk about fear in business, why it holds painting business owners back, pricing with confidence, getting comfortable with being uncomfortable and why taking action can accelerate your growth.

Because before you let fear stop you, ask yourself:

Will this knock me out of the game, or will it just give me a lesson?

Do you want help building a more predictable painting business?

PainterOS™ Accelerator:

https://accelerator.painteroperatingsystem.com/

🎙️ More from The Painters Circle:

https://pages.paintercoach.com/the-painters-circle

📺 Subscribe to Painter Coach:

https://www.youtube.com/@paintercoach

Timestamps

00:00 Fear Is Slowing Down Your Decisions

00:21 Welcome to The Painters Circle

00:42 Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

01:28 How Fear Holds Business Owners Back

02:13 Fear in Everyday Business Decisions

03:09 Taking Action Despite Fear

04:12 PainterOS™ Accelerator

06:19 The Fear of Raising Your Prices

07:08 Self-Worth vs Business Results

07:34 Stop Worrying About What Others Think

08:06 Why Some Business Owners Move Faster

08:38 Speed, Action & the Feedback Loop

09:26 The Mindset Behind Successful Businesses

10:17 Will It Stop You or Teach You?

If you’re new to the channel, I’m Tas, founder of Painter Coach.

I help painting business owners build more profitable, predictable businesses without sacrificing all their time to do it.

A little about me...

I grew up in the painting industry and built my own painting business before moving into coaching other painting business owners.

We help painters across Australia build better businesses.

We focus on the numbers, systems, sales, team and performance that actually move the needle.

We built PainterOS™ to help painting business owners get clearer on their targets and execute against them.

And through The Painters Circle, I share the lessons, mistakes and strategies I’ve picked up along the way.

One thing I’ve learned?

Most painting businesses are constantly trying to balance two problems.

Not enough work.

Or plenty of work, but not enough time or people to get it done.

And when you’re the person responsible for both winning the work and helping deliver it, it’s easy to get caught bouncing between the two.

Sell. Get busy. Stop selling. Finish the work. Get quiet. Start selling again.

The goal isn’t to keep running that cycle.

It’s to build a business that can handle both sides without everything relying on you.

That’s what this episode is about.

Do you want help building a more predictable painting business?

PainterOS™ Accelerator:

https://accelerator.painteroperatingsystem.com/

🎙️ More from The Painters Circle:

https://pages.paintercoach.com/the-painters-circle

📺 Subscribe to Painter Coach:

https://www.youtube.com/@paintercoach

Timestamps:

00:00 Why Your Business Goes From Busy to Quiet

00:14 The Painters Circle

00:35 The Two Problems Every Painting Business Faces

01:11 Sales vs. Delivery

01:57 Understanding Your Pipeline

03:06 The Hamster Wheel Effect

03:31 Why Today’s Results Started Months Ago

04:02 PainterOS™ Accelerator

06:09 Breaking the Cycle

07:06 Building More Capacity

07:28 Selling Problem or Delivery Problem?

09:24 Don’t Stop the Activities That Bring in Work

If you’re new to the channel, I’m Tas, founder of Painter Coach.

I help painting business owners build more profitable, predictable businesses without sacrificing all their time to do it.

A little about me...

I grew up in the painting industry and built my own painting business before moving into coaching other painting business owners.

We help painters across Australia build better businesses.

We focus on the numbers, systems, sales, team and performance that actually move the needle.

We built PainterOS™ to help painting business owners get clearer on their targets and execute against them.

And through The Painters Circle, I share the lessons, mistakes and strategies I’ve picked up along the way.

One thing I’ve learned?

You don’t need to have everything figured out before you move.

Make the decision. Get the feedback. Correct course. Get better.

Because sitting there overthinking the perfect move usually gets you nowhere.

Correct, don’t protect.

That’s what this episode is about.

Do you want help building a more predictable painting business?

PainterOS™ Accelerator:

https://accelerator.painteroperatingsystem.com/

🎙️ More from The Painters Circle:

https://pages.paintercoach.com/the-painters-circle

📺 Subscribe to Painter Coach:

https://www.youtube.com/@paintercoach

Timestamps:

00:00 Stop Overthinking and Just Do the Thing

00:24 The Painters Circle

00:45 Why New Business Owners Get Stuck

01:43 Overthinking Slows Down Your Business

02:16 Correct, Don’t Protect

03:13 Why New Things Feel Overwhelming

04:25 Give Yourself Time to Get Better

04:56 PainterOS™ Accelerator

07:03 The Power of One Hour a Week

08:07 You Have to Do the Thing

08:53 Build the Habit of Getting Better

09:27 How to Get Yourself Unstuck

“I just don’t have enough time.”

Tas has heard it repeatedly from painting business owners.

There’s marketing to work on, sales to improve, numbers to understand, jobs to deliver, customers to deal with and a team to manage.

But what if the problem isn’t actually time?

In this episode of The Painters Circle, Tas breaks down why managing your priorities may be far more important than trying to manage every minute of your day.

More money and a bigger team don’t automatically give you more freedom. Tas shares the example of a painting business doing around $3 million in annual revenue with a large team, yet the owner still had virtually no spare time.

The real question is:

Where is your attention going?

If you’re spending hours doing admin, driving materials around, checking invoices and completing tasks someone else, a process or technology could handle, you’re sacrificing time that could be spent on higher-value activities.

In this episode, Tas covers:

• Why more revenue doesn’t automatically mean more time

• Time management vs priority management

• Where a business owner’s attention should go

• Why not every task deserves equal priority

• Delegating low-value activities

• Using a default diary

• How to track where your time actually goes

• Using ChatGPT to audit your time

• The “unpaid Uber driver” problem

• Calculating the return on your time

• How business owners can start buying back their time

Your job as a business owner isn’t simply to stay busy.

It’s to work on the right things at the right time.

🎙️ The Painters Circle

PainterOS™ Accelerator:

https://accelerator.painteroperatingsystem.com/

Subscribe to Painter Coach:

https://www.youtube.com/@paintercoach

Timestamps

Keeping these streamlined:

00:00 You Don’t Have a Time Problem

00:37 “I Just Don’t Have Time”

01:30 Stop Managing Time, Manage Priorities

02:28 Where Is Your Attention Going?

03:19 Should You Really Be Doing the Admin?

06:27 What Should a Business Owner Prioritise?

06:58 Build a Default Diary

07:54 Track Where Your Time Actually Goes

08:39 The “Unpaid Uber Driver” Problem

09:31 You Have a Priority Problem

10:06 What Is Your Time Actually Worth?

Does it feel like every customer is making their decision based on price?

You send the quote. They question the price, tell you someone else is cheaper, or disappear completely.

But what if the problem isn’t actually your price?

In Episode 61 of The Painters Circle, Tas breaks down why painting business owners continually run into price objections and why the sales conversation BEFORE you present the quote matters so much.

If all you talk about is your paint, your process, your team and the work you’re going to perform, you give the customer very little else to compare besides price.

Instead, you need to understand the outcome they actually want and why that outcome matters to them.

In this episode, Tas covers:

• Why customers keep pushing back on price

• Intrinsic value vs perceived value

• Why superficial sales questions aren’t enough

• How to uncover what a customer REALLY wants

• Why Tas prefers presenting price live

• Why your quotes aren’t actually “free”

• How to stop competing with the cheapest painter

• Why your job isn’t to convince someone to buy

• The questions to ask before presenting your proposal

A customer saying “I want my house painted” isn’t enough. Maybe they're preparing for a wedding, selling the property, moving in, moving out or trying to hit an important deadline. Until you understand the reason underneath the request, you don't fully understand what they value.

Stop assuming. Start asking better questions.

🎙️ The Painters Circle | Episode 61

Want more clarity and control over your painting business?

PainterOS™ Accelerator:

https://accelerator.painteroperatingsystem.com/

Subscribe to Painter Coach:

https://www.youtube.com/@paintercoach

Timestamps

Keeping these lean like we established:

00:00 Why Customers Keep Questioning Your Price

00:49 Every Objection Starts With an Unanswered Question

01:19 Intrinsic Value vs Perceived Value

02:11 What Does Your Customer REALLY Want?

03:16 Why Tas Presents Price Live

03:38 Stop Assuming, Start Asking

06:46 Questions Are the Answers

08:05 You’re Not in the Quoting Business

08:27 Do Customers Actually Want the Cheapest Quote?

09:00 Your Job Isn’t to Convince Them

10:43 The Real Problem Behind Price Objections