Workforce Skills with John Morris

In Episode 138 of Workforce Skills, John Morris turns the conversation toward business owners and leaders: Are you actually recognizing the people who are helping build your company?

Hard work matters. Going the extra mile matters. But employers also have a responsibility to notice when employees are improving, producing results, showing up consistently, and taking ownership.

John discusses the impact of a simple compliment, why recognition can motivate people beyond the paycheck, and why business owners need to pay attention to which employees and crews are actually improving profitability and performance.

He also explains why consistency can be more valuable than raw talent. The best painter in the company isn’t necessarily your best employee if he constantly calls out, shows up unprepared, or creates problems for everyone around him. John would rather invest in the person who shows up every day, works hard, and can be developed into something greater.

John also shares what’s happening inside PHP Commercial Painting as Adam and Tommy settle into their new leadership roles, the company prepares for its first Board of Directors meeting, and John works toward moving out of the day-to-day details of the business so he can focus on growing the company and expanding into Salt Lake City.

This episode is about both sides of the workforce equation: employees need to make themselves valuable, and employers need to recognize and reward the people who are creating that value.

Sometimes it’s a raise. Sometimes it’s a bonus or gift card. And sometimes it’s simply telling someone, “I see what you’re doing, and I appreciate it.”

Who can you recognize today?

Stay hungry.

In Episode 137 of Workforce Skills with John Morris, John gets direct about one of the biggest obstacles holding people back at work and in life: attitude.

PHP Commercial Painting is growing, landing more work, investing in technology, training employees, and bringing experienced leaders into the company. But John explains that growth isn’t simply about hiring more people. It’s about finding the right people — employees who show up, take pride in their work, adapt to change, and want to improve.

John also turns the conversation toward business owners. If you want employees who care about your company, you have to give them a reason to care. That means training them, recognizing great performance, understanding what’s happening in their lives, creating opportunities for advancement, and taking care of them when they need it.

He shares how PHP rewards employees who perform, including a recent $4,000 bonus for finishing a project 10 days ahead of schedule, and why he believes better company performance should create better opportunities for the people helping build it.

John also discusses the next stage of PHP Commercial Painting’s growth, including new leadership, technology developed internally, expansion into Utah, and his transition from working inside the day-to-day operation to working on the future of the business.

But the biggest message of this episode isn’t just for business owners.

It’s for everyone.

Stop waiting for someone else to change your situation. Pick one, two, or three things you can improve. Read a book. Exercise. Learn something. Change your attitude. Develop a new skill. Take responsibility for where you want your life to go.

No one is coming to build your future for you.

You vs. you. Every day.

Topics include:

Stay hungry.

At just 25 years old, Ricardo Herrera has already experienced the highs, mistakes, uncertainty, and responsibility that come with building a painting company from the ground up.

On Episode 136 of Workforce Skills with John Morris, Ricardo joins John for a candid conversation about entrepreneurship, leadership, hiring, knowing your numbers, social media, and what it actually takes to turn a trade into a business.

Ricardo started painting when he was 12, formed his LLC after graduating high school, and by 20 decided to stop working for other people and go all-in on his own company. But his perspective on entrepreneurship has changed dramatically since those early days.

Five years ago, Ricardo would have told almost anyone to start a business. Today, his advice is very different: if you’re doing it just for the money, don’t do it.

John and Ricardo compare two very different sides of the painting industry—Ricardo’s residential business and John’s commercial operation—and discover that many of the challenges are exactly the same.

They discuss underbidding jobs, job costing, hiring friends and family, building a company culture, pre-qualifying customers, dealing with cash flow, getting licensed and insured, using social media to generate work, and learning how to lead employees who depend on you for their livelihood.

Ricardo also shares what his first year in business really felt like: having employees to pay while sometimes having no idea where the next project would come from.

John shares his own journey from doing side jobs as “John the Painter” to building PHP Commercial Painting, along with the lessons learned from mistakes, growth, technology, training, and scaling a company.

This isn’t a conversation about getting rich quick. It’s about what happens after you decide to bet on yourself—and the responsibility that comes with building something bigger than you.

In this episode:

If you’re thinking about starting a business—or you’re already in the middle of building one—this episode offers a realistic look at what entrepreneurship actually demands.

Stay hungry.

At just 16 years old, Ty Wade was sentenced to 30 years in prison with no possibility of early release. For the first decade of his sentence, he had little hope of ever coming home.

Then a letter from his mother changed the direction of his life.

In Episode 135 of Workforce Skills, John Morris sits down with Ty to talk about the decisions, discipline, education, and small victories that transformed his life. Ty shares how he went from repeated trouble and 23-hour lockdown to earning a college degree with honors, teaching programs inside prison, helping others through his artwork, and ultimately earning his release five and a half years early.

Today, Ty works at New Freedom, where he teaches framing, carpentry, workforce development, and—more importantly—helps men and women learn to believe in themselves and build a different future.

John and Ty discuss what real rehabilitation looks like, why people sometimes sabotage their own success, the importance of accountability, replacing destructive survival skills with productive ones, and why changing someone’s life takes more than simply teaching them a trade.

They also discuss the power of small victories, becoming 1% better every day, and one simple rule Ty gives his students: decide what you will not do when life gets difficult.

Ty’s final message is equally simple:

Ask for help.

There are people willing to help—but you have to be willing to ask.

🎙️ Workforce Skills with John Morris

PHP Commercial Painting is landing jobs at a pace John Morris has never seen before—and he says it isn’t because of one big change. It’s the result of two years of rebuilding systems, embracing technology, implementing AI, developing people, and refusing to accept “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

In Episode 134 of Workforce Skills, John talks about why he believes the painting industry—and business in general—has become stagnant. Too many companies keep doing the same things, chasing the same leads, using the same processes, and expecting different results.

John wants something different.

PHP has built its own CRM, developed its own estimating and takeoff technology, integrated AI into its workflow, created sales and follow-up systems, established KPIs and incentive structures, and is preparing to expand beyond Arizona. The goal isn’t simply to become a bigger painting contractor. John wants to help change the way the industry operates.

But technology and systems only solve part of the problem.

As the work pours in, the next challenge is finding people in the field who take pride in what they do—painters who can produce, work efficiently, deliver quality, and want to become better every day.

John also challenges employees and leaders to stop thinking only about hourly wages and start thinking about value. If you want the next position, train someone to replace you. If you want to make more money, become more valuable. If you want your company to grow, stop repeating what worked yesterday and start experimenting with what could work tomorrow.

And something much bigger is coming.

John says PHP is preparing to “throw a grenade in the middle of Phoenix” with an announcement coming next week involving two new team members and the next stage of the company’s growth.

In this episode:

• Why PHP is currently landing multiple contracts a day

Stop waiting for the industry to change.

Be the change.

Stay hungry.

In Episode 133 of Workforce Skills, John Morris tackles entitlement, negativity, workplace attitude, and the one thing every employee can control: themselves.

After making major personnel changes at PHP Commercial Painting, John shares what he’s seeing inside the workforce—the employees who step up when something needs to get done versus those who immediately respond with, “That’s not my job” or “I don’t get paid enough to do that.”

John’s message is simple: If you want more money, more responsibility, a promotion, or a better life, stop waiting for someone else to make the first move.

Do more. Learn more. Become more valuable. Ask what it takes to reach the next level, then put in the work.

John also talks about building the next generation of PHP Commercial Painting, including two major new hires he believes will create a ripple effect throughout the Phoenix painting industry. But building a stronger company also means making difficult decisions, removing toxic employees, rewarding the people who step up, and creating a culture where success is celebrated instead of criticized.

He shares why he wants employees to eventually become successful enough to start their own companies, why former employees should take pride in the projects they helped build, and why he would rather compete against contractors who learned to do things correctly than companies that cut corners.

John also reflects on his own sobriety and the transformation that happened when he became laser-focused on improving his business, his health, and his life.

If nothing in your life seems to be changing, it may be time to stop looking at everyone around you and start looking at yourself.

What can you do differently today?

Because no one is coming to save you.

In this episode:

Stop waiting for circumstances to change. Be the change.

Stay hungry.

John Morris is raising the standard at PHP Commercial Painting—and not everyone is going to make the cut.

In Episode 132 of Workforce Skills, John talks about what he saw firsthand while visiting jobs with Maryanne, who is being trained for a superintendent role as PHP prepares to expand into Salt Lake City. The biggest problem wasn’t technology, estimating, sales, or a lack of work. It was performance in the field.

With PHP bidding roughly $8 million in work each week, John says the company can’t afford employees who do the bare minimum, wait to be told what to do, or force their teammates to carry the load. He contrasts that mentality with leaders like Larry Wilson, who develops painters, builds crews, finishes projects ahead of schedule, and creates the next generation of leaders.

John also discusses PHP’s push toward higher standards across the entire company—from digital systems and GC communication to uniforms, safety training, accountability, quality control, and employee development. He explains why top performers can earn raises, guaranteed salaries, greater responsibility, and opportunities to grow with the company.

As PHP prepares for Utah expansion, new leadership positions, and the creation of a board of directors, John’s message is clear: the company is growing, expectations are rising, and everyone has a choice—step up or step out.

If you’re a painter who takes pride in your work, wants to grow, and is looking for a company that rewards performance, John has another message for you: come prove it.

Larry Wilson walked into PHP Commercial Painting nearly five years ago fresh out of prison, without tools, without a car, and with everything to prove.

Today, he’s a working superintendent, trainer, mentor, and one of the hardest-working people John Morris has ever employed.

In Episode 131 of Workforce Skills, John sits down with Larry to talk about the journey that took him from riding the bus to work and grinding through 78 straight days on the job to leading crews of 15 painters and finishing major projects ahead of schedule.

Larry shares why he refuses to tolerate excuses, how he trains new painters, and why being willing to learn can matter more than having 20 years of experience. They discuss accountability, taking criticism without making excuses, maintaining professional standards, and what separates employees who grow from those who never make it.

But Larry’s story goes far beyond painting.

After years of incarceration and addiction, Larry made the decision to leave his old life behind. He spent years focused on working, rebuilding himself, reconnecting with his children, and creating a life where he says he finally understands what it means to be truly free.

Now, he’s passing that opportunity forward—training employees coming out of New Freedom, mentoring men living in PHP’s halfway house, developing future leaders, and even watching his own daughter build a career within the company.

His message to anyone trying to change their life is simple:

PUSH — Pray Until Something Happens.

Look in the mirror. Tell yourself you can be better. Keep moving forward. And don’t look back.

In this episode:

Stay hungry. Keep pushing.

In Episode 130 of Workforce Skills with John Morris, John shares the mindset that’s driving PHP Commercial Painting’s expansion into Utah and why success is built—not given.

From growing the company into a new state to building leaders from within, John explains why systems, culture, accountability, and relentless effort matter more than excuses. He opens up about his own journey from homelessness and financial struggles to building a thriving business, his weight-loss transformation after knee replacement surgery, and the habits that changed his life.

This episode covers:

If you’re an entrepreneur, tradesperson, leader, or someone looking for motivation to level up, this episode is a reminder that success starts with personal responsibility and consistent action.

Stay hungry. Keep grinding. Earn your future.

In Episode 129 of the Workforce Skills Podcast, John Morris dives into one of the biggest factors separating average companies from exceptional ones: consistency.

From uniforms and jobsite cleanliness to quality control, training, and following proven procedures, John explains how small mistakes can quickly become expensive problems—and why fixing issues immediately is the key to long-term profitability.

John also shares the new quality control system being implemented at PHP Commercial Painting, discusses why rushing usually costs more than slowing down and doing it right the first time, and challenges listeners to shift their mindset from negativity to growth.

Whether you’re a business owner, superintendent, tradesperson, or someone simply looking to improve your life, this episode is packed with practical lessons on leadership, accountability, positivity, and becoming the person everyone wants on their team.

In this episode you’ll learn:

Stay hungry. Stay consistent. Keep getting better.