On Hiring A Consultant…

The Blogging Painters Network is expanding!

What started out as a collection of blogs by painting contractors is expanding exponentially as we encounter some very savvy business people in the painting, business and marketing industries.  This blog has allowed a level of communication between these experts that was not previously seen in our field. While many of us have interacted on forums and various Social Media platforms, there are many who were “out of the loop”, and by that I mean, not connected socially, but still have great advice and input to share.

One example is Dan Frost of Frost Painting, I happened across this blog post he wrote recently and asked him to expand on it, here is what he had to say:

I have been in the painting business for 30 years.  Like many of us “old dogs” change is a foreign word analogous to using waterborne finishes on interior trim.  Nevertheless, I would like to think wisdom is one of our strengths, and the waterborne finishes are actually quite nice, therefore I have accepted change into my business operations as well.

What I have changed is working “on” my business instead of “in” my business.  A concept I first heard years ago with the E-Myth business model.  What I have learned after all these years of watching the bottom-line, is that investing in the process and systems that makes a small business prosper is crucial.   It is a difficult step to take.  A step that, I believe, where everyone needs some guidance.  I have tried “consultants” before, but could not find the right fit.  I came across Linnea Blair and Advisors On Target from the PDCA.  I realized that I needed assistance on setting up a plan and creating benchmarks to assess how the plan is working.  After all these years in business I had no formal business plan!  The first thing Linnea did was get all my financials and start setting up budgets, while concurrently starting me on formulating a business plan (have patience, my plan took 4 months to finalize).  What came across immediately working with Linnea are two things:  her experience working with painting contractors and her financial background. Now I must confess at this point that working with a consultant, advisor, mentor, or whatever you want to call “help” takes a lot of work.  The advisor is not a panacea for your business problems.  You are the one doing the work, the advisor is just the facilitator, and as facilitators go there is none better than Linnea Blair of Advisors On Target.

I thought this was pretty good advice! When I asked Dan what prompted him to call Linnea after doing it his own way for so many years, he responded with:

Like many painters I am  an independent, stubborn breed and I was an “ostrich” painter for 30 years  (head in the sand).  When I finally looked around I realized to get where I wanted to be I needed help.

Dan makes several good points that probably apply to a lot of us who have been in the paint contracting business for a decade or more. Most especially, the need to keep our minds open and always be learning. That is the spirit of Blogging Painters and it is central to our mission as we continue to bring relevant articles to our readers and build the most comprehensive online archive of business topics for paint contractors on the internet. We look forward to hearing from more colleagues and learning from each other.