Where do you find Painters?

I’m booked solid for summer, I need to hire!

It’s a typical cycle for most paint companies, the calls come in the spring, we get booked and the calls continue.

What are the options?

• Turn down the work?
• Ask clients to schedule in the winter?
• Hire more painters? Where do I find painters?

All three options present their own set of problems, the last thing you want to do is tell a customer you can’t do the work, and many are not able to wait until winter, so you are left with hiring more help!

Growing your company

Having a plan for growth is essential, Scott said it well here. If you are going to grow your company and hire employees, you need a plan!

Ok, I have a plan, where do I find painters?

We have all tried the Craigslist route, tried temp agencies, asked at the paint store, put the word out in various ways with mixed results.  Hiring employees has always been a struggle for contractors,  sifting through applications, doing interviews and finding the right employee is tough! Painters are not known for submitting well crafted resumes!

Painter Professions may be the answer…  

Dave Rosedale, a Chicago Painting Contractor, faced these same issues and set about to find a solution, I spoke to him recently about his recent endeavor to connect painters and contractors.

Painter Professions is a website developed to connect contractors and painters., Dave has entered into an alliance with PDCA to provide a database of quality painters looking for work, Paint Contractors are able to search the database and view profiles of painters who have registered on the site. The painters looking  for positions are able to create a profile and upload resumes, photos and information about their skills.

Dave told me that since the launch last year, over 10,000 members (painters and contractors) have signed up. It was launched in the Chicago area first and they are planning on a campaign to market to the West Coast shortly. Dave plans to have listings in all 50 states, using word of mouth, social media and print ads to spread the word.

There is no charge to register, and Dave assured me that there were no plans to start charging to join, as the site will be supported through the use of banner ads. There are precautions in place to protect the privacy of members.

I created a profile as a contractor and as a painter and found it very user friendly. I also searched for painters in several states and was impressed with the information members were able to post. A nice feature was the ability to search by location, have tools, have transportation and more. Dave tells me that in the future, there will options to search by speciality and license and they have several other features planned.

So whether you are a contractor looking for a painter, or a painter looking for a contractor, I’d encourage you to try it out, let me know how it works!