Co-Founder/Owner of a House Painting Business
Description:
This business opportunity was one that my boyfriend, Dane Brock, had when he was in high school. In high school, he had many business ideas; these included starting an art trading web site and creating a landscaping company. Of these ideas, he chose to put his house painting business idea into action. While painting his own house with his dad, he learned how to paint. Then, when he was 17 he purchased a paint sprayer for an upfront fee of $600. Next, he recruited his best friend, Tommy, to be the co-founder of what would soon be known as Misty Butte House Painting. Once the basic logistics of the company were determined, he focused on finding clients. He started out by knocking on people’s doors and giving them bids to paint their houses. While doing this he found out that he could paint people’s houses for significantly less than other companies. Once established, jobs ranged anywhere from just under a thousand to several thousand dollars. Although it was still difficult because of his age to find the first customers, the lower price of his house painting allowed him to gain clients. After finding the first customers, the work flow was steady. When working, Dane posted Misty Butte signs in the yard to advertise his painting service. He also advertised by attaching a Misty Butte magnet to his Volvo. Additionally, clients often referred Dane to other acquaintances who needed to have their house painted. As an essential part of his business’ success, Dane maintained integrity. He always used the best quality of paint and completed the job to both his and his clients’ satisfaction. In the end, the business yielded great returns for the amount of hours that it required. In fact, the business was so successful that Dane eventually ended up employing one of his cross country coaches for the summer.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
The original idea for this painting business came from Dane’s dad. His dad had done it when he was younger and suggested that it was a good money making opportunity. Once Dane heard this initial idea, the decision to actually start a painting business was partly influenced by the area where he grew up. Dane grew up in central Oregon where most of the houses have wood siding. Because of this building style, houses need to be re-painted approximately every five years. The constant need for house re-painting allowed Dane’s business venture to succeed. In other areas of the country, such as where I live in Pennsylvania, the houses are built with a type of plastic siding. Such a style means that few homeowners find the need to paint their houses. Thus, Dane’s ability to recognize the needs in his community allowed him to implement an idea for what would become a successful business.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
The initial challenge that Dane faced was finding jobs. Due to his age, many people wouldn’t consider hiring him. To overcome this, Dane implemented many strategies. First, he priced his services lower and gave lower bids for house painting than many other companies. Next, he used references from people that he knew and eventually also from his clients to find jobs. Perseverance was also key to finding jobs. At the beginning when it was hard to find jobs, Dane remained dedicated and did not give up. Finally, Dane remembered to pay his tithing even when he was not making a lot of money. As a result of paying tithing, Dane had more jobs than he could accept by the end of the summer. After he found jobs, Dane then faced the problem of learning how to paint different types of houses. To overcome this problem Dane asked the advice of contractors and other painters. Another problem concerned unskilled employees. To correct this problem, more skilled painters supervised the less skilled painters and fixed their mistakes. If Dane was giving advice to another person who was considering a similar business opportunity, he would suggest following a business model similar to his. He would also suggest using references from people you know and from customers to find more jobs.
What I learned:
Specifically regarding the painting industry, Dane learned that it makes more sense to pay painters by the job. Paying by the job encourages painters to do a high quality job faster than paying by the hour. Also, knowing the full payment amount before-hand motivates painters to accept jobs. Dane also learned how to paint houses and how to deal with painting’s related problems. Such skills can be useful to Dane throughout his entire life. Besides this industry specific knowledge, Dane also learned many moral lessons. Although I did not participate in this business venture, I have learned the same moral lessons from just listening to Dane describe his entrepreneurial opportunity. I have learned the value of being moral and ethical in business decisions and actions. By doing so, I know that business owners will gain greater blessings and opportunities than they otherwise would have. Finally, I have learned the value of hard work and of persisting in the face of difficulty. Building a successful business is never easy; instead, it requires courage and ambition.
Finish Carpenter/Business Owner
Description:
Finish Carpentry includes the installation of hand railing and other stair parts, doors, baseboards, shelving, window trim, crown molding, and cabinet installations. Business owner includes bidding, scheduling, accounting, and paperwork depending on how the business is set up and if you have employees.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
How I got the idea/ found the employment: After high school I started working as a finish carpenter. I got the job through a brother in the ward. I worked for several years (about 8), went on a mission, and then started studying at the University level. I started my own business while being a full time student.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
One challenge I faced was finding an employer that would work with my school schedule. One employer said that he would but when it came down to it problems arose. The next employer was very accommodating as long as the work got done. Whatever you do find an employer who will work with you. In the end I got my sub-contractors license and have been able to control my own schedule. For the last three years I have been able to build some amazing staircases and attend school full time. I usually work a crazy schedule for a few weeks then catch up and try to get ahead with my school work before the next job starts. One summer I made enough money that I did not have to work until the next summer. When I have had to work a crazy schedule my GPA went down slightly but not too much. To get a sub-contractors license one must work for a general contractor for, I believe two years. If you like a trade, start right out of high school learning all that you can. Work for someone who is willing to teach you and learn it well. This will open up the option of working for yourself. If you do not want to do all of the business end of things you can find an employee that will work with your schedule. You will most likely need your own transportation. A small truck will work fine. Your own tools will increase your pay dramatically. With your own tools, transportation, and knowledge of how to do the work you can easily work for $15-$20 an hour. Even part time you can make good money as a college student. You can make even more if you find an employer that will pay you piece-rate. This means that you get paid for each door you hang, or each linear foot of material you install. If you have learned the trade good and are a hard worker you can average around $25 per hour. If you are able to get your sub-contractors license (Cabinet and millwork installation license) and do the business part also you can make even more. If you have a friend to help you work you can get some good synergy going and really make some money. Cabinet installations pay really well and can be done in a couple of days per job.
What I learned:
I worked a lot of years and did not invest any money. I would recommend investing 10% for your future and 10% in tools. If you did this, by the time you are able to work on your own you will have the tools that you need. Basic tools needed: Chop saw, Table saw, Air Compressor, Nail Guns, air hoses and electrical cords, cordless tool set (drill, jigsaw, skill saw, sawzall), tool bags with personal tools. This setup will cost about 2-3 thousand dollars. The pay raise easily pays the expense off. President Hinckley said that it would be good if every young man learned a trade and got as much education as he possibly could. I have learned firsthand how this council can benefit one’s life. I am in my last year of college and have no debt. I have been able to provide for myself, my wife and a one year old daughter. My wife has not had to work since becoming a mother. I have had to work hard and study in some innovative ways (I record all of my lectures and listen to them as I work), but everything has worked out very well. Not only have I been able to provide financially for my family but I have also gained work experience that works very well on a resume. I have been able to apply business principles that I learn in school directly to my business. As I have worked in the construction business for over a decade I feel that these principles will work with any trade. I have also learned the importance of education coupled with a trade. As the construction industry has come to an almost halt, I have an education that gives me skills to work in other areas that are not as affected as the housing market is right now.
House Painter
Description:
During the summer, I usually painted one to two houses for my personal business. Our community is small, therefore, through my connections, I could easily find one or two jobs for a few thousand dollars each. I would work with my brother and my cousin, which would maximize efficiency.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
I grew up painting with my family because of my mother, who is a real estate agent; through her occupation, I had copious amounts of opportunity to increase knowledge and gain experience. Through these opportunities, I learned that painting is not difficult work, though it is lucrative.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
The biggest challenge I faced was the weather. Living in Hawaii, often sudden rain showers would occur; these conditions compromised my job because I obviously couldn't paint IN the rain, and therefore was put behind schedule. I overcame this challenge the best I could by setting up jobs only during summer, thereby decreasing the chance of getting behind schedule due to sudden rain showers.
What I learned:
What I've learned from this opportunity as a house painter is that quality of work, professionalism with my customers, and punctuality are essential for building a successful business and clientele. People appreciate when you do a good job and you're on time.
Installation of Floor Base
Description:
My best friend and I installed floor base for sub-contractors. In high school my friend and I both worked installing flooring. We learned how to install carpet, tile, vct, vinyl, and hard wood. The last part of the installation process is the base. Depending on the job the base would be rubber, carpet, or wood. We worked mostly on schools, big department stores, and other large buildings. Usually we were installing rubber base. We took over the installation of base from sub-contractors, and had them pay us per foot of installed base. We would work our regular jobs during the day until about four p.m., and after that we would meet at the job we had gotten. There are only two tools needed to install base, a knife and a glue gun (the big kind). We would go to the school or store that we had to install and just work like crazy for a couple of hours, and get the job done pretty fast. We would install huge amounts of base in a short period of time because we became very efficient, and learned how to work together to make the process go faster. On Saturdays we would do three times the work, installing thousands of feet of base. We charged by the foot and not by the hour, so obviously it was in our best interest to work as fast as possible. We tried a few different plans of attack. We tried both of us cutting in the base at the same time, and then one person just gluing the whole thing up while the other followed putting it onto the wall. What we found out works best for us was to have one person cutting the base in while the other person followed with the glue gun putting the base up behind the cutter. Because we were friends we didn’t have any problems critiquing each other’s work, so we always made sure the other person was doing a good job.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
Flooring sub-contractors hate installing base, and they hate paying their employees to do it because it takes forever if you don’t know what you are doing. The subcontractors that we started working for were used to losing a lot of money on their jobs due to base problems, so it was pretty easy to convince them to let professionals do it for them for a little bit cheaper than they paid their employees to do it. We had the idea because we both worked for these kinds of sub-contractors, and of course as hourly employees we milked the clock to get over-time. We saw how much our employers hated base, and there were always problems. Our co-workers were usually much lazier and less dedicated than us, and they usually did a pretty bad job on the base which meant that our boss would have to come back time and time again to fix the problems even after the job was totally finished. Because they knew that we did a good job, and because it would save them a lot of hassle and money they readily gave us their business.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
One of the biggest problems was that we would run out of base because the sub-contractor had misjudged how much the job would need. We usually would work after hours so there was no place to go and get more base to finish the job. That occurred a couple of times, so we learned to get two to three extra boxes of base for every job. That was an easy one to overcome. The other problem that we had was finding more work form sub-contractors that did not know us. We tried to branch out and quote more contractors, but many were hesitant to go with us. We created a resume for out little company, and a list of happy customers for every contractor that we pitched. We had them call our last few jobs and ask the contractors what kind of job we did. It was obvious that it would save them money, so after creating value for our selves we gained enough customers to keep us busy for the rest of the summer.
What I learned:
I learned that people like things done right, and if it costs them less money to do it one way it is easy to convince them to go with that option. I learned the value of doing a good job and doing it right the first time. We would not have gotten our other customers if we had not created a base of happy customers that were willing to promote us. We also worked for cash which was really fun because we didn’t pay any taxes. It would have been easy though to create an LLC, and do it legally. Being in business for your self is so much better than working hourly for someone else.
Log Home Caulker
Description:
Log homes often have a line of silicone caulking between the logs of a home which prevents weather and bugs from entering through the gaps in the logs. The caulking is generally applied by climbing on a scaffold of ladder and squeezing the caulk onto the home by means of a caulking gun similar to that found at home depot. Jobs are usually paid on a bidding basis although sometimes it could be worked out to be paid on an hourly basis.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
When I was fourteen my family built a log home for ourselves. We didn’t hire any contractors but simply did all the work ourselves learning as we went along. This is where I got my first chinking experience. Later I met a neighbor in the area who was also building a log home and looking for someone to do the caulking. I explained that I had some experience and told him I would be willing to caulk his home for ten dollars an hour. After completing his home, word spread that I was competent at doing this type of work and others building log homes in the area hired me to caulk their homes including one home out of state.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
the work was the easy part finding the work was the hard part. Most of my work came through referrals and because of this I often didn’t have a steady stream of income. This required me to budget and save money until the next job arrived.
What I learned:
I learned a great deal about bidding jobs, time and money and what contractors expected out me. One of the biggest jobs I ever bid was a log home subdivision in cedar city. It would have been a huge opportunity and I would have stayed busy for a very long time but I bid too low making the contractors confidence in my abilities come into question. I lost the bid to a more expensive bidder even though I considered my work to be superior.
Roofing Service
Description:
Although I did not participate in such employment, a close friend began a roofing service. Owing to his previous experience and established reputation, his roofing business was managed by him personally. During this past summer, he successfully used marketing tactics (flyers, signs, radio) to advertise his business. He would schedule appointments for call-ins and then go door to door asking those who were interested or needed new roofing. On average, each job took less than an hour. He continued made around 75 to 100 dollars an hour. He dedicated one day a week (Saturday) towards his business. On average each Saturday we would earn nearly 400 dollars in 4-5 hours of work. Additionally, he managed inventory, expenses, and earnings.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
As stated previously, my friend had previously learned roofing skills while working for his father-owned roofing business. He desired to earn sufficient wages to pay for school and a study-abroad program. His father encouraged him to begin his own business here in Provo. He used the tools his father had lent him and began his own business.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
Several challenges occurred while starting a business. First, roofing is physically demanding. The heat, ability to stabilize oneself on top of a roof, and strength are all required. This job was truly manual labor. Also, he was the only employed. He did not have assistance. The beginning weeks of the summer were slow. The passing of flyers and designing signs took effort. Door to door sales can be discouraging. If he were to do this job again, he would refer more to referrals within the community rather than relying upon his own advertising.
What I learned:
Through this experience, he was able to learn the importance of hard work and value of education. Fortunately, he was able to earn sufficient funds to both pay for schooling and attend his study abroad program. He learned the necessity of organization and the watchful accounting of funds and expenses
Sealcoating Asphalt Driveways
Description:
In Alaska’s cities almost everyone that has a driveway has a driveway made of asphalt. In order to protect it from the elements and increase the longevity the yearly or bi-yearly maintenance of these driveways includes cleaning them and then covering them in an oil-based tar called ‘sealcoat’. Andrew saw that there was a need for manual labor to apply sealcoat so he went ahead and hired out to a few of his friends and passed out fliers advertising that he would apply sealcoat as a service to any customers. It was a wonderfully successful. Sealing a driveway is very hard work and therefore very few enjoy it, but literally everyone with an asphalt driveway in Alaska needs to have it done.
His weekly routine included hiring his little brother to pass out fliers at 10 cents a flier. They would get 2 or 3 calls for every 100 fliers that he passed out. A crew can do maybe 2 or 3 driveways in a day if they have good equipment. Then Andrew would charge them about 45-50 cents per square foot. The profit was incredible. In two months he grossed $15,000 and profited $12,000. And in those two months he was still figuring out how what techniques work best, and what materials he needed, with time his efficiency increased.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
Andrew was had just moved to Alaska and was looking for a job to pay for school. He didn’t know anyone and try as he might he couldn’t find a job. At church an older lady, that knew he wasn’t working, approached him and asked him to come over and sealcoat her driveway one afternoon. He went and did it. Afterwards he got thinking about how he could make a summer job out of sealcoating. He did a little experimenting, research, and made some contacts with a few people in the industry, dove in with the advertising and then got to work in what proved to be a very busy and profitable summer job.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
One of the main challenges was just figuring out what equipment worked best. Larger scale productions spend tens-of-thousands of dollars on machinery but he was looking to spend the bare minimum to get started. He did his research as best as he could but he ended up buying some equipment he didn’t need and he also had to go and purchase more as time went on. The best way to prevent wasted money is to go and see what the competition is using, or to go and talk to store owners that sell that type of equipment. They might not be able to tell you everything you need to know about your specific needs but they’ll get you started.
Another problem was the manual labor itself. At the beginning of the summer they had poor technique they would absolutely wear them out. They were carrying hundreds of pounds of tar around by hand every day. With time they purchased a larger 200 gallon tub with a hose that went on a trailer so they would no longer have to transfer all of the tar by hand. The best way to overcome the poor technique was to talk with other contractors that did sealcoating to see what they did and then just dive in and see what works best for you and your crew. Time will help your crew develop a technique that jives with you and your guys.
What I learned:
What I learned: Andrew’s whole mode of thinking changed after being an entrepreneur. He began to see things from a business perspective. He learned that there are tons of opportunities to make money if you have some motivation and a good idea. He began to look for more efficient processes in his work and how to minimize costs. He learned how to advertise, hire employees and handle business finances. He also is looking at entrepreneurship as a possible way of life. He has a better understanding of how to make it happen so he is now less afraid of doing it again in the future.