The Secret of My Success You won t find them on the cover of People, schmoozing with Oprah, or power-lunching at five-star restaurants. Those folks, oozing self-importance, are typically held up as successes. But that s because society tends to confuse celebrity with success. Celebrities gain fame for many reasons (including a bunch you wouldn t want). Truly successful people, on the other hand, set their own goals and go after them day in and day out, without making a fuss (much less a TV show) about it. This is true of many contractors, especially those who work alone. They are successful, because they have achieved the goals that are meaningful to them. About a year ago, PWC Magazine began inviting readers to share their success stories online. The response was overwhelming, and the answers funny, touching, personal, practical have been fascinating. We invite you to share your success at www.pwc-magazine.com. We will print as many entries as possible, and you can read them all online. Meanwhile, we wish each of you the greatest success no matter how you measure it in 2010. Mary Chollet-Lordan, Editor Some contractors thrive even in the hardest times. What s their secret? Carl Tudor INTERNATIONAL METAL FUSION CORP. (Industrial) Established: 1995 Employees: 50 Success means: Performing work over and above the specification. Biggest factor in my success: Having great employees. Best advice: Make it easy for the customer. KAMI TREMBLAY DESIGN (Decorative) Established: 1995 Success means: My definition of success is forever changing. Once I Kami Tremblay arrive where I thought I would be successful, I m off to my next goal. 36 PWC JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010
Biggest factor in my success: I never stop dreaming or loving what I do. I have supportive friends, family and clients who share in my vision. Best advice: My wise uncle once told me a story that took place in the 1400s about a customer who didn t want to pay the artist for a painting of his chickens that he had commissioned. Without hesitation, the artist said, Fine. He handed the customer a brush, and added, If it s so easy, you paint them. It was a great lesson in learning to appreciate my gift as an artist. Elsie A. Kapteina DE S INTERIORS (Wallpaper and Wall Designs) Established: 1983 Success means: Having your customers refer to you and your work as The Best in Town. How I got started: Bidding wallpaper jobs for a relocation company that remodeled each home DeAnn before selling. Stringer Best part of my job: The pleasure of knowing that if I am satisfied, the customer will be also. Toughest part of my job: Preparation work, especially when existing wallpapers have to be taken down and the walls were not prepared correctly. Best advice I ever got: To have patience, believe in yourself, and never give up. If you have a passion for your work, it will reflect, and your customers will appreciate it. Biggest change I ve seen: The transition from wallpaper to faux finish. My business for wallpaper has dropped by 50%. Biggest factors in my success: My work ethic. Taking care of my customers and letting them know that they are most important. Being able to keep changing and adding more skills to my resume. Favorite product: Guardz. What would my walls do without it? Great product! WALLPAPER HANGUPS (Wallcovering) Established: 1978 Employees: Seasonal Success means: Being professional at all times, being creative and flexible, and having a passion for what you do. Biggest factor in my success: Continuing education, networking and involvement in the National Guild of Professional Paperhangers (www.ngpp.org).* Best advice I ever got: Stay on top of your game. The field is forever evolving. Quote that inspires me: Wallpaper is an art that calls upon the talents of several craftspeople. (Carolle Thibaut-Pomerantz) *Editor s Note: Elsie Kapteina, C.P., is president of NGPP. DIGILIO DECORATING (Residential) Established: 1976 Employees: 3 Success means: Striving to be consistent, communicative, quality minded, profitable and fair with all our customers and vendors every day. Mike DiGilio Biggest factor in my success: We provide consistent quality over a long period of time at a fair price. Best advice: 90% of success is showing up. Always answer your phone. Be consistent, and do what you say you will do. See SUCCESS on next page WWW.PWC-MAGAZINE.COM PWC 37
SUCCESS from last page S.O. PAINTING (Residential) Established: 2000 Employees: 3 Success means: Having the need for no advertising, Steve Oden solely depending on referrals from past clients. Biggest factor in my success: Being on time is a must. Also, answering the phone as promptly as I can and returning calls the same day. Best advice: If you don t have time to do it right the first time, you always have time to do it the second time. Biggest change I ve seen: In this economy, I have started to see many people who are not experienced enter the field. When I started to advertise, people didn t know what I did. As a result, I built my clientele on referrals. Now the trade is all over, and many people say they can do certain finishes, but they have not invested the time to get experience. Biggest factor in my success: Treating each client as special. Clients are always complimenting me on my work and my work ethic. They are amazed that I always arrive on time and follow through with my commitment to bring them the best finish I can. I also strive to treat all clients with extreme respect, treating them the way I would want to be treated. Favorite products: Benjamin Moore Paints, Safra Italian Plasters, Faux Effects Cindi Rowley CINDIROWLEYDESIGNS (Decorative Finishing) Established: 1987 Success means: Achieving a constant feedback of compliments on my work, both for the way I work and for the outcome of each job. How I got started: I started out when wallpaper was popular. I would hand-paint elements from the wallpaper onto walls, to pull the looks together. This evolved into wall finishes, starting with children s murals, sponging, glazing and on into Venetian plaster. Best part of my job: Giving clients a unique work of art; changing the entire look of the walls in their homes or offices. I get to work at my own pace and enjoy something I love to do. Toughest part of my job: Trying to match the client s vision exactly, without losing my personal artistic point of view. Best advice: It s all about the prep work. Also, I ve learned to go slow and think things through never to rush a job just to get it done. I have always tried to stay above the rest by going to great lengths to learn everything I can about the business and to be knowledgeable about the finishes. A FRESH COAT PAINTING (Residential) Established: 2004 Employees: 5 Success means: Helping to make the world a better place than I found it through craftsmanship, service to others, bringing everyone up, and transforming living environments with paint. Biggest factor in my success: My willingness to give, and only enter into, win-win deals. Paul Schroder Best advice: To thine own self be true. LAMAY DECORATING (General Decorating) Established: 1971 Success means: Selling yourself first, then pointing out what you do differently! Biggest factor in my success: Suggesting ideas and focusing on making customers happy with their choices. Bob LaMay Best advice: Always use quality products, do top-quality work, and charge for it! See SUCCESS on next page 40 38 PWC JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010
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SUCCESS from page 38 HANSEN PAINTING INC. (Residential) Established: 1978 Employees: 2-3, depending on season Success means: Being able to look yourself in the mirror and say you are doing your best and doing what you agreed to do. Biggest factor in my success: Being honest. Best advice: Don t give yourself the option to move or quit. Christine McIntyre-Hannon Jan Hansen HANNON ART WORKS (Murals and Faux Finishing) Established: 2003 Success means: Having more enjoyment than stress with my work. How I got started: I have always been an artist, but I left a corporate job with a generous buyout. It was enough seed money to open my shop. Best part of my job: The design process, when I create the sketches and templates. That is the exciting part. Toughest part of my job: Estimates and bookkeeping. Numbers are not as much fun as paint! Best advice: When I was 7, my dad told me, Learn how to sell, and you can do anything you want to for a job. He was so right! Biggest change I ve seen: Wallpaper is gaining popularity again with designers, so I am focusing more on murals than faux finishing. Biggest factor in my success: Professional service. Because I behave like a businessperson and not like a stereotypical artist, clients trust my recommendations. Favorite product: Benjamin Moore 2 oz. paint samples. My murals blend beautifully with my clients homes, due to their decorator colors. Brian Bond BOND PROFESSIONAL WALLCOVERING ( Anything exotic ) Established: 1982 Success means: That I still enjoy hanging wallpaper, even after 28 years. How I got started: I studied the art of paperhanging at the School of Paperhanging in Vermont. Best part of my job: Standing back at the end of the day to admire the fine work I have completed. Toughest part of my job: The time spent on estimates for price shoppers. Also, Service Magic customers you can never get in touch with. Best advice: My father said, Always do your best, whether it s a $100 project or a $10,000 project, because you will always have work. Biggest change I ve seen: Customers seem to respect paperhangers more, because they realize that there is an art to a finished professional installation. Biggest factor in my success: Joining the National Guild of Professional Paperhangers (NGPP). Favorite products: Roman Decorating Products R-35 primer, all Zinsser products, Cavalier wall liner. 40 PWC JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010
Mary Farrell HOMESIDE BUILDING (Wallcovering) Established: 1987 Employees: < 10 Success means: I am successful when I am happy to go to work and when I can make my customers happy. How I got started: Our home remodeling company needed a paperhanger back in 1987. I ve always been creative and artistic. I loved geometry in high school and loved sewing as an adult. That was it! Best part of my job: Completing a difficult project that most other paperhangers would never attempt and, of course, monetary compensation! Toughest part of my job: Getting started. Setting up. Preliminary scraping and priming. Best advice: When selling a job, tell the customer that you would like to give them a quality job. You can never offer the customer cheap, fast and excellent. If the customer picks any two, he/she cannot have the third. (If it s cheap and fast, it won t be excellent. If it s fast and excellent, it won t be cheap. If it s excellent and cheap, it won t be fast.) Biggest change I ve seen: Today, there is a wide variety of materials to hang. Biggest factor in my success: Listening to the customer. Favorite products: Almost everything made by Zinsser, Phenoseal by DAP, Olfa Blades, The Blade Eater. What s Your Secret? Share your own Profile in Success at www.pwc-magazine.com. All profiles are posted online! Coming in March! Spring Fix-Up Special and Tools & Equipment Buying Guide! Get ready for your busiest season! Here s the latest on: Exterior Paints Fighting Mold Amazing Murals Wallpaper Removal Plus, an online special: 2010 Tools & Equipment Buying Guide! Special Ad Section: Mold & Mildew Products and Coatings Contact: Cynthia Volpe cvolpe@protectivecoatings.com 800.837.8303 x156 www.pwc-magazine.com Circle No. 54 on Reader Service Card Circle No. 54 on Reader Service Card WWW.PWC-MAGAZINE.COM PWC 41