Painting Outside the Lines

In any business, it's always good to offer something your competition doesn't. That could range anywhere from additional expertise to going above and beyond the call of duty. Another way to win over customers around the country is by going where most commercial painting contractors don’t think to go – just about anywhere.

Adding mobility to your business arsenal allows them to snap up jobs that would otherwise fall through the cracks. With a lean and agile company, you can cover jobs too big for house painters and too small for multi-million dollar painting companies.

Mobility benefits contractor and customer alike

This mobile-business model lets small or mid-sized painting contractors expand with their clients who have locations in other parts of the country. Traveling can boost the volume of your painting business and give you nationwide name recognition, but it will provide big benefits for your clients as well, such as consistency and hard-to-find expertise.

For companies with locations all over the United States, it's easier to stick with one painting company that they know is reliable, rather than hire a different paint contractor for each different location. The painter hired in California may do the job OK, but the one hired in New Jersey might do it wrong. A lack of consistency across the board makes the idea of having just one traveling painting contractor for all painting projects a sweet idea indeed.

It doesn’t hurt to have a niche

Industrial painting and coating expertise is in short supply and high demand thoughout the U.S. Many potential clients simply can’t find local painting experts who know how to handle the specialized coatings and sensitive equipment involved in their jobs.

If you have expertise in an area where there's little, and you're willing to travel for the paint job, companies will be salivating to have you help them out. They won't have to worry about training new painters to do the job, which will save them a ton of time and money.

You can also pick up smaller paint jobs that most large painting companies won't travel for. It may not pay as much as a larger paint job, but in the long run you may make more money traveling regularly for small jobs, like painting light poles, as opposed to waiting around for that one giant pie in the sky paint job that never seems to materialize.

Weighing your options

You may think traveling is a good idea, but the cost of doing so may put you off. However, it's possible for a mid-sized commercial or industrial paint contractor to step over their local boundaries and make it big across the country. Many companies would be willing to pay for travel expenses, as it saves them the cost of training local painters and the hassle of coordinating with multiple contractors.

Break out of the mold

You know you have the expertise your clients need. By going above and beyond the call of duty, you can give them that expertise wherever they need it. Adding mobility to your painting business could be just the boon you need.

Scott Kuperman is president of Paint Platoon USA, a mid-sized industrial and commercial painting company based in the Chicago area. Visit them online at www.PaintPlatoon.com.