It’s no secret that contractors are facing multiple business pressures, from multiple angles. Within painting, there are also many areas constantly fluctuating including paint prices, labor costs, and contract prices. In speaking with a painting contractor that had done work in my house (let’s call him Jim), Jim mentioned that he was really struggling in competing against low priced painters. I guess this is not that surprising as American Painting Contractor lists “Low Priced Competition” as one of the biggest challenges painting contractors are facing today. However, at the time of our conversation, I found this surprising because when I hired him, it did not occur to me to use price as a leading reason. Let me explain.

When I was interviewing multiple painting contractors for an interior project, I knew barely anything about painting. Other than painting a few rooms over the years across a few past living spaces, I would consider myself uninformed in the world of painting skill & “know how” and had been mostly guided by the folks at the local mega hardware store (which can also be hit or miss). When each contractor came in for a walk-thru appointment, I was listening for the contractor to demonstrate a clear understanding of the task at hand and a real knowledge of the paints they would use or recommend, and why. Also, I was waiting to hear what their preparation would be like, will they be taping and laying paper extensively or simply draping a few pieces of furniture and looking to scrape the floors in case of a splatter? How would they prepare the walls? Are they simply going to start painting them or will they be cleaning them first or maybe sanding, and why?

Well, guess what? Out of about 5 appointments, three contractors performed a walk-thru in less than 10 minutes, with a written quote in hand! Candidly, I did not learn anything about the contractor or process they intended to perform. The only thing that I could figure out to that point was that the going rate was in the range of approximately $1,600. The remaining two contractors spent significantly longer than the first three (roughly 45 minutes to an hour). They asked several questions. I learned a lot about the process they intended to perform, and I felt confident they would deliver a quality job. I decided to negotiate with both quotes which came in closer to $2,400. After negotiation, Jim ended up being the second highest (the highest bid was $100 dollars more at $2,200 and Jim was at $2,100, which was not much of a difference). I ultimately picked Jim because he was the most personable and really took the time to propose ideas for paint selections, possible wood pairings, and ideas for furniture preparation and movement.

Ultimately, as a homeowner, I picked one of the higher priced contractors, not because I blindly associated a higher price with quality, but simply because you could hear and see the quality the contractor was providing simply in their conversation and project assessment, whereas the lower priced contractors barely took the time to explain anything. When writing your next quote, and figuring out how to price the job, ask yourself these questions:

• Did I educate the prospective customer on what skills will be applied and the project needs?
• Did I fully demonstrate my process, my attention to detail, and my value?
• Did I listen to the customer or was I talking more?;
• Did I take my time in answering their questions and give them time to respond to my presentation or was I rushing to get to the next appointment?

If you might be thinking “no” to or are unsure of the answer to any of these questions, chances are, you might be leaving money on the table because the homeowner will have no other choice than to remember you by the quote you left and nothing else. If you feel a strong “no” for any of these, it might be a good idea to stop writing the quote, go back to the homeowner, and calmly ask if they might have any questions, curiosities, or concerns you might have missed. Then consider writing the quote afterwards.

About HutSolver

HutSolver is a home improvement platform where homeowners share projects they want to complete. Licensed PROs can join (for free!), review and speak with creators of these projects, and submit quotes to win the project. There is NO fee per lead or fee to be a member! Join Today! https://Hutsolver.com/welcome

About the Pro Tips Forum

Hear what other PROs are talking about day-to-day in HutSolver’s PRO Tips Forum https://protips.hutsolver.com. You can find more ideas like the above, share any project or professional questions you might need help with, and help other PROs by answering their questions too!

The post Running a Painting Business and Wrestling with Low Priced Competitors? Here’s a Solution from a Homeowner. appeared first on HutSolver Magazine.

In polling our team and friends & family, we asked, in working with various Home Improvement Contracting PROs through the years, “what’s the one quality that stood out about a PRO that you hired?”. Can you guess the most popular quality? Out of 18 people (not the most exhaustive survey), the quality that was said most often is….cleanliness. Yes, that’s right, cleanliness!

At first glance, it’s easy to take that for granted, however, real cleanliness is time consuming while requiring a high attention to detail. Small actions such as laying rosin paper, taping paper with painters tape, laying drop cloths, hanging plastic, etc. all goes a long way in controlling fine particles of dust and dirt that can escape into unwanted areas of a home not included within a project. The most difficult of these to contain is probably sheet rock/gypsum dust.

As a project is nearing the end and both homeowner and Home Improvement Contracting PRO are excited for completion, it’s easy for a PRO to quickly start pulling up mats and packing tools away. That would be a mistake. Remembering to carefully pull mats, plastic, and tape is critical, while also being prepared to spend a few hours vacuuming; bonus points for mopping as well. Depending on the job, it may be smarter to price in a professional cleaning service within the project’s budget to come in behind you to do this work.

Having a clean home at project completion goes a long way in increasing customer satisfaction with the Home Improvement Contracting PRO and likelihood of the customer submitting a positive review, and referrals.

Sign up to HutSolver today! Our system is free to join and use! We believe you’ll solve many of our users’ home projects with creative ideas.

About HutSolver
HutSolver is a marketplace for home projects where homeowners share their projects (create project posts), receive creative feedback and build relationships with qualified home improvement professionals (PROs). Post, Hire, and Manage your project all on HutSolver.

The post A Public Service Announcement for Home Improvement Contracting PROs appeared first on HutSolver Magazine.

nail some faster than others, and you will always be trying to improve on other harder to grasp skills. Here are some of the main areas to focus:

1. Compliance – Licensing & Insurance
   Make sure to get or maintain relevant licensing and insurance in your trade. This will be super helpful as you grow your customer base and have opportunities to pursue larger projects, whether that be insurance restoration projects, high-end residential homes, commercial properties, or multi-family complexes.
   
2. Maintaining Books & Records
   It can be tempting to request all of your payments in cash. However, when you get to the point of needing to expand your business, you will inevitably need to hire more people, lease equipment & vehicles, and/or perhaps lease new office space. It’s a good idea to accept checks and/or credit cards as well. This creates records (paper trail) of your profitability which is essential for creating financial records that can be verified when you are applying for new leases and loans. This will also help start building business credit which can be beneficial for leasing and loans as well. Remember to issue invoices and receipts for your work. Some digital services make this easier by using digital receipts and invoices (this is built into our system).
   
3. Branding & Website
   Where possible, aim to have a consistent brand presentation across every opportunity a customer sees your company logo. In other words, aim to have your logo on your and your employees’ clothing. This logo should also be prominently displayed on your website. Speaking of websites, make sure to NOT use an @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, etc email address for your business communication. Aim to get your own domain address and have a matching email addresses, for example: jim@yourpaintingservice.com.
   
4. Marketing
   This is probably the single biggest area you will spend much of your time, other than performing your actual service. There are many aspects of marketing to juggle, and this could be an article on its own. The main buckets to keep in mind are: direct (physical mail, cold email, etc.), web ads (Google, Bing Ads, etc.), web SEO (your website design and article creation), and social (facebook, Instagram, etc). Marketing takes time and consistent effort for your brand to catch on.
   
5. Lead Sourcing & Generation
   While you’re doing the hard work on the branding and marketing sides, it’s important to also think about aligning with sources and networks that have homeowners actively looking for help. You are probably considering trying lead generation services. We would caution you there because they tend to be expensive, and in many cases are charging $50+ per lead no matter how many times they have sold the same lead. Consider giving trying HutSolver a shot. When you compare HutSolver to some of the largest Home Improvement lead generation services, the biggest differences are:
   
   – HutSolver does not charge Home Improvement Contracting PROs for homeowner information (leads);
   
   – PROs in HutSolver can see what the homeowner wants to achieve (including dimensions and pictures);
   
   – Home Improvement Contracting PROs in HutSolver can communicate with a Homeowner before visiting their property to better understand the project and figure out if the project is interesting to them;
   
   – PROs in HutSolver can pursue as many projects as they believe they can handle;
   
   – Home Improvement Contracting PROs only pay a fee related to a project when they win a new project.

Sign up to HutSolver today! Our system is free to join and use! We believe you’ll solve many of our users’ home projects with creative ideas.

About HutSolver
HutSolver is a marketplace for home projects where homeowners share their projects (create project posts), receive creative feedback and build relationships with qualified home improvement professionals (PROs). Post, Hire, and Manage your project all on HutSolver.

The post Building a Home Improvement Business appeared first on HutSolver Magazine.

HutSolver was created with the belief that “good projects will naturally find good Home Improvement Contracting PROs, and vice-versa. This is where lasting value and relationships are created”. With this value in mind, we created HutSolver, where interested and qualified Home Improvement Contracting PROS can find homeowners interested in executing their projects.

Since HutSolver aims to achieve strong matches between homeowners and PROs, HutSolver does not charge PROs for a homeowner’s contact information (a lead). Why? Generally, because it can often be challenging for a PRO to win a project to begin with. This is the case for many reasons: with new information, sometimes a homeowner decides to wait due to budget, a homeowner might change their mind for personal reasons, a homeowner might learn something about their project that causes them to focus attention elsewhere, a homeowner received a more compelling price or proposal, the reasons can be endless. Because of this, we believe it’s fair for a Home Improvement Contracting PRO to pay only when they win a job through HutSolver.

When you compare HutSolver to some of the largest home improvement lead generation services, the biggest differences with HutSolver are:

• HutSolver does not charge PROs for a homeowner’s information (leads)
  
• PROs in HutSolver can see what the homeowner wants to achieve (including dimensions, descriptions, and pictures);
  
• PROs in HutSolver can communicate with a Homeowner before visiting their property to better understand the project and figure out if the project is interesting to them;
  
• PROs in HutSolver can pursue as many projects as they want to handle;
  
• PROs only pay a fee related to a project when they win a new project.
  Sign up to HutSolver today! Our system is free to join and use! We believe you’ll solve many of our users’ home projects with creative ideas.

Sign up to HutSolver today! Our system is free to join and use! We believe you’ll solve many of our users’ home projects with creative ideas.

About HutSolver
HutSolver is a marketplace for home projects where homeowners share their projects (create project posts), receive creative feedback and build relationships with qualified home improvement professiona

The post Why is HutSolver Not a Lead Generation Service? appeared first on HutSolver Magazine.

From a homeowners’ point of view, we’ve worked with a fair amount of contractors for our own personal projects; some great, some not memorable at all. In comparing notes among our team, we tried to list the qualities of why we believed certain contractors were better than others, there seemed too many to number. Instead, we tried to rank the 5 most important qualities, the rest seem to somehow tie back to any of these 5. Here are at least 5 qualities a PRO should strive for from a homeowner’s perspective:

1. Communicate clearly and professionally:
   Good communication is key to building trust with homeowners. Contractors should be clear and professional in their communication, responding promptly to questions, providing detailed proposals, and keeping homeowners updated throughout the project.
   
2. Provide a portfolio of past work:
   Providing a portfolio of past work can go a long way in helping a homeowner feel “at ease”. Often a homeowner has a vision or design in their mind they are not fully able to express. If they see some pictures of your past work, they may be able to identify aspects of your past work they would like for their project. Pictures of past projects also demonstrates the quality of a contractor’s work and reassures homeowners that they are making the right choice.
   
3. Offer competitive pricing and detailed estimates:
   Homeowners want to know they are getting a fair price for the work they need done. Remember, not all homeowners want the lowest price, but they do want the highest quality craftsmanship possible irrespective of their budget. PROs must be prepared to provide their highest quality, regardless of budget or else an upset customer may tell anyone who will listen about the PRO who did not do a satisfactory job, which is not good for business!
   
4. Show professionalism and expertise:
   Professionalism and expertise are important qualities that homeowners notice almost immediately in a contractor. Contractors who dress appropriately, speak clearly, arrive on time, and demonstrate a deep understanding of the work they are doing can help build trust with homeowners and increase the likelihood of being hired.
   
5. Provide a warranty or guarantee:
   Providing a warranty or guarantee on the work performed can give homeowners peace of mind and demonstrate the contractor’s commitment to quality workmanship. Homeowners are more likely to hire a contractor who stands behind their work and is willing to address any issues that may arise after the project is completed.

At HutSolver, we’re building a community of high quality licensed PROs to serve homeowners that post projects seeking professional help. HutSolver matches PROs to specific Project Owners to help them solve a home project in a PROs specific trade. Try HutSolver Today!

https://hutsolver.com/welcome

The post 5 Qualities a PRO Should Strive for From a Homeowner’s Perspective appeared first on HutSolver Magazine.

There are multiple services competing for your dollars through ad placement and lead selling products, HutSolver is not one of them. Our approach is substantially different – we believe PROs should receive leads and win projects not because of how much a PRO pays for a lead or spends flooding the market with advertising, but instead how good their ideas, customer service, and ability to execute are for a potential customer.

With this perspective in mind, we do not charge PROs for leads and do not offer PRO advertisement placement on our system. In HutSolver, PROs are invited to new projects by customers based on their interest in working with a given PRO. PROs appear and are ranked in our directory based on several factors including past reviews, physical proximity to a project, and skills relevant to a project’s needs.

We generate the majority of our revenue when a customer awards a PRO with a new project through HutSolver. Essentially, we get paid, when PROs get paid, which we believe aligns us with high quality PROs that value their work product, customer service, and deliver an exceptional customer experience.

We look forward to you teaming up with HutSolver and may you solve many home projects with creative ideas!

The post I’m a PRO, Why Should I Join HutSolver? appeared first on HutSolver Magazine.