An Additional $194,013.69 Worth of Proof – You CAN Sell a Painting Company
“Everyone knows you can’t sell a painting company for anything, Brandon”… Even though I sold mine for $440,000 total in only five short years after building it up to over $1,000,000.00 (in the middle of the Great Recession starting in 2008 with no prior painting experience.)
I hear this from painters ALL THE TIME.
Well, here’s a little bit of proof for those naysayers.
Pictured above, you’ll see a check for $194,013.69 I received on May 6th
– just three short days ago.
It is the LAST installment on the sale of my painting business and many checks preceded this one – both a large initial deposit and ongoing, monthly payments with interest came in between.
When painters doubt you can sell a painting company for top dollar, I just shake my head.
Do you still doubt you can sell your painting company for a good profit one day? You shouldn’t.
Even if you don’t believe my story, consider this: Painting franchises sell their “painting companies” all day long for good prices and yet the first dollar hasn’t even been collected!
They are only selling the “hope” of a successful business and the systems that can make it happen.
You see, it is the marketing systems and the assurance of ongoing, recurring revenue that make a painting company valuable – NOT THE PAINTING OF BUILDINGS!
The systematic generation of leads, closing of sales, and a steady stream of repeat and referral customers does not happen by accident – at least not with predictability and at the level most people really desire.
If you aren’t spending the time and money you should to build marketing systems for your company, you don’t really have a business – you just have a JOB with a lot of risk and headache attached to it.
This is no good at all.
When I received my MBA, I had an entrepreneurship teacher who had been very successful in the business world. He said something to me that I’ll never forgot.
These words changed my outlook forever in business, and they SHOULD change yours too. He said this…
“Before you ever even start a business, you should first consider how you will sell it.
If you can’t do this, don’t even start one.”
These are very, very wise words. Owning a painting business should be able to provide you with a very good income AND you should be able to build equity.
If you’re not doing this, you need to stop and assess your company’s direction – FAST.
You need to stop pending all your time on things that are “urgent but not important.” You need to stop being cheap about investing in marketing and advertising systems.
Instead, turn your attention toward the well-worn path of painting success. There is truly “nothing new under the sun” in painting. You can succeed in selling your painting business one day. Never doubt it.
If you just invest the time and money in building it RIGHT.
Start. Today.
Your Friend in Painting Profits,
Brandon Lewis
Director of the Marketing Department
The Academy for Professional Painting Contractors
Department Line: 423-800-0520
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The 5 Keys for Success in ANY Economy
Discover the key to unlocking the hidden income potential in your painting business.
Hear What Other Members are Saying:
Jim and Lorraine
“Our first campaign reached $60,041.98! That's a huge percentage of our annual sales! You don't pick the peach orchard just one time. Different peaches ripen every day. Thanks for encouraging us to keep after it!”
Eric
“15 requests for quotes and closed and/or completed $23,000 of work and I still have a few more to do. Conservatively this campaign will net $25,000 in found money in the first 45 days! Thanks Brandon!”
Torlando
“This year has been the biggest year of growth for us. We're double where we were last year. I realized the real money in this business is in the marketing of the services - not the doing of the services.”
The 5 Keys for Success in ANY Economy
Discover the key to unlocking the hidden income potential in your painting business.
Can you point me in the direction that I need to go in to start the process of selling my business, I feel it is worth a lot due to the 22 years I have put into it, and the great work I put into the name and integrity of this business, I feel someone can use my hard work to profit nicely, can you help me. Thank You.
Terry Hoffman
Selling a painting business is very, very challenging for most owners Terry. You’ll need to build systems and manuals for the incoming owners, make certain you’ve reconnected and monetized your in-house customer lists, and prepared financial statements that will pass muster with banks if the purchaser will be using SBA or other financing. Frankly, this is a L-O-N-G discussion because so many things need to happen to MAXIMIZE your return. Yes, you can quickly cash-out for a bargain basement price to someone (maybe $10,000 more than your equipment is worth), but that would be a waste of 22 years. Call in to the office, set up an appointment, and I’d be happy to talk to you personally. Call 423-800-0520 and ask for Jennifer. Tell her you want to set up an appointment with Brandon Lewis.
Hello I would like to speak to you about potentially selling my awesome painting business. I am a great painter who runs the jobs very well but I am terrible at the other aspects of the business. I am looking for someone to buy the business so I can get out of the debt that the business has incurred (100K-150k) and possibly run the jobs for the owner. They would take care of all of the business end such as quarterly filings, taxes, employee compensation, invoicing, accounts receivable, etc. I could do all of the scheduling, running of the crews, Estimating, material actuations and customer relations. These things along with the work itself I am one of the best. The company itself has an excellent reputation and does supreme and custom work. We are geared more towards the higher end clientele and have been on business for about 9 years. Please let me know if you can help me with this. Thanks
Rita, I have sent you a private email about how to sell a painting business.
Hey Brandon, my business is just under two years old. I am trying to transition out of painting at all. I have two workers, but I am not great at running crews. I handle, marketing, estimates, payments, and customers. I would hate to close the business because there is soooooo much profit to be made. I really want to handle the marketing and books, and pay someone top dollar to avoid being in the field myself. I get more jobs than I can handle and am having issues with scaling because I dont have the man power. I did not that we had so many repeat customers and word of mouth customers, that there was no slow season in 2020. I’ve decided that this year, 2021, I will not paint. I will make less profit initially, however if I can get the right crew leader and workers, over the long run I can focus on what I do well, marketing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Zee