Aggies,

I am taking that chance on life and bought a franchise. It is in painting, (Residential and Business) which is not my background, but I do Sales and Marketing and I like the corporate model. I will be an owner operator and control all aspects of the business. I am in West Palm beach.

Any advice from anyone who has walked this path? What to do? What not to do? Short term or Long term strategies? I am an open book and would love any advice.

Thanks!

Avoid apartment contracts.

Margins are razor thin, competition is fierce and the managers often expect kickbacks. Plus, your crews will find themselves in some really shady places.

Home residential is much better, even if homeowners are more picky.

Network everywhere & tell everyone you know what you are doing.
Agree on learn Spanish.
Go out with your crews for at least a few hours a week & get to know them. Build trust & loyalty.
Stay on top of your A/R. Invoice immediately & don't allow people to string you along.
Get to know your suppliers. They are a source of knowledge, leads, potential employees, etc.
Good custom builders are a good source of repeat business. Check their credit & ask around though, some of them may build a big house but not be worth a damn.

I assume your franchise will provide help as well. Do they have crews for you?

Ags,

Thank you for all the advice. I truly appreciate it. I am working on the Spanish, but I am not there yet. I can't hang my hat on that. I will be getting a group of subcontractors, so my goal is to treat them right and fairly to make sure I keep the correct people. I would rather eat money to keep the right people for the long term than keep finding new ones. I have a long-term goal and even bringing coffee or doughnuts on random big projects for the good crews. It won't be the standard but a fun extra on occasions. My hope is to hold the right values and keep everyone happy.

I have things to learn as a first-time business owner. There will be ups and downs but i appreciate any and all advice who have walked this road.

Thank you all!

The corporate will help vet out the subcontractors. They will fly in the opening week to assist with all interviews. Then it will be on me but they will help. But it is a solid format to learn, and I feel comfortable once I learn the things to ask.

Great question and appreciate your advice.

Spend the money up front with a contract lawyer to develop good terms & conditions and limit your liability up front.

Even if you are an honorable businessman, stand behind your word and work, follow through etc...you need to get those T&Cs to the point they feel shady to you. The people you're working for are going to come after every dollar of your margin that they can get no matter how they have to come after it.

1. Get insurance. First and foremost, get some damn good insurance.

2. Get a solid attorney that can help you with LLC start up, taxes, contracts, and real estate. I recommend starting a parent LLC that this company is subordinate to.

3. Network like crazy with interior designers and contractors. Not sure if you're a veteran but take advantage of the small business administration help for veterans.

Youre in a business where repeat customers are the key, those contractors and interior designers are a good bunch. Also look for AirBNB management companies. I know someone said apartments are thin margins and such but they're also steady work and provide volume if you partner with the right ones.

One of the best tools a business owner can have is a good set of comparative financials. If you're not familiar with financial statements and accounting, I would at least gain a basic knowledge of how to read a P&L and Balance Sheet and make sure your books stay up to date and accurate (and your books won't ever be completely accurate unless you're reconciling bank accounts and credit cards at least on a quarterly basis).

Once you have that ironed out you can take a look at a P&L or Balance Sheet and see where your money is going, where you can improve costs, what expense categories look out of whack compared to this time last year, do you have enough cash to cover current liabilities, etc.

That One Painter franchise by chance?

Make sure that if you plan on subbing out the actual jobs, that your subs have insurance. If not, anything they do that creates liability will fall back on you.