Welcome to the Painter Marketing Mastermind Podcast, the show created to help painting company owners build a thriving painting business that does well over 103 million in annual revenue. I’m your host, Brandon Pierpont, founder of Painter Marketing Pros and creator of the popular PCA Educational Series to grow marketing for painters. In each episode, I’ll be sharing proven tips, strategies and processes from leading experts in the industry on how they found success in their painting business. We will be interviewing owners of the most successful painting companies in North America and learning from their experiences.
In this episode, Maggie Kuyper, owner of Harpeth Painting, and Chris Elliott, owner of OnIT Painting, discuss the upcoming PCA Commercial Painting Conference. They will lay out what’s included, the value you’re likely to receive if you plan to attend, and their experience with other PCA Events like PCA Commercial Painting.
What’s going on guys? What’s up, what’s up, what’s up? Uh Super excited for this upcoming conference. I know the, the commercial painting. I, I know that conference, uh, I think it resumed last year. Right. First time in a while. Yes. In Nashville. Yeah, that was fun.
Well, actually, but it was very, the last night was a little too fun, but that happens. That’s Nashville for you. That gets away from you. I’ve been to a lot of PC A events and that was the only one that I had too much fun at. I wish I could say the same. Yeah, you had an appropriate amount of fun. That’s right. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Awesome. So, I guess let’s, let’s get into it. What, what does the conference look like? Big question was a whole lot like Scottsdale, Arizona.
Yeah, it’s gonna be, yeah. Um, so we’re, we’re 40 days at 1003 days out actually. Uh, what are the dates? Let’s set the dates? Yeah, November 12th to the 15th. So, uh, is gonna be a welcoming reception, uh towards the evening. Uh, give everybody a chance to come together, um, and be nice. Just kind of just segue into the, into the conference. Uh, the, the 13th, uh, and the 14th, there’s gonna be a lot of opportunity to, to learn, uh, and to come together, network. Uh, but some really, really fun events are scheduled.
Uh, also the first day there’s gonna be some optional activities. We’re gonna have golf. We’re gonna have pickleball. We’re gonna have, I believe. Rock climbing. Maggie. What am I missing? There’s gonna be all kinds of fun, optional stuff to produce. Where’s this stuff? It’s all at the resort? Oh, that’s awesome. Where, where’s the conference? Yeah. So, go ahead, Maggie. Is that the boulder boulders? Is there an s, it’s boulders? Yeah, I think it’s boulders right in Scottsdale. Um, it’s close to the airport but it’s also, you’re gonna feel like you’re in just this middle of nowhere.
Exclusive phenomenal resort. Um, it’s five star one of a kind. Um, it’s gonna be super special place to be and place to just network. I mean, I know we say this a lot about PC A events but particularly at the commercial level, um, whether you’re new to commercial work or been doing it for decades. Um, the opportunity to just brain meld and share with other commercial contractors, best practices. Um, things you’ve learned new tricks of the trade. Um, it’s just, the opportunities are endless. I mean, I know even from our last commercial conference, we gained, uh, a new vendor that’s become a huge part of our network as well as, um we were referred like three jobs from other commercial clients.
Not in Nashville. Had a GC need to work in Nashville, you know, things like that. So the networking is endless that probably more than paid for the conference. Yeah. How long shot? I think the, uh for me, I’ve never been huge into, into how nice a place is for a conference because I’m always going there for learning as I’ve gone to more of them. I care more about that. But I also think, especially with something like the commercial when you go in the environment is a certain kind of environment.
I think it kind of puts people in the right head space to make big deals. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think it’s, it’s definitely gonna be a different, it’s a, if you haven’t been to a commercial conference, it’s a different vibe than Expo or anything else because, you know, it is that it’s, um, these contractors, we contractors that are attending are, um, we’re doing things that kind of a different category. Um, in terms of job size, job complexity, longevity of relationships, you know, all these things are different in the commercial world.
And so it’s going to feel different, but I’m with you Brandon. Like I used to just be like, it’s fine, whatever Holiday Inn, it’s great. But then like, you’re like, man, if I’m gonna leave my business, I’m gonna leave my family. I’m gonna spend time away, man. It sure is nice to feel like you’re on a vacation. You guys both know me well enough to know that I’m far too bougie for the holiday in. I do care where I was raised to prioritize free breakfast and free parking.
So, there you go there. As was I, where was the uh resort Chris that you were staying in? That we was it Sarasota that I went and oh no, it was actually Long Boat Key. So yeah, the it’s the, the key club there. Yeah, that sounds a good one. I figured out how you like to vacation. That was such a great day. That was, that was a great day, Brandon and I having drinks for about eight hours on the beach. That was, I think it was supposed to be an hour.
Uh we were supposed to have lunch that yeah, it was so good. I was just telling Jill about it. So, so Jill, our executive director of the PC A. So like we’ve, you know, she goes out uh with her, you know, members of the Ops team. So, you know, Jill and Jessica go out and visit these properties ahead of time. They’ve seen, you know, in with the other three events that we had going or that we have here at the end of the year and then with the expo, they’re going to these properties ahead of time, checking them out and like you know, making sure it works and, and uh getting it just the lay of the land and she has just shared with me so many times, like, how special and unique this property is.
So, I agree, like you go to a conference, we all have been to the Expo, we’ve been to conferences where it’s just like you get there and it’s like three days just like fly by and then you’re on your flight home. Um And so the, the, the hotel, like it really like sometimes it doesn’t matter, but like the timing of this, you know, being at the end of the year, how unique and awesome sort of like if you went for nothing else but just the, the time away and, and to kind of recharge and uh as, as Maggie said, kind of this get a go uh rub shoulders spar with your peers, like think through things kind of uh you know, a nice uh close to your ear and start pointing to the, to the, to the upcoming year.
I mean, this is going to be just a great space to be able to start making that transition from 2024 to 2025 I think. Oh, go ahead, Maggie. I was just gonna say that the timing is great for planning. Um I think we try to emphasize this a lot um transitioning to commercial or ramping up commercial or, you know, honing your commercial skills are, it’s not something that happens overnight. Um And so, you know, doing this in November could really help create a platform to plan for a great 2025 and 2026 which I know sounds crazy.
But that’s, that’s kind of a commercial though, right? It’s like a thought process, but the content is gonna be great. We have an amazing keynote speaker. S Kig is speaking, he’s an author and this uh I’ve actually just started his book Rad Radical Humility. Um But he’s a former un military peacekeeper and ultra endurance athlete who’s going to be the keynote speaking on. Um So he’s come on, it probably be a lot similar to some of the other keynotes we’ve had at Expo. He’s just, he’s a pretty big deal.
Um So we’ll kick off with that and then the content I think will just continue to blow you away, Chris. I think you have the theme nailed down. Yes. So uh theme is bold. So build, observe, feed and develop. So it’s uh I, I think it’s a great theme. It aligns with very much with what we’ve been sharing in this. Um The Yes, a great, a great keynote, great educational content for the 13th and 20173th. We the, we’re gonna have so it’s gonna be uh probably 100 plus commercial contractors there plus some, uh you know, vendors and, and the PC A team.
Um The vendors that are gonna be participating are just gonna be just really, really great. Um And, and we’re trying to create good opportunities from, again that peer to peer conversation, the, the, the experts who are coming in with the educational content and also these, these vendors and suppliers that are uh that align really well with our businesses. So, um I think it’s gonna be, I ju I just think it’s going to be a, an exceptional event. I don’t, I actually don’t think I know it’s gonna be an exceptional event.
The, uh Maggie night. We’re obviously, we’re, we’re, we’ve shared that we’re on the board of directors, uh for the PC A, but we’re also in the commercial uh committee. So we’re very involved um with the planning of this. And, um, no, uh, yeah, it, it’s hard to, uh, it’s hard to really, uh, in, in a, uh, a quick podcast. I kind of just, um express how much work and effort and thought, uh went into this from a lot of people. Yeah, I mean, it’s a fairly lengthy conference.
Like, I guess it’s the, it’s a reception on the 12th. Is that right? Yeah. So we’ll kick off with just fun on the 12th. So one of our goals was to create an opportunity for respite. So, on Tuesday the 299th, you, it’s optional activities all day. And so there’s golfing, there’s a spa rock climbing pickle ball like Chris said. And then the evening is just kind of a kick off for reception. Um And then the content is all day Wednesday and all day Thursday. So kind of similar to last year our commercial conference.
Um we’ll have the keynote, we’ll have a bunch of panels. There will be um we’re still working on unveiling the evening event um because it’s gonna be pretty special. And then on Thursday, more content throughout the rest of the day and evening um gathering and then everyone leaves on Friday. So definitely almost a full week. Um If you choose to take Tuesday for fun and rest and excitement, otherwise you could probably crank out a quick little 21000 day conference trip. Will there be anything on Friday? No, grab and go grab and go breakfast and then just check out.
Um Also again, it’s like this is a, if you were going to bring it out of one of the PC A S uh events, like if you’re gonna bring your spouse, uh or, you know, team members like this would be a great one to do and then you could extend your, your time into the weekend as, as Maggie shared like world class spa here. Um So again, I think that starting on a Tuesday, you know, if you decided you could, you could definitely lead into your, your weekend.
Yeah, I like how the PC A sets that up and it takes into account the fact that people have families and other stuff going on, you know, the commercial. Oh, go ahead. I was just gonna say, uh you know, friends that I know that are coming. Uh I know several that are bringing are bringing a spouse just so that like during the day like they, they, whether they participate in the conference or not, there’s just gonna be a lot of great things to do uh uh at this resort.
So you and I operating a spouse too crazy how that works. It’s crazy. You guys will all be in the spa hanging out for the week and you will be there. I will not, I will not be at the commercial. Yeah, I’m, I’m going to, man, I’m going to a lot of, a lot of the, I’m going to the residential, I’m going to the women paint. They might be going to one other thing, but I’m not going to commercial this fall. I had to, I had to cut it somewhere.
I thought we were friends but I guess, uh I guess we were friends. Yeah. Ok. But you weren’t wrong. Yeah. You know, past present future, they’re all different. That’s right. Yeah. The commercial painting conference last year. I was really impressed. I remember they had the panel. I know Dave Scaturro and a couple of other people were on there. I think it was like a hun, I don’t know, 21000 million or 21000 million. There was some crazy amount of revenue sitting on that stage who was on that. No, really successful.
I think, I think the biggest one was like 2100 or 2100 million in annual revenue. Like going to rock. Yeah, that’s right. Yeah, that’s the, one of the things we talked about with, you know, when we’re talking about these vendors, um the buying power in the room that will all be together in November 13. Um is incredible. Um I mean, I would say the majority of the companies there are probably close to buying a million plus a year from each vendor. Um And so it’s just, it’s, it’s a different, it’s a different level, but it’s also not an unapproachable level, right?
And so like you saw probably last year, Brandon, the, the Rocky Cherries of the World, Cherry Coatings is a worldwide Harrison Kings are worldwide. I mean, they’re literally worldwide paint companies and they’re sitting on the panel, they’re sitting on the committee. Um They’re, you know, sharing their own wins and losses. Um It’s not just, you know, that to say, look at how big we are and how great we are. They’re like, man, I remember Rocky talked about how he lost like millions of dollars one year and I was like, he did what, like, mind boggling when you’re not, but I guess that’s how it feels when we lose like 21.
Like, I mean, you just, you know, you add perspective and realize he’s human. Yeah. Yeah, it’s, I, I think the, when contractors are able to come together in network, especially, like with the culture that the PC A have where you get a lot of servant leaders and people who are so willing to share. But, like when you can learn a lesson without having to take the lump yourself, like that’s such a, like, it’s such a benefit. Yeah, I was the youngest child, man. I never got in trouble because I just watched what my mother did to get in trouble.
It’s the same thing Dave’s guitar. I’m like, tell me all the mistakes you’ve made. You’re third generation company and then I’m just gonna not make those mistakes. Yeah, it makes the journey less painful and it gets, it gets you there quicker too. I mean, think about it, like when you, the, the, the way you behaved inside your business at 21 million changes a lot at three millions and, and sometimes, like, it’s like you get stuck in these, like periods where it’s just like, ok, we’re, we’re doing 22020 million in annual revenue.
I wanna be at six. Having someone who’s at six and can help, can help you through 3 to 6. Is such a benefit if you at six and you, and you want to get to 20 right? Like having, being able to go to an environment like this where somebody has done that and they can save you some steps and save you a little, uh, pain is, is a, again, it’s just like it’s, you, you can’t really uh quantify the, the benefit there. The size of the conference too is awesome.
Like if you look at roofing or you look at some of these other industries, you know, roof com being, being an example, the conferences are so much bigger and yet you look at this PC, a commercial painting, it’s big enough that there are a lot of people there like 100 plus, but it’s small enough and long enough that you have time to rub elbows, grab a drink, like really dive deep with these people who are just at absurd levels. That’s a very unique opportunity. Very, very unique. 100 people is like, and this is, it’s fairly intimate, right?
And so you can just, as you said, you can just get deeper and yeah, when we do, when we put uh with commercial, it’s a lot of relationship development. So we did this a lot of uh business development, prospecting activities like we go in the mindset is like, it’s, it’s quality over quantity. We just want to gain one relationship out of this instead of trying to go work the room like the old school, like, you know, chamber conference, event out business cards and hand it to everybody like, hey, we, we wanna go game one.
So just think of it. If you go to the conference and you just gain one meaningful relationship, it can change your business, it can change your life. So, what is the pricing of the conference? Good question. Uh, it’s for, if you’re a PC A member, it’s, uh, just under $1000 at 13. Um, you can bring a spouse for, uh, 499. A non-member is, uh, 1199. Is that correct, Maggie? Yep. Ok. And then Nonmember’s would be 706 99 PC A should do like a rep share. So that when Maggie’s team comes and then they do three projects rather than be $1000 or so a person.
It’s like there you go. We made the suggestion. Yeah, PC A would make a lot of money but that shows the value that people can have. Like you said, Chris one, I mean, that, that’s dirt cheap when you’re talking about commercial, $1000 a couple of $1000 for a trip. It would take basically nothing to weigh more than make that back in commercial. So who is it for? Is it for people who are just in commercials? It for people who are thinking about who should come to this thing? It’s for anyone, I would say if you are a full residential contractor and you are interested in what commercial may look like.
Um, you are 100% welcome. There’s a chance that you will be, um, death by or water by fire hose or whatever that, you know, I mean, it will be, it will feel like a lot. Yeah, it will feel like, um, some of it will feel like Spanish. Um, but that doesn’t mean there’s not someone like me or Chris who will meet you where you are because, uh, you know, seven years ago I didn’t have any experience in commercial construction. And so, um, there’s definitely people that will be there, um, to reach out and help if you are beginning your step and dabbling in commercial.
This is a no brainer to me. Um like Chris said to be in a culture of people that are willing to share, help, advise, coach cheer, you know, whatever it is. And then at the same time, if you’re kind of where Chris and I are in a fairly established commercial contracting company, to me, it’s another no brainer because you’re gonna have companies doing things. Chris does things differently than I do. We learn from each other all the time, then there’s companies larger than us that are going, that we’re going to learn from and we’re gonna, you know, share information and um best practices with.
So it’s, I mean, that’s a breakdown to say anyone, but I would definitely say, you know, if you don’t have experience with commercial and want to attend for sure, come, just make sure you find someone to kind of lean into if you start to get um confused by lingo or jargon or you know, Google it you’ll figure it out. But, well, I know at the last commercial painting conference, I, I didn’t know a ton and I feel like the, it, it was a lot of information but it was digestible because they presented it in a way and explain things in a way that people who, I mean, it’s a big segment that the PC A targets is residential companies looking to transition into commercial.
And so the, I think you guys did a really good job of creating content that helped with that transition and then Q and A an opportunity not making people feel stupid at all. Right, meeting everyone where they’re at and then giving, giving people the opportunity to interact. Really? What is a big advantage? Yeah, I mean, last, I think it was last commercial. Um and then Expo as well because we kind of, you know, we see a lot of the same people um at both events and I remember Matt looking at me after my husband and business partner after. Yeah.
Yeah, he’s not very smart and not very big. Um But he looked at me after kind of the pairing of, you know, commercial in November and Expo in February. And he was like now more than ever. I feel like we can do it like it was a confidence boost. It wasn’t this like smooshing of like you’re not good enough, you’re not big enough, you’re not experienced enough. It was an uplifting of like, there’s nothing to be scared of, like we can do this and it was from kind of that collection of, of time with, with people in the industry doing the type of things that we want to be doing.
So it was really neat to kind of see that clarity. Yeah. And some of the things I know, I’ve heard you and Matt talk about just ways to get in with property managers and, and how to, how to make the introduction and actually be seriously considered. It was pretty straightforward stuff but stuff that you wouldn’t really know to do or how to do it or how long to do it, but not rocket science at all. Those relationships. Exactly. That’s, yeah, that’s super helpful. Um, what other things should people know?
Like, maybe they’ve never even been to a PC A event. What other things should they be aware of as they’re contemplating whether or not to come to this? I think that so obviously the, the PC A, the commercial conference, we, we, we have ownership and making sure this is a great experience. But at the end of the day, like 100 people are gonna show up and they’re going to share ownership in their experience. So I think that, you know, for me, I had a year in 2017, I went to my 1st, 1st PC A, uh expo and it wasn’t a great event because, uh, I didn’t participate.
I didn’t fully engage. I was, I went with uh uh, yeah, so I went and it, it mugged everybody the whole time. Yes. Yes. I stood in the corner and looked really mad. Um, I went in 2020 completely by myself. I met Matt and Maggie. They were, uh first, you know, some of the first friends I made, but I went, I went by myself and I really took it serious as like this is I’m gonna go, I’m gonna get enga I’m going to engage, I’m gonna make this a positive experience or if it’s not, again, it’s like I’m probably not gonna be a part of the PC A. We hear that a lot, a lot of people are like, I’ve been a member for two or three years, but I haven’t went to an expo.
I haven’t went to an event. So I would say like, go engage and, and you’re going to quickly see um that you have people there that are going to be so willing to uh come alongside and, and you know, get to know you uh share information, root you on. Um We all know like you like in our businesses, it can get very lonely because you’re, you know, you’re, you’re locked in, you’re, you’re pursuing a goal. Uh There’s moments that we feel like we’re the absolute best and moments that we feel like we’re the absolute worst and it’s really good to put yourself in a position uh to see uh your peers and have peers that like when you need to make a phone call, when I need to call Matt or I need to call Maggie.
Um and, and, and being able to build that relationship but, but to, to tie that back to how I started is like you have ownership in your experience, right? So go there willing to jump in, willing to network, willing to consume the content. You guys were just covering that. There’s a lot of different ways. Like you’re gonna have a keynote uh presenting to you, you’re going to have panels that you can listen to, to get multiple opinions. You’re gonna have a present temptations, we can just listen to someone speak.
You’re gonna have brain Mels where you can sit at a table and collaborate and share and spar. So there’s gonna be different ways for you to learn. So you can you really kind of curate your trip based on the way that you take information. So it’s just like go there be prepared, jump in and, and um you know, take, have a great experience and get lots of good takeaways. Yeah, I think um I have to remind myself of this a lot, but we’re all entrepreneurs, right? We’re all business owners.
So the like I joined a, a mastermind group and I started to think that I shouldn’t have joined it. And then I realized, well, it’s up to me to make it to make it valuable. Like I make my own reality. I’m an entrepreneur and when I go to events, I actually get nervous, which a lot of people don’t, wouldn’t think. But the, the first night, the cocktail. So I’m always nervous. I’m like, OK, you know, I feel shy, whatever. Um But then I remember I’m an entrepreneur and there’s an opportunity and I, I need to go capitalize on it.
And I think if you get in the right mindset, like you said, take ownership of the experience and responsibility. You, you, you’re leading a business, you’re responsible to your team, your family, whatever you’re doing it for. Uh There’s really not a way to miss but yeah, if you show up, you’re in a show, you, you don’t wanna talk with anyone. The brain MS obviously wouldn’t really be as beneficial for you. If you don’t talk to anybody, you’ll still get a lot of information. It just won’t be the same experience, but it could be.
So remember, the theme is bold to show up. Be bold. Yeah, the brain melts are great. Like anyone who’s been to the expo, they know, you know, the round table sharing ideas, the stuff that’s dropped. There is just absolute gold and the panels, the Q and A, the fact that you can just pick the brains of all these people because there’s all PC A does a great job leaving a lot of time for Q and a, it’s very interactive. Yep. Yep. Um If people want to want to see more about this, I know you guys are finalizing all the speakers presentations, they go to PC A paint ed.
org that’s PC A painted. org and then click the event. I think it’s like events drop down and then live events go to the PC A commercial painting conference and stuff will be updated there. Yeah. And you can, you can register uh register for the event. I think uh obviously there’ll be a link to get you uh registered for, for boulders. Uh So you can get your room reserved. Uh There’s still, there’s still space available. So again, uh if, if, if, if we peak your uh interest at all, go check out that resort.
It’s pretty sweet. Yeah, if you guys, what did you say Maggie? I’m so excited. Yeah. No, I, I think it’s gonna be great if, if for people who have been listening to me for a while, I don’t, I don’t put up stuff that I don’t believe in everyone who, who listens to me knows, I believe in the PC A. But if I thought this weren’t, were not a good conference, I would not film a podcast episode about it as I would lose credibility. So I very much believe in this.
I think it’s gonna be amazing. Well, and even if you don’t come for the painting, don’t forget pickleball tournament on Tuesday, that’s why you come for the pickleball. Miss your host. You have no idea how good I am. I’m looking forward to it. I played pickleball for the first time, like two months ago and I had always been on the fence about it. I used to play tennis, play tennis in college, but like older kind of fat. I was like, you know what pickleball is? All right.
You don’t have to. It, it, the court’s a lot smaller. It is all right, the man, you need to carve it out. Find a way. I know. I’m, uh, I’m debating October. I’m basically gone all month. So November, I promised Ariel, I’d try to tone it down a little bit, so we’ll see, we’ll see. I might pull an audible, I might, I might pull an audible. I’ve been known to do that. Uh Cool. Anything else you guys want to add as we wrap up this episode? No, I think just feel free to reach out to either of us if you’re on the fence and want more questions.
Um, I know Brandon has his Facebook group for the podcast. You can tag Chris Ryan there. Um, or, um, if you go to PC A’s website, we’re both on the board of directors and I believe our contact information is on there as well. Fastest way would probably be Brandon’s Facebook Group. But yeah, if you’re on the fence and confused or not, sure or you know, anything else relating to this conference. Um and whether or not you’re a good fit and would benefit um feel free to reach out to one of us.
We would love to talk it out. Absolutely. Yeah, I appreciate, I appreciate Chris. Were you saying something? No, I was just agreeing on this if you’re a commercial contractor or you’re a residential contractor interested in commercial contracting. If you’re a PC member, PC A member or not a PC A member, I would highly recommend participating in this event. It’s a good opportunity. You can’t pass up good opportunities as an entrepreneur. I appreciate you guys. Thanks for taking your time to talk about this and thank you for planning it.
I know I’m, I’m on uh a couple of committees and I know it’s, it, it’s a big deal. A lot of work goes into this. I think, I think it’s easy to overlook that. So I appreciate everything you guys are doing for. It. Sounds like it’s gonna be truly amazing. Appreciate you. Thanks guys.
If you want to learn more about the topics we discussed in this podcast and how you can use them to grow your painting business, visit PainterMarketingPros.com/Podcast for free training, as well as the ability to schedule a personalized strategy session for your painting company.
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Hey there, painting company owners. If you enjoyed today’s episode, make sure you go ahead and hit that subscribe button. Give us your feedback. Let us know how we did. And also if you’re interested in taking your painting business to the next level, make sure you visit the Painter Marketing Pros website at PainterMarketingPros.com to learn more about our services. You can also reach out to me directly by emailing me at Brandon@PainterMarketingPros.com and I can give you personalized advice on growing your painting business. Until next time, keep growing.