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Host Scott Lollar is a 35 year veteran of the painting industry, and founder of Consulting4Contractors. The Beyond $1,000,000 Podcast serves as a touchpoint to painting contractors who have hustled, sacrificed, and worked hard to get their business to where it is today. Now, you need the guidance, expertise, experience and team to make it into the multi-million dollar company of your dreams. You'll hear stories and interviews from "Brothers of the Brush" and "Sisters of the Sprayer" who have been where you are and are charting a new course for their company's success. Listen in and go beyond $1,000,000!
From Rockstar Aspirations to Painting Success: The Entrepreneurial Journey of Ron Rice
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[00:00:00]
Scott L: Hey, thanks for listening into the Beyond $1,000,000 Podcast from Consulting4Contractors. Today, I am super excited to talk with Ron Rice. He's the owner of Ron Rice Painting, one of my absolute favorite individuals in this world. And I don't say that just because he's here, but because it's true.
He inspires me with his humility and hunger for getting better. Plus his life is really fun to learn about and participate in. So I'm glad he's here. Let's get into it.
My name is Scott Lollar and I'm a 35 year veteran of the painting industry where I've been part of growing several multimillion dollar painting companies. I have worn all the hats and have experienced everything you have experienced, are experiencing, or will experience. There is lots of chatter about getting to a million dollars, but what very few focus on is what it takes to blast through Death Valley and create the multi million dollar company of your dreams.
We don't focus on fads, [00:01:00] tricks, or shortcuts. We focus on solid foundational business principles and data that deliver results. This is the Consulting 4 Contractors Beyond $1,000,000 Podcast.
I'm glad to have you on here. Ron, thanks for being a part of the podcast today.
Ron: Thanks so much for having me Scott grateful. You asked me.
Scott L: Tell us a little bit about how you got here, and here is a painting contractor in San Diego.
Ron: Well, I thought I was going to be a rock star and that didn't work out. So I think whenever, you know, the record labels didn't come calling. No, seriously, I, I started painting part time when I was in college and I was going to college for media communications and I actually had a job in radio.
And, kind of thought that I would always be on a microphone somehow. I didn't know it would all lead to a Beyond A Million Podcasts, but I always thought I'd be in front of a microphone [00:02:00] somehow. And I started parting, I started painting, in, in college and something about it that I really enjoyed.
And when I didn't, in all seriousness, when I didn't have a huge career in radio, there's something about taking something that looked bad and making it nice. And it's aesthetic and I felt a sense of accomplishment and, just kind of become my path. I, I started really painting professionally in, Nashville, Tennessee in the early nineties.
And I started doing new construction just as a laborer the I'm the old guy that, you know, literally caulked and puttied till my fingers bled I started a company there and experienced quite a bit of success at the time. And then I just wanted to be on the West. I wanted to be closer to my family and, my daughter.
And I just wanted to [00:03:00] come back home. So I came out here and I did what everybody does when they move to Southern California. I surfed and I fancy myself an artist. I played music and woke up 1 day broke and went, "Uh oh, I better start a painting company." At the time. I had no idea it would turn into the beast that it has.
Scott L: Wow.
That's a lot in a short period of time. Okay, so you were in college in Nashville?
Ron: So I was actually in Arizona going to college and then I moved to Tennessee.
Yeah. I thought that I would be a DJ. Yeah. I thought I would be a DJ. I had some on air experience in, In Arizona, back in the day at AM talk radio when that was a thing. I think it still might be in certain circles. But it's a really hard industry and we all know there's really not that much in radio anymore.
It's all syndicated and there's 5 people that run everything. [00:04:00] And, I was just in over my head. Wasn't a path that. Just didn't work out. So when it's like, you know, winning the lottery, the numbers are ridiculous. So
Scott L: There's a bunch of people listening right now that are on Wikipedia trying to find out what AM radio even means.
Ron: Here's how long it's been since I've been to school about that. I don't even remember what AM radio stands. I don't even remember. No idea.
Scott L: So was there's a moment in time where someone invited you to paint something, or did you just have an epiphany and got some sucker to say yes to paint for you?
You gotta, you gotta fill in some gaps for me here, cause...
Ron: I was painting part time when I was in school. So I knew some people in, a family friend, I guess, while I was in school and I needed extra money. And they said, why don't you paint our house, for extra money?
And I had no, I didn't know what I was doing. And I just got a bucket of paint and a [00:05:00] brush that they had bought. And I just started slapping paint on the eaves of this house. I think I worked for three days and got about three feet of eaves done. I didn't have no idea what I was doing. And at the time, I was living with my mother and, our house was painted and a guy came over.
This is a long time ago. A guy came over. He did it as a side job, so he worked as a painter all day, and then he came over after work and painted our whole house, all the wood, the carport, everything with a four inch brush. And he just worked and worked and worked and worked, and I was like, wow, that's cool.
And there was something really, cool about it. So, that's kind of how I got, and plus, there is another reason. When I was in Nashville, and I was looking for work after I didn't get the job in radio, I thought... [00:06:00] If I'm going to have to work construction, like, do I want to be playing in poo? Do I want to be crawling?
Do I want to be crawling around? Like, do I want to be a plumber? Do I want to crawl around in insulation, like an electrician? Or do I just want to carry a couple gallons of paint over to Miss Johnson's house and make her room nice and pink for her? Nice.
Scott L: That's great. The painting was the best of the worst, or maybe the other way around.
Ron: The path of least resistance, man.
Scott L: That is, man, that is great. Okay. So you come to San Diego. What year did you move to San Diego?
Ron: I moved, I moved to San Diego in 2000. Okay.
Scott L: Did you work for someone else? What did you, because California, not the easiest place to do business, if you're a small business owner, what was, was it easier back then? Or how did you make out?
Ron: No, [00:07:00] it's always, it's, it's a really, really tough state to run a business. And, it's a, it's tough. It's a tough market out here, all around. I did, I got a corporate job selling phone systems.
I bounced around, I did a corporate job selling phone systems, put on a suit and tie every day and went to an office. Wasn't really for me. I actually had a telemarketer job for a little bit. There's a new documentary on HBO called telemarketers. I worked in a place very, very similar to that, where I sold stuff over the phone.
Incredibly rough crowd, but, but not for me, not for me. And when all other options, I didn't, I wasn't planning on painting ever again. I was tired of it. I had a partner in Nashville. I was, I wasn't happy with my partner. I wasn't happy how we dissolved the business. And, quite frankly, my ego didn't want me to [00:08:00] be a house painter.
I thought I wanted, I thought I could do more. But when I was broke, when I, you know, when push comes to shove out here, I just said, I didn't even know the license laws out here. I didn't know what I had to have. I didn't know how hard it was to have a business in California. I just knew I had to do something and paintings what I knew.
Scott L: So this is interesting, honest, but interesting. you really felt that at this point in your life, you, you weren't thinking that a painter was what you wanted to be. You kind of thought of that as maybe not a great career, like just to be fair. Right. I mean, you were thinking that's beneath you.
Ron: Yeah. I didn't want, I don't want to say it's beneath me, but maybe a little bit.
I did not want to be in risk of making myself sound really bad. I did not want to be a 50 year old man wearing white in a paint store. And that's probably the [00:09:00] best thing, the best decision I ever made, because when I did decide to start a painting company out here, My number one goal was to not paint from the day I started.
I knew I didn't want to be a guy with a brush in his hand. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just not what I want for my life.
Scott L: So you, take the test. You're official as in Ron Rice, painting is an official business. You're officially live.
Ron: I'm live. I'm live. And I, I mean... I started painting before I passed the contractor state license board test. I just, every single person I met, I kept cards with me and I introduced myself and I said, if you need a painter, if you know somebody who needs a painter, I'm the guy, and I just literally shook every hand and talked to every single person and, it took off fairly quick.
It [00:10:00] took off fairly quick. And, then I got licensed and then, you know, in one step, one foot follows the other, then I got licensed and I got all the insurances, then we started getting bigger. And, not to jump too far ahead, but I realized at one point, that I had a good size company in one of I'm convinced is one of America's toughest markets. We're 15 miles from the border or less, a lot of guys come across and work every day.
The license and the laws here are super, super strict. Not only do we have the state license board, but we got the EED and the Coastal Commission looking at everything we do. I realized that I had a pretty big business and I didn't know anything about running an actual real business.
Scott L: So, tell me a little bit about what you're doing back then. Is it residential repaints? New [00:11:00] construction? What do you got going on?
Ron: Yeah, so I started doing. It never dawned on me to be a residential repainter. In fact, I would avoid, I would tell people I didn't want to paint Betty's house down the street. It wasn't for me. I was looking for contractors, whether they were building new homes or remodels or kitchens and bath, whatever I could.
You know, I would get the job, the referrals, like, hey, can you come paint a bedroom? And, you know, when I first got going, that's what I, I would do that stuff. But a couple of years in, if you asked me to, to go look at an exterior down the street for a retail client, I wouldn't do it.
Scott L: So, what kept you from doing that?
Like, was there head trash or maybe general contractors that you were working for that you thought were better?
What was your mindset there?
Ron: You know, that's a great question. And I don't really, that was a long time ago and I don't really remember what my, I thought that contractors already had the work.[00:12:00]
I could build a relationship with them. I. Don't know if I can actually call out why I think it was just probably something I learned when I was a kid in Tennessee painting, like, oh, you don't want to do, you know, retail work. One of the reasons I feel like I've been so successful is because I've been able to change with the market when 2008 when everything took a nosedive in 2008.
I started doing commercial work. I just happened on a couple of great commercial contracts, and it really, kept me afloat and kept me going that whole time. And then, you know, when COVID hit, well, and then, and then about 2017, when I really felt like I had a beast on my hand, that my business has had a life of its own.
You know, it was going to move with or without me. The phone was going to ring and stuff was going to happen. That's when I really started to focus on, [00:13:00] residential repaints and realize actually what a great market it is. But also, the key is to have balance. So, residential repaints, commercial work, you know, I still have a relationship with 2 builders that I do work for, and I, I do work for them on my terms, essentially. Generally, if any other builders call me, I, I, I'm I'm not interested.
Scott L: It sounds like you were sort of content to just, let other people being the contractors sell the work and you just, make the 1 percent of people you need to make happy, happy with the work you're doing.
Ron: it's a double edged sword because when I was working for, for contractors, you know, there were, we would be at one house for six months, you know, if it's a, it's a six figure house, we did focus on high end residential stuff.
So, if we're at one house for six months, it's one address. One set of colors, two personalities, the contractor and the [00:14:00] homeowners. Right. And that's all you had to deal with. But you were there for 6 months. So, if it was bad, it was bad. Right. So, it's very different. And it's been a very, it's been a very slow process for me to realize that now, you know, when we're doing.
Our average job size is right around 10 grand. So when we're doing three of those a week or starting or finishing three of those, we could three different addresses a week. It's three different personalities. It's three different sets of colors. It's three. It's a, there's a lot more to this, but it's also, if it's a bad client, we're just, we're in and out.
Scott L: Sure. So, tell me, and those listening to the podcast about your employee model at Ron Rice painting, what's your service mix?
Ron: So I'm in california, so it's we're w2. It's there are there is a way to sub contract here. But you have to be a general contractor and you can't you have to be a [00:15:00] general contractor and you can't sub to what you do already. So it's pretty illegal for a painter to sub to another painting contractor. I think there's some companies that do it, but i'm not willing to risk what I have for a paint job.
Scott L: So, your org chart, what is, what does that look like? Who's on your team?
Ron: So it's, me, my main role is, sales, in the company right now.
And then I have an operations assistant, Kaylee, who handles all the backend office stuff. And Kaylee, Kaylee is just a little over, but she works about 25 to 30 hours a week.
Scott L: And what is your, projected revenue, projected for the year?
Ron: So I will sell, I'm on track to sell probably 1. 5. I'm hoping to close the year out at 1. 2, 1. 3, maybe, maybe I [00:16:00] can produce 1. 3, maybe, but it's, it's going to be tough.
Scott L: So that is, pretty great. All things considered, considering it's you and half a person.
Ron: Yes, absolutely.
Scott L: So I would imagine that your field is, pretty high functioning in general.
Ron: Yeah, my field is pretty high functioning. I don't have to micromanage my guys. I have, I have a strong crew. Every now and again, I go and look at stuff. Every now and again, I have to go and put a fire out as any owner would. But really, all in all, I have a really strong group of guys that work for me.
Scott L: And that was borne out by, the fact that you, recently went to Australia, or was it New Zealand? I'm not sure.
Ron: I went to Australia. Yeah. So, I haven't ever taken any, so I take lots of trips. I go, I travel a lot [00:17:00] locally. I travel a lot around the country, whether it's to go see family or friends or painting events, C4C retreats or the PCA expo.
But I recently had a chance to go to Australia and. And all these trips that I take around the country, I still have email access, I still have phone access. I still kind of conduct business while I'm away. I take my laptop with me. I recently had an opportunity to go to Australia, for two weeks for a Rotary convention.
And I did a little beta test. I'm going to leave the country for two weeks and I'm not going to work. And it was the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me. As a business owner. I went to Australia. I think I had had one phone call and one email that I didn't even necessarily need to make, I just [00:18:00] couldn't help myself. And jobs got started and ended and we were paid and every single thing went well, actually, dare I say,
production was better than when I was here because these guys just crushed it. And, it was game changing for me. It makes me want to take more time off. And then when I came back after the two weeks, I came back with the COVID. So with COVID and the, with COVID. And the shutdown or, and the, not the shutdown with COVID and the, jet lag from being in Australia, I was off three weeks total and everything ran perfectly smooth.
I came back, I had one appointment in that week and it was like a 60, 000 interior that I closed and everything went smooth. I came back, I worked for two weeks, went to Chicago for five days, worked for two days, went to Arizona for five days. So now I'm back here working and [00:19:00] selling every day because I'm the only sales guy.
So all this time, nobody was doing appointments.
Scott L: So I think that lesson is something that we all could learn, which is that we're probably our biggest impediment to our business running smoothly.
Ron: Oh, there without a doubt, I am the biggest bottleneck issue. My company has without a doubt.
C4C: Well, we are about halfway through this episode of the Beyond $1,000,000 Podcast from Consulting4Contractors, and we still have some great content left for you. Before we get to that, though, I wanted to let you know about some resources that are available to you via the show notes. You'll find links to our website, social media outlets, and highlights of this show.
You'll even be able to schedule a discovery call with Scott and our team to find out how Consulting4Contractors can help your contracting business. It's very low pressure. We'll ask you just a couple questions, see what your current situation is, and then get you started toward the contracting business of your dreams.
The best part [00:20:00] about it, it's completely free. So just click on the link in the show notes, or you can visit our website at www.consulting4contractors.com and reach out to us there. Again, that website is www.consulting4contractors.com. Now here's the remainder of the show.
Scott L: I guess what I, would love to delve into is just, why do you do this?
Well, what, you know, is that that goal or what is your goal/passion? What does success look like to you? Could you define that for yourself?
Ron: That's a great question, Scott.
I think that, I don't know if this is my passion. People are my passion. I love people. That's one thing that I really love about sales. I'm, I'm good. I know where my strengths are. I'm good with people. I'm able to talk. I'm able to find common ground. and I'm able to talk about my company and painting with [00:21:00] passion because it's all, it's what I've done for 30 years.
I am passionate about it. But is it my passion? Is it my be all end all? Probably not. I consider myself an artist. I did improv comedy for years before the shutdown and I'm starting to do that again. I'm a, a songwriter and I have a band, which I love. And I've been in and out of the music business for, you know, since I was a kid. That's my passion. But what this does is it allows me a really nice lifestyle in one of America's most expensive cities. and the grit, my, all my needs are met. So do I, do I see myself keeping this company and growing for years and years? Probably not. I'll probably sell at some point. I dabble in [00:22:00] real estate.
And, but right now, today, my passion is doing this podcast with you.
Scott L: Well, I really, really appreciate you being on here with me and.
I think that is just a great answer.
And the reason is, is because Ron has a successful business, and in reality, his is a lifestyle business.
Like he said, he's an artist, he's playing music, he's doing improv comedy, his painting business, it's just a means to an end.
Ron, would you say that's, you know, fair to say?
Ron: That's right. Yeah. No, absolutely. This isn't my be all end all. I don't see this being a. My kids don't have any interest in taking it over right now. I don't see this, I just see it has a way to support my life and my family until I find, you know, until whatever takes over until real estate takes over or, uh, you know, whatever the case is. But I'm not, I need other things in [00:23:00] my life to scratch the itch of the, you know, the artist that I am.
I need, don't ask me why, but I. need to be on stage. It's ridiculous. If you think about it, it's very, there's like a tripod because my band is very, very sad, sad, like country rock songs. And then I do comedy, which is, you know, we hope to be funny, but essentially sometimes, you know, you bomb on stage. And then I have this serious, like, hi, I'm Mr. Painter, and we'll make sure your house is done right.
Scott L: That is so great. You're just acting all day long, aren't you?
Ron: I am, man. I really am.
Scott L: So you've talked a little bit about, one could say your superpowers. You've said that it's sales, what are the things that you feel are your strengths? What are those things that you were, you really enjoy doing and no one else does as good as you and your [00:24:00] business?
Ron: So, I really like the people aspect of it and I love being able to make a difference in the guys that work for me in their lives and giving them, teaching them something. I constantly have conversations with people that work for me and say, I don't want your time here, whether it's for 10 years or 10 weeks, I don't want it to be wasted.
I want you to come away and learn something. So I really enjoy, coaching. And mentoring the people that work for me. Some of them are more, open to that than others. I'm gonna hire, I'm going to hire and train a salesperson really soon. So I have more time to coach, the guys that work for me. And I still love, I'll still do sales.
I still love going over and meeting, you know, Mrs. Smith and talking about her [00:25:00] house. I truly, truly, truly believe that my company helps people and that, if they don't hire me, they don't hire us, they're making a mistake. I want to make sure that we can do the absolute best we can for people.
Scott L: And the, the follow up question, what are your weaknesses? What are you really terrible at?
Ron: I'm a little disorganized. I, I'm a little, I can be a little disorganized and, Kaylee who works for me. Is amazing because she works with me. She understands I only make what's important to me important. So if something needs to be done and it's not for the business and it's not important to me, or it's not right in front of my face, it's that gets left behind.
I'm a very, very much like an entrepreneur who makes I blaze ahead, but I make a big mess in my, in my wake and I need people to come behind me and clean up my mess sometimes.[00:26:00]
I think that, yeah, that's, that's my weaknesses. Those are my weaknesses.
Scott L: So tell me, I guess, why you would want to grow this at all. You, you seem to be doing, you know, pretty well at 1. 2 million. If this is really just paying for what you enjoy in life, your hobbies, travel, maybe a nice living situation. Tell me, why would Ron Rice want to grow Ron Rice painting?
Ron: So, I have a problem. Here's my problem. It's never enough. It's never enough for me. I always think it's enough and it's never enough. If you would have spoke to me 10 years ago and you said, what's your sales goals? 10 years ago, I would have said, what's a sales goal, right? I don't, I wouldn't even know. I have no clue.
And five years ago, if you asked me what my sales goals was, I would tell you my sales goal was $950, 000. I didn't want to break. I didn't want to [00:27:00] break the million dollar ceiling. I just wanted a company to run by itself at $950, 000, but I have some infrastructure because I think organically, you add infrastructure to make your life easy and you need it in the market that I'm in, in San Diego, you need, you need a solid foundation.
And I don't think it's going to do that much more harm for me to grow a little bit. working with Consulting4Contractors has really not only shown me what I could have, but actually held my hand in the places where I've needed hand holding to get me there, which is pretty amazing.
Scott L: So I'll put this in my own words. You tell me if I'm close, getting more growth in your company means you can get out of the way more to go do the things you really want to do.
Ron: [00:28:00] Yeah, so, so now when I look, I have my goal sitting on a whiteboard in front of me that I can that I can stare at.
And, as much as I tell myself, I don't need to keep growing every year. I change that every year, I change the number on that whiteboard. I click it up a bit. And I've grown at a pretty steady rate since I started, right? A couple of years, a couple of years, I went down on the chart, but for the last, when I really started focusing on business and learning and being a better painting contractor and being a better businessman, it's been about 5 or 6 years since I've really paid attention, I've completely changed my business model to doing, you know, I still do a fair amount of commercial work, but to really focusing on, on the, the positive sides of, residential repaints, And what you can have with that and how nobody ever told me you need to learn how to sell.
[00:29:00] That's the last thing I would have ever thought and I heard you say a long, long time ago, many years ago now, Scott, I heard you say, there's very few things that revenue won't fix for your company if you inject more revenue into it will create some problems, but there's very few things that won't fix and, I've learned that's the, that's the truth.
So I really feel now I'm looking at my board. I have 1. 4 on it. I really feel now that I could probably go to 2 million. and not change my life. I'd still have more time and probably a little more money and a great lifestyle and not be put out that much more. Right now, from where I'm at, it feels like I'm doing a lot.
I'm spread pretty thin, but if I can put a, you know, another person or two in the right place, I think, I think 2 million is [00:30:00] an easily obtainable goal. I refuse to listen to what people say about the economy. I keep my head down and focus on what's in front of me. And, we're going to continue to grow a bit.
Scott L: I think that's encouraging, no matter what anyone's stance on the economy is, for sure. Okay, so, you know, you get to two million, what is the structure? Who do you need that you don't have right now?
I guess, you know, obviously besides more painters.
Ron: Yeah. Painters is the easiest piece of the puzzle to me. I need, at least one more salesperson and probably one more, admin, one more, kaylee will need help.
Although she might not, but I'll probably need one more admin.
Scott L: So we talk about, gross profit is, of course, important, managing your [00:31:00] expenses, but revenue is really critical, and so many people try to fight their way out of that. And it's like, you've got to drive revenue, and that's what you've done. So, tell me, what, what, what are some of the, things that you do with tech to automate?
Or what is, you know, how do you communicate with Kaylee? She's remote, she's time.
How have you used technology to manage some of, you know, the minutiae?
Ron: No, I believe I have. And here's the beautiful thing about being me, is I suspect we have tech and programs in my company that I don't even know anything about. Now you might find that strange, but to me, it's beautiful.
Beautiful. I know that leads come in on the website and there's apps to about eight different things. You immediately go on my MailChimp [00:32:00] list, whether you're just there, window shopping or whatever, I'm going to mark it to you. I use PaintScout for estimates. I still use Basecamp for project management, which is actually really well.
Kaylee and I have two scheduled meetings a week to talk about scheduling and that's something that she's taking over. But we also have a list in Basecamp. We call it an operations list. She has a to do list that I add stuff to every day, and I have a to do list that she adds stuff to every day. I know she looks at hers.
I know she looks at her and I look at mine like every two or three weeks. We use, we use Clock Shark for the guys to clock in and out of. I have a very cool, monday. com platform that we use to manage client contact [00:33:00] and customer lists. And I'm sure I'm forgetting something. And also are, you know, what's really also really nice about this is my bookkeeping is automated too.
So all the receipts go into something called HubSpot or HubDoc. HubDoc. Yeah, they go into HubDoc. And it's, and then Kaylee. And Bright Bookkeeping, take care of all that stuff. I used to be so concerned about the books and the money and the receipts, but it's all automated and taken care of. And now I just get a monthly report.
And I know, I mean, I know in my mind where we're at and I still have, when I started this journey, literally my accounts receivable was a list on the back of an envelope. And when people paid, I scratched the name off. And, [00:34:00] it's a really, it's been a game changer. Yeah.
Scott L: That's been a big change for you to, is to really get a third party bookkeeper, our preferred vendors, Bright Bookkeeping, and they, they really have come alongside of you and kept your books clean and we can look at that data with pretty, you know, within seven, 10 days and go, it's clean.
Ron: Yeah, absolutely. And, and I had bookkeepers prior to Bright. And I had so many horrible experiences with bookkeepers. I can't even tell you.
It makes me mad thinking about it. Also, another really good thing that we've done, and this is something that C4C has brought to me. Is a budget and goals. I never had a budget. I never had a business budget. I never really had goals. I was just out, if it happened, it happened. I mean, you know, I'd run marketing campaigns, but I never had [00:35:00] percentages of revenue marked out for line items.
I was talking to a friend of mine who's not in the painting business. He's a very successful business man younger than me, retired. And I was telling him about the budget that I had in the line items on the budget, and he, he took a step back. He's like, you have a business budget for an annual business budget?
It's like, nobody, that is impressive. And I was like, yeah, that's right. But I don't want to, I'm not that smart. Yes, you are. No, no. Well, I'm not saying that I'm dumb, but what I'm saying is I'm smart enough to ask for help. In my whole life. I think the smartest things I've done is to ask for help when I need help and to talk about the good when I've done good, right?
So I've asked for help in my company, right? And you guys have stepped in and really helped me [00:36:00] put all these processes in place. And listen, this might surprise you guys listening that don't know me, but I'm a middle aged chubby bald guy. Change comes hard for me, change comes slowly over a period of time and it is like one degree at a time, but once you start changing and you start seeing the, you start seeing the, the results, you know that you're, you're headed in the right direction.
It just makes you want to do more. Does that make sense? changes come slow over a period of time. And it's like the the compound effect when, I don't remember who wrote that book, but when he talks about leaving LA, headed to New York, if you're just one or two degrees off, headed to New York, by the time, You're supposed to be in New York.
You're in Florida or South Carolina. Right?
Scott L: And that's really the idea of projections and budgets. It's like how many people own a business? [00:37:00] And a business is like a marathon and they have no clue even where the route is, let alone, if they're ever going to, you know, where's the finish line. I don't have a finish line. Let's get up there. You know, it's, it's just the craziest thing.
And that's been the thing that's been so interesting is to, to say, Hey, Ron, where do you want to go? Where's the race course? Let's make it. Let's look at the finish line, and then we're going to manage. I'm not a runner. If you saw me, you'd know I'm not a runner, but the idea of, you know, hitting these benchmarks, okay, we got to run this fast to get here and here, and if you If, if you string along several successful benchmarks, then you cross a finish line, you go look at that, you know, Ron's one of those that, believed and I think has been told that probably a seven figure business is probably not in his [00:38:00] future and yet he's done it now for several years in a row and will continue to do so and, that's just by literally, you know, breaking it down into a few bitesize pieces, you know, creating smaller sprints that link together, have built a beautiful result,
And Ron has done it very well.
Ron: Scott, I got to give you some credit for that, though, because you have told me, like, you've never said to me when we first met, you never said, Ron, you have to have a huge business.
I only want to work with guys that are monsters. You said. You're an artist. We need to figure out how you can live your best life. This isn't about having the biggest paint company. I don't care about that. My ego isn't involved. Well, that's a lie. My ego is clearly involved with a lot of stuff that I do.
But, you said if you do this, this will free you up to do, if you do A, that's going to free you up to do B. And if you do C, that's going to [00:39:00] free you up to do D and that's what I'm finding true. So,
Scott L: So you've already touched a little bit on, on the coaching process, but you know, shameless plug for me, I suppose, tell me a little bit about the coaching and, maybe you were resistant to it in some points in the past. What has it meant to you and, and why, what have you enjoyed about it and why do you continue doing it?
Ron: I want to, I want to tread lightly because I don't want to plug you too hard, Scott. Because I'm afraid then you're going to get a bunch of clients and you're not going to, you're going to send me to voicemail. But you know, like voicemail, red button, red button. So, so back, back a few years ago when I started realizing that man, my company is taking on a life of its own and, and I'm in, undoubtedly one of the toughest markets in the country, I need to start learning something about business. [00:40:00] and I really started to kind of put my head down and see who I can work with.
I saw some guys that you worked with, and there's mumblings around the, mumblings around that, the trade that like, if you really want to do this and be successful, you got to call Scott Lollar. And so I think the first time I caught you helped me with the work comp case. I had a, a guy get injured and you, you were so selfless and so kind to me and you helped me put values together for my company and you gave me some advice, with, work comp case that I had going on.
And then when I called you to look into C4C, I don't even remember. I think. I said, maybe we can just meet once every couple months or [00:41:00] something like that until you saw the the mess that I had made. And you mean, you mean you want to meet once every couple days, Ron? Is that what you mean? But it really has been a huge transition in my business.
I'm in a place that I never thought I would be before. And my biggest attraction is you're a, you've literally helped me through several processes. And sometimes, I need a little shove in the right direction. I'm my own worst enemy. Or I go, well, this is good. I'm doing, you know, there was a point where I was doing, you know, $600, 000 in revenue at probably 40 percent profit.
Like I was making plenty of money. I was doing good, but it just wasn't, it just wasn't a viable business model to last for a long time.
Scott L: Yeah, absolutely successful, but I call it accidentally successful. Like things are great, but do we know why they're great? And can [00:42:00] we assure ourselves that they continue being great? And I think that you do have a great business and I, love that it is a way to make money, to feed your other interest and your lifestyle.
I love that I can be part of this journey, and you're doing so well, and I think the future is bright. As we wrap up here, it's a question. I, I, always like to ask. What, what would be a one or two things that you would say to smaller, emerging new, what, what, whatever the terminology, what would you say to them as they are just kind of starting their journey?
And seven figures looks like, what advice, would you give them?
Ron: I think there's three or four things you should do right away. Like I said, one of the best things I ever did when I started this business, I knew the second I could put their brush down. I would. I didn't, the day, the day I didn't have to paint, I didn't paint, even if it means making less money, I would say, don't [00:43:00] paint, find somebody to paint, hire painters, um, put the best systems and processes in place you can. And, I, I still need a lot of work in that area, but we're setting stuff up on a constant basis and making it run smoothly without me. Keep in contact with the people that hire you. Find some way to keep in contact, whether you send them chocolates or start a MailChimp campaign or, you know, throw a newsletter in their yard with a rock tied to it.
Keep in contact with them. And learn to sell. You have to learn to sell. I, I didn't know I needed to learn how to sell paint jobs. I thought I would just, smile my way into it. I would literally go, there's a kind of a running joke. I would literally go, I did a bid a couple of years ago for a lady and I was in her house for probably [00:44:00] 90 minutes was a 35, 000 project.
And when I left, she gave me a hug. She liked me so much. She gave me a hug. She didn't give me the paint job. She gave me a hug. Right. I know, but, but so, so people can like you and you can be good with people, but if you don't learn, you have to know how to close those deals. I would have much rather had a 35, 000 check than a hug or both.
I mean, yeah, that would be ideal, but I'd still take the cabbage.
Scott L: Ron, what a, an absolute delight. It's been a pleasure, our time together. you're one of my favorite people. Enjoy working with you. you've got just the right amount of resistance, but you're, you're open to it. You've grown so much. And, I'm so grateful that you agreed to come on today and share some of this [00:45:00] with people, we hope, and add value to them.
And, as always grateful for your friendship.
Ron: Scott, thank you. Thanks for everything. My company is, a different, I have a different organization and it's different for the better. It's changed for the better because of you and, C4C and the, people that you work with and the people, not only will I call Scott if I have a, if I have a question, I will call other people that Scott coaches
for help and advice because man, a group, just a group of people, winners, a group of winners that I have a mountain of respect for. So I'm grateful to be part of it. Thank you so much for having me.
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