FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #70 From Minivan to Mastercraft: How Alpha Painting Earned Fredericksburg’s Trust
A great paint job should look effortless—and feel effortless to the homeowner. We sat down with Oscar Espinoza of Alpha Painting to explore how craftsmanship, clear communication, and old-school reliability can turn a stressful home project into a confident, even joyful, experience. From his start in 2005 with a foreman’s quick assignment—“Tomorrow you paint”—to launching Alpha Painting in 2019 with his wife and a well-worn Kia Sedona, Oscar shares the values that fuel his work: integrity, discipline, and honesty.
We walk through the moments that shaped his approach: showing up at 7:00 a.m. when you said you would, calling back the same day, and treating every home as a sacred space. Oscar breaks down two big misconceptions—why painting isn’t as simple as it looks, and how trustworthy contractors separate themselves from the horror stories. He explains why Alpha focuses only on painting, how zero-VOC products protect families and freshen nurseries, and why a small, standardized deposit and a clear scope offer peace of mind. You’ll also hear how the team stays sharp through the Painting Contractors Association, what new coatings and tools matter, and why a dedicated interior designer session helps clients choose colors with confidence.
This conversation is also a candid masterclass for small business owners. Oscar urges founders to move at their own pace, avoid level-jumping, and own every mistake without passing the pain to the client. We also get a look at the habits behind the business—5:30 a.m. CrossFit with his wife, Muay Thai for stress relief, and family time that keeps the week grounded. If you care about quality work, clear expectations, and the kind of service that earns trust over years, you’ll take away practical insights you can use on your next project—or your next venture.
If this story helped you see craftsmanship in a new light, follow the show, share it with a neighbor, and leave a quick review so more locals can find it.
Oscar Espinoza
Alpha Painting
Oscar@alphafxbg.com
+1 540-466-6264
Fredericksburg, VA · Spotsylvania County, VA · Stafford County, VA
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 03:Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I'm excited to introduce you to my guest today. Joining us, we have Oscar Espinoza with Alpha Painting. Oscar, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 00:Thank you for having me, Dori. I t's a pleasure.
Speaker 03:Well, I'm excited to dive in and learn more about you and your business. So let's start there. Share with the listeners a little bit about Alpha Painting.
Speaker 00:Yes, Alpha Painting was created in 2019. I am a painter by trade. I started in 2005, uh doing drywall, and then the company that I work for, they needed painters because we did everything from the framing, the drywall installation, the finishing, and then the painting. And they needed painters. And they told me, Oscar, tomorrow you're gonna paint. And I said, Yes. And that's how I started to learn. My best friend was the man, the uh the foreman, and he taught me everything I know. Uh so when I moved here to Virginia from uh New York for New York, uh, I saw the opportunity. I saw that there was something lacking that we could do better, which is uh customer and client satisfaction. And that's where we are today.
Speaker 03:I love that. I love that. So uh it's interesting um that you found that there was a need here. So talk to us a little bit about what separates alpha painting apart.
Speaker 00:Of course, uh, what's separate us is simple. Uh, we have three core values, which are integrity, uh, we are discipline and honesty is always our three core values. I have them, thus, my crews have them. And the jobs that we do are going to be the best so far because all the experience that we have acquired in every other job is going to be put into your project. So all the mistakes that we have done throughout life because we are not perfect are not going to be made in your project. You're going to be communicated well. You have just going to be treated with the utmost respect. Uh, everyone is going to be uh as much as we can quiet and working and uh be diligent in everything we do. And you're always going to meet me in the morning, in the afternoon. You're always going to have a callback. Uh, we're going to be on top of everything. And I guarantee you that if you're not satisfied, we're going to make you sure that you're satisfied, but you don't pay. That's simple.
Speaker 03:Yeah, and that's all so important. And I love how much care you have put into the customer experience. And the fact that you personally, as the owner, have a personal touch in your all of your jobs. That is a really big differentiator, just right there, isn't it?
Speaker 00:Yes. Um, I'm able to, if somebody will ask me, Oscar, what do you like about being a business owner? One of the things is I get to meet so many people from every place, every uh, every place in the country. They told me they uh we move from California, we move from Washington, we move from everything, and I get to meet a lot of people. And I'm a people's guy, you know, I love to meet people, I love to connect. And uh that's what I like, uh, that connection. Uh, and I'm and and the fact that they give us the opportunity, they give us the chance to help them uh with the project. Can it be a kitchen, a room, a whole house, uh, or sometimes there are moments in life that you're gonna have a baby and you no longer have the time to paint yourself and said, I'm gonna call Oscar. And and then we come and do the estimate and we recommend the best products uh for your baby for the house, paint that has zero VOCD, there's not gonna be smelly for your baby. So, all of those things I'm really, really grateful that I got the opportunity to meet and help people.
Speaker 03:I love that. And it it really shows how much care and how much uh love and passion you have for what you do. And starting in 2000, uh, what year did you say that you started?
Speaker 00:We started in 2019.
Speaker 03:2019. So congratulations on your success. You have surpassed a big milestone uh surpassed uh the five-year mark. So uh congratulations, and you've gotten some accolades and you have really great reviews. So that's a testament to uh your hard work. So congratulations on that.
Speaker 00:Thank you. I am very grateful for the client that hired me when it was just me and my wife in a minivan and Kia Sedona. That was it. And and the only thing that I could offer was honesty, hard work, and and to make sure that everything that you were going to love that project. And I love it. Uh I love that the band the band died. The band, the minivan. Uh, and he had a name. Uh that name was called Enriqueta. We love that band. Uh, now now we have other bands, but it's always in my heart. And and it's always in my heart the clients that hire me when they call me and I get in the afternoon and it was full of uh drywall dust and paint splatters, and my hands were full of paint. I am grateful for those clients that they open the door and they hire me. Uh, because nowadays I I when I come to your house, I look like this. But the first the first clients will always have a special place in my heart. Um, they will call me, they would say, Oscar, I want you to paint this coloring book. I'll do it. I'll do it. But then for the first client, I'll do it. It's yes, get the pencils, I've painted for you because I I am great.
Speaker 03:Yeah, they're they're the ones who got to you to where you are today. I love that. So let me ask you this in your industry or your business, are you finding that there are any misconceptions?
Speaker 00:Yes, uh, many. Uh one of them is that painting is easy. I can do it, you know. I can and and many can, many can, you know, uh do it yourself. You can go to uh any uh big box store and grab the paint and bring everything, but when you get to your house, then you spend so much money on tools and ladders, and now uh you cannot do the high ceilings on the foyer, so you're gonna have to call me because it's dangerous, and we do this every day. Uh we are a company that does only painting. That's the painting especially. We don't do a tile, we don't do carpet. No, alpha painting, just do painting. And yes, uh, misconception one, painting is super easy, we can do it. And no, uh, sometimes the clients find that it was harder to do, uh, and then they call us. Uh, number two, uh, misconception, or people, some have been taken advantage of by other contractors that they tell them they're going to show up, or they give them a prize in the middle of the project, they tell them it's more money, or they run away with their deposit because uh again, they don't have integrity, they are not honest, and the clients are reluctant to hire again. And I tell them that uh some of the cases, it doesn't matter how much the project is, we only require a small deposit of $500. And they have my word that we're going to be there and get the job done and make every other memory disappear.
Speaker 03:Yeah, unfortunately, there's some bad contractors out there that make it more difficult on the great ones like you.
Speaker 00:Thank you.
Speaker 03:So let me ask you this. Uh, you put in a lot of hard work in in those uh you know beginning days of your business.
Speaker 01:Yes.
Speaker 03:And it's you know, it's not easy starting something new. So if someone came to you and asked you for your advice, they were thinking about starting their own business. What would you tell them?
Speaker 00:I would tell them one of the big mistakes is you have to move at your own pace. You are your own company. Don't look at the other guys, like in a video game when I used to play a lot. I still play. So you start at level one and you see the guy that is at level 15. You want to be, I wanted to be level 15. So that's a big mistake. You're level one, then you move to level level two, level three. You gotta keep moving at your own pace and look at your company, and you have your own set of values, and uh, your guys, everything is going to move at your own pace, and you're gonna get there, it's gonna take longer. But do not try to move from level one to level 15 in six months because it's gonna be harder for you, you're gonna make mistakes, you're going to allocate uh many of the resources, money, into things that were not meant to happen that fast. Uh, number two, if you are hired and you said that you're going to do something, do it. That's it. And you said you're going to show up at seven o'clock in the morning on Monday. Mrs. Smith is waiting for you at seven o'clock in the morning. Have it work, have integrity, have honesty, be disciplined, um, get ready and be grateful for everything that the clients let you. They let you into your their home, which is a safe place. It's to me, that's that's the biggest thing that they're allowing me into their home. When we're starting when something happens, where do you go? I need to go home. So when the client allows us to be in their home, to me, it's sacred, it's a sacred place. So be grateful, move at your own pace, and always do what you say you're gonna do. If you give a bad estimate and you need to lose money, lose money, learn from the experience, but don't put it on the client. It was your fault. Always be the last one is this is the most important. Everything in your company is your fault, no one else's. Everything in your company is your fault, it's not the fault of your guys, it's not the fault of the comp of the uh painting company. No, it's my fault. I will get it done, and the client needs to know nothing about the bad experiences if they made a mistake at the paint store. The client doesn't need to know. You're gonna show up before I enter the client, the client's house. I think about how grateful I am, and I said, Good morning, Mrs. Mean. We're here to paint. Let's have a great day.
Speaker 03:That's really good advice. Thank you for that. I love that. So clearly, you work very hard on your business, you put a lot of personal touch uh into all of your projects. So I need to know when you're not working hard, what are you doing for fun?
Speaker 01:Yes.
Speaker 00:Um I uh me and my wife, you can find us every day at 5:30 in the morning at CrossFit retro. We do CrossFit and I love it. Um, we we are there every day from Monday to Friday. Um I also do muay, uh, the enlisted night of RAF 17, uh, to leave off some stress. So yes, um, and my daughters they practice uh wrestling and jujitsu. So um we are uh we always um occupy by them and and they give us great, great uh times. Um so yes, we do um CrossFit, Muay Thai, and I love to be with my best friend, she's my wife. Uh I spend all the time that I can with her cooking, laughing on Friday. We drink wine by the fire with the kids. That's where we find me at home.
Speaker 03:I love that. It sounds wonderful, and I love that you start your day off with exercise. It's so important to get your head right before the day and puts you in the right, you know, head space to tackle the day. I love that. Yes, and I love that you you do all that with your family. That that makes it even better.
Speaker 00:Yes, that's the best part. When we have uh partner work and my wife is my partner, I love it.
Speaker 03:That's awesome. I love that. So, what is something that you wish the listeners knew about alpha painting?
Speaker 00:Yes, uh, I want everyone to know that once the moment you call me, you will feel the difference. The moment I pick up the phone and I talk to you and say, How can I help you? You're gonna feel you are um people care that I care, my guys care. And like I said, I told Dori, every project, your project is gonna be the best because everything that we have done, we're not going to do it at your home. All the experience, all the combined experience of all the crews are going to be put into your home. Um, it's gonna be the best project that we have done. I've been doing this since 2005. Now it's to 2025. So all those years of experience, all the interaction that we have had with the clients, are going to you're going to see what we can do in your home. And it's guaranteed uh we are licensed in the state of Virginia. Uh, you can see our reviews, you can we are uh members of the Better Business Bureau, we're members of the Painters Contractor Association. So we do everything every day on trying to be better for my client so we can be the best company in Fredericksburg. We are not yet the best because I think that every day we learn. I don't know everything that is need to know in painting. I work every day until I'm the best. I will never be, but I will always look for uh that new tip, that new tool. I will always keep looking to be the best. We're not there yet.
Speaker 03:Yeah, I love that you have a growth mindset. It's so important to always be learning, always be growing. And so, how are you keeping uh track with um new trends in in painting and and also tell us about um how you work with uh a designer with your new clients?
Speaker 00:Yes, um we are like I I mentioned, we are members of the PCA Painters Constructors of America. We go to the convention, big convention every year, uh next year, I think in Arizona, and we got all the new technologies that they show us. Um being part of a great organization like that. Keep us on edge of what's next, what can we do, what new product, what paint, what new paint can we use for this, for that, for the foundation, for your cabinet, for your ceiling. Uh there's a stain on your ceiling, what's next? Um, new product means uh better, more uh faster and and and better for the client and the quality because we all about quality. Uh, most of the time, uh, and some clients are very good. I am not if there was 10 colors, I can only choose one. But and and many clients have the same problem, they don't know what color to paint, they want to paint. And so, Oscar, I don't know what to paint. And I said, Me neither, because I'm biased. Yeah, I only have two colors that I love, which is purple and gray. But in this case, I can tell you if you hire alpha painting, I will put you in contact with our uh interior designer, and this is what they do every year. Trends change, every color of the year, and all of that. I love it, but I don't do it. Yeah, it's not my fourth day. So if you were to hire alpha painting, we will send you our uh interior designer for an hour so you can decide the colors that you want in any color that you like.
Speaker 03:What a great value! I love that. So if the listeners want to connect with you, learn more from you, where can they find you?
Speaker 00:Sure. Uh they can read your magazine number one. Uh huh. We are always putting there uh our little nugget of knowledge that we have acquired. Uh they can go to our uh social network, Instagram, you can find us, Facebook. Um, you can call me 540 466 6264. I'm called away. You can ask anything about painting, and I will answer. Uh, sometimes people call me and just ask me about primer that they're at the Home Depot, what to use, and I tell them, I have no problem. You don't have to buy from me. I'm here. Um, like I said, I like to talk to people. And uh yes, read the magazine, Fredericksburg Neighbors.
Speaker 03:Amazing, amazing. Oscar, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing Alpha Painting with us.
Speaker 00:It's been my pleasure, Dori. Thank you so much for everything you do for the Fredericksburg uh neighbors and community. Uh I don't know what we would do without you. Thank you so much.
Speaker 02:Thank you. Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG NeighborsPodcast.com.