Mile High Coatings Podcast

How Mile High Coatings Transformed from a One-Man Operation to a Family-Supporting Business

• David Nanninga • Episode 1

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Meet the Host: David Nanninga, President of Mile High Coatings

What drives someone to build a business from scratch? For David Nanninga, president of Mile High Coatings, the answer has evolved dramatically since 2008 when necessity and youthful optimism propelled him to start knocking on doors after losing his job.

David takes us behind the scenes of his specialty coatings business that now delivers expert residential painting, concrete coatings, epoxy flooring, and custom garage storage solutions across Colorado's Front Range. With refreshing candor, he shares the marketing strategies that have worked (home improvement magazines and digital advertising) and those that haven't (newspaper ads). After 17 years in business, word-of-mouth referrals have become increasingly valuable, demonstrating the power of quality work and satisfied customers.

The most compelling part of David's story is how his "why" transformed from the thrill of entrepreneurial challenge to something deeper. "Now I have a number of employees that have families," he reflects, "and it's pretty cool to think about the fact that I have a business that can support employees and their families." Despite his leadership role, David still performs on-site estimates to maintain customer connections and feel the pulse of the market. His journey from solo entrepreneur to business leader showcases how purpose evolves alongside success.

Ready to transform your space with high-quality coatings? Visit Milehighcoatings.com for a free quote or call 970-314-1023 and experience the difference that 17 years of expertise can make for your home or commercial property.

To learn more about Mile High Coatings visit:
https://www.MileHighCoatings.com
Mile High Coatings
970-314-1023

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Mile High Coatings podcast, where we elevate your spaces to a new peak in quality. Hosted by David Nanega, president of Mile High Coatings, this podcast explores how expert residential painting, concrete coatings and epoxy flooring can transform garages, basements, patios and commercial spaces across Colorado's front range. So grab your favorite beverage, sit back and dive into the world of high-quality coatings.

Speaker 2:

Welcome everyone. I'm Nick George, co-host and producer here in the studio with David Naninga, president of Mile High Coatings. David, how's it going everyone? I'm nick george, co-host and producer here in the studio with david nanenga, president of mile high coatings. David, how's it going good, nick how are you doing this morning? Good. Over the years, you've grown a remarkable following. However, some listeners may not be familiar with your full journey, so let's take it from the top. Could you share a little background about your company and what you do? Of course, so mile.

Speaker 3:

so Mile High Coatings is a specialty coatings contractor, so we do house painting, commercial painting, and then we do a lot of concrete coatings such as epoxy, polyaspartic urethanes, and we do concrete polishing and since 2016 we've also done cabinet installations and garages, so like custom storage solutions cabinet installations and garages.

Speaker 2:

so like custom storage solutions. Nice when you're not busy running your business.

Speaker 3:

What do you do for fun? Mountain biking. In the winters we like to ski, also play in the basketball league weekly and then in the summers also, in addition to mountain biking, we play some golf.

Speaker 2:

We know marketing is key to any business's success. So how do you market your business?

Speaker 3:

Well, you know, that's certainly been a journey. What we're currently doing is some of our in-home magazine kind of advertisements. Like the Home Mag, it's kind of those monthly mailers that you get in the mail and they've got a bunch of, you know, home improvement type of businesses and those seem to generate some interest. And then you know online search and paid ads. Those are the two main avenues of marketing that we do now, but over the years it's been a lot of stuff from bus fetches and kind of the billboard style throughout northern Colorado.

Speaker 3:

At one point I tried advertising through the newspaper and that didn't yield great results. But yeah, and then, of course, word of mouth, you know is huge. Now, you know, now that we've established and we've been around for you know 17 years, that that that's huge. You know, repeat, repeat business. We work with a. You know a number of contractors as well.

Speaker 2:

So David, you're a very busy person, in your own words. Why are you doing this?

Speaker 3:

Well, I'd say, first and foremost, the most important thing is family. So I have a family in the sport. I've got a wife and three girls. So that would be the first and foremost, but that wasn't, of course, always the case when I started. Myeloma Coatings in 2008.

Speaker 1:

I didn't have a family, I wasn't married.

Speaker 3:

So so I I think the why has certainly evolved, you know. You know initially it was, it was garnered out of it. You know some previous experience that I had at college, you know, while attending Colorado State, and I was kind of thrust into sort of starting my own business because I was working at another company here in Fort Collins and it got sold and that company completely shut down and so you know, it was kind of one of those moments where it's like, do I look for another job or do I give it a go and start my own business? And obviously I decided to start my own business and you know we started by pounding the pavement and I mean literally knocking on doors to get, you know, leads and generate business that way. And it was certainly tough, but you know I knew it was an effective way, you know, and cheap, you know I knew it was an effective way, you know, and cheap, you know I mean it was all me, you know, relying on literally as much time as I wanted to put in it. You know knocking on doors, you know, and I knew it would yield the results and it did.

Speaker 3:

And so yeah, I guess the why has certainly evolved. You know, certainly those first couple of years were challenging and everything. And I think that was certainly the initial. Why was the embrace of the challenge? You know, I was still, I was in my 20s, you know I didn't have a lot to lose, so it was like, okay, embrace this challenge, see if it works. And it was. You know, it was really fun and you just have, like you know that, that young eternal optimism and uh, you know, and then as things grow and evolve, you know the why changes and and now it's.

Speaker 3:

you know I have a number of employees and uh and people that we work with that that have families and and so it's pretty cool to think about the fact that you know I have a business that that can support. You know employees and their families, so that's certainly pretty cool. So I really enjoy that aspect of it and certainly I still do. You know on-site estimates, you know, occasionally just to make sure that I'm, you know, feeling kind of the pulse of the market, and you know I enjoy reading and talking to people as well.

Speaker 2:

Love it. Pulse of the market, and you know I enjoy reading and talking to people as well, so love it, David. We'll catch you on the next episode where we'll dive into some frequently asked questions. You have a fantastic rest of your day, oh thanks, nick, you too.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to the Mile High Coatings podcast. Ready to give your space a fresh, durable finish, visit milehighcoatingscom for a free price quote or call 970-314-1023. At Mile High Coatings, we're not just painting walls, we're setting a new peak in quality. Until next time, keep your standards high and your coatings higher.