Start A Coatings Business Right: From Zero Experience To Professional Work

The fastest way to lose money in a coatings business is to “learn” on a customer’s floor. We sit down with David Nanninga, president of Mile High Coatings, to talk through what new entrepreneurs need to know before starting a residential painting, concrete coatings, or epoxy flooring company across Colorado’s Front Range.

We get practical about the first moves that actually matter: connecting with local distributors and suppliers, taking advantage of free demos and samples, and learning the chemistry behind mixing, pot life, and cure times. David explains why hiring experienced applicators can shorten your learning curve, how the right equipment and process protect quality, and why the unglamorous pieces like insurance and paperwork still make or break a small business.

Then we dig into the mindset lessons that save you from expensive mistakes. How do you price fairly without scaring people off? How do you generate leads and prospect consistently? And when you are hungry for revenue, how do you learn to say no to the wrong projects so you can focus on the work you do best? David also shares why painting can be a lower-barrier on-ramp compared to professional floor coatings, plus what he learned starting from scratch during the 2008 Great Recession by building relationships in the community.

If you’re thinking about starting a painting contractor or coatings contractor business, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who’s considering the leap, and leave a review with the biggest question you still have.

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

Transcript

Welcome And Show Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to the Mile High Coatings Podcast, where we elevate your spaces to a new peak in quality. Hosted by David Naniga, 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_01 0:35

A

Starting With No Industry Experience

SPEAKER_01 0:36

look at the lessons, challenges, and wins that shape the early days of Mile High Coatings and what new entrepreneurs should know before jumping in. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer, back with David Nanaga, the president of Mile High Coatings. David, it's always great to be with you.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

Likewise, how are you doing, Julie?

SPEAKER_01 0:55

I'm doing okay. And you know, we're excited to learn from you because you've had such success in this industry. So we're looking for your help today. Um, what advice do you have for people who want to start a business in your industry?

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

So that's a big question. So we understand it's a big and loaded question.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Yeah, let's see, where could I go with this? So I'd say if if you're starting out, if you're trying to start a business in this industry and you have no ex prior experience in the industry, meaning uh maybe you were um working um in the medical industry, right? Or um some other construction uh trade or a you know a tech career and uh and you got laid off and you're trying to find some business. So if you've never had experience in this business, um obviously there there are tons of resources. Uh probably maybe the first step would be to identify uh local and regional distributors and suppliers of of the materials that that get used, you know, um the the the you know the various um materials, familiarize yourself with the materials and with the the the equipment uh that that's required to to do a you know a professional job. And then I would say you probably want to learn how to do it and be able to do it yourself, um, but don't necessarily try to figure it out on the job. Try to utilize those resources. You know, suppliers and you know, that they they offer, you know, a lot of suppliers have free demos. Um they'll they'll give you samples, um, meaning, you know, they'll give you physical samples of of of you know, you know, like a floor sample, you know, like a like a tile, um, but but also samples of uh coatings, you know, that that you might use. So you, you know, familiarize yourself with all the all the the details, um, you know, how to you know how to mix it, how long after you mix it do you have to work with it, because once that gets mixed, it chemical reaction and then and then you're kind of under a you know some time constraints and and those vary with different chemicals. And then I would say try to um try try to hire, you know, hire people, employees that have experience applying the product and using the equipment, so then you can you can utilize them as your own employee as a resource and learn um you know, you know, and then that they'll be able to help you with some of the nuances, some of the some of the things that you know can go wrong on a project or or help you identify things. And then, and then from there, um, you know, obviously there's there's just all the you know all the kind of boring stuff with with sort of starting up a business, you know, getting all your you know legal stuff, your paperwork, um, insurance, just all that stuff in order. Um, obviously that's critical. It's very important. And then, you know, you got to figure out, you know, and and and this should be part of a business plan, but you know, how are you gonna market it? How are you going to uh prospect? How are you gonna get you know get leads basically and get projects and what's your approach with that? And so um, so yeah, that's a whole other um kind of topic. But yeah, I would say, you know, from a practical standpoint, this isn't, you know, an easy trade or industry to necessarily just jump into. Um on the flip side, if you do have experience in the industry, then you know, then some of the marketing and the other things become a little bit more important um or critical. And yeah, and then it's just uh you gotta be able to be ready to to grind, um, no pun intended. But uh you gotta, you know, be willing to do what's necessary to to to secure projects and you know, price fairly, price appropriately, um, price, you know, projects for what you're worth.

Pricing Fairly And Saying No

SPEAKER_02 5:34

And um I would say one of my biggest learning experiences that that I still occasionally um come across with kind of bumps in the road is figuring out and learning to say no to certain projects. Because when I first started out, you know, you're hungry, right? You're you're young and you know, the world is your oyster, and um, and you know, someone someone wants you to do a project for them, and your your gut feeling uh for whatever reason might be telling you to run away from this project. Uh and but you know, you wanna you wanna do it, you know, you need the revenue or or or you want maybe you want the challenge. Um, and then you know, you try try out the project or do the project, and then you have problems, hiccups, uh, things don't go right, you lose money, you don't get paid, you know, whatever the various scenarios. So, so I've really learned to identify potential projects and and really just say, okay, we're no longer gonna do these types of projects because of A, B, and C. You know, we have these types of issues or problems, or this just isn't something that's in our real house. You know, you can't necessarily be the jack of all traits. Um, okay, like an example. Uh, we don't do like countertops. Um, you know, there are there are applications where people put like epoxy on a countertop. It's just not um it it's it's a very niche thing, um, but it's just something we don't do. Um just you know, there's there and there are people that that um run successful businesses almost doing exclusively that. So, and and that's good. They've you know that's their that's their thing, um, and they've figured it out. So not not that we couldn't figure it out, but it's just not uh I mean in kind of the grand scheme of of you know kind of what we do, you know, we do we we tend to do larger projects in general, you know, um bigger bigger spaces. So so yeah, I I would say that's probably my initial what would that'd be my initial sort of answer to or my initial advice to uh you know starting

Painting As A Low-Barrier Start

SPEAKER_02 7:53

out.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

So yeah, that's some really good advice. And also what you mentioned is like it's hard, you can't be a jack of all trades and then you'll be a master of none, like you were saying. And I know before when we spoke, I think prior to this um recording between episodes, you didn't mention that um you started out uh focusing on painting services. Is that correct? And is there less less um barriers to deal with? Because I think you mentioned this too, you don't need to be licensed or anything like that. But um is that a good way you'd recommend for maybe someone to start?

SPEAKER_02 8:27

So in Colorado, uh you there's no business license uh or formal um process, let's say, to to starting a painting business. And and there are several other trades uh that that that are similar. Um but then of course there's a number that that do, you know, roofing and plumbing, electrical, um, you know, probably anything structural, you know, require licensing because you gotta be able to show that you're you're competent and you have um appropriate training to be able to do some of those things. Um and so so so a lot of times finishes like flooring um and painting and um you know, probably tile. I I don't think tile requires, you know, a license. So so things like that um don't because for well for for various reasons. So whatever. Um, but yeah, as far as barrier to entry, um, you know, running a painting business um has a relatively low, low barrier to entry. And that's something that's not nearly as complicated from a from a practical actual application project. A lot of times people have, you know, you know, coming up, just growing up through their lives, have had some experience maybe painting. You know, they're they're familiar with how to roll out a wall, you know, generally. Um, that doesn't mean they're professional, but I mean they they they at least you know understand um you know s some of the little um just techniques and and and that type of thing for for painting and and and and similar to to what I was saying before about familiarizing yourself with products and stuff, I mean there's all kinds of different kind of paints, you know, different, you know, you use uh, you know, different sheener type of paint for trim than you would for a ceiling, um, you know, or for metal or for you know exterior, interior, you know, so so there's various substrates that you would use different products. And and you would just, you know, talk with a a sales rep at uh at the paint store, you know, Benjamin Noir or Shimon Williams or whatever, whatever your original paint company is. Um, and you know, they have excellent resources and there's tons of information um, you know, to where you'd be able to figure out, you know, the right the right kind of products to use. And so barrier to entry, you know, you know, kind of initially start-up, you know, um, I would say you're gonna need some ladders. Um it if you're going real, real basic, you know, you probably just need some rollers, some brushes, some extension handles, you know, just kind of some stuff to protect the surfaces around what you're painting. Um, you know, and then you know, probably quickly thereafter, you're probably gonna want to get an aerospaint sprayer um to make things a little bit more efficient. You're gonna learn, you know, you're gonna need to learn how to how to apply and use um use a sprayer to clean it out and how to maintain it and all that type of stuff. So uh so relatively speaking, it's it's not as difficult um to start, you know, in in the painting business as as say like epoxy flooring. That's a little bit more um

Lessons From Starting In 2008

SPEAKER_02 11:45

the barrier to entry is is a little bit higher if you're gonna try to run a floor coatings company um, you know, and and do it professionally.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

You mentioned that you started from scratch back in 2008, and that was a really tough economic time. Can you uh speak more to that and some of the early lessons you learned?

SPEAKER_02 12:07

Yeah, so it was at the beginning of the Great Recession and heading into it. And so I I basically had no, you know, no reputation, no history. And so yeah, it was literally just you know pounding the pavement, knocking on doors, and kind of learning on the fly and just figuring it out. And it is is really, I think, critical to build relationships with not only customers, but you know, other maybe potential contractors that you could, you know, do work for and um just try to get involved like in the community. I I think you know that just helps create awareness. So those are probably the the things looking back that that served me well.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Yeah, thanks so

Free Quote And Closing

SPEAKER_01 12:53

much for that and congratulations on all your success. We really appreciate your advice, and I can't wait to see you next time.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

Hey, looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Thanks for tuning in to the Mile High Coatings Podcast. Ready to give your space a fresh, durable finish? Visit MileHighCodings.com 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.