Hello! I’m helping my dad with his painting company, he has never done any advertising all word of mouth for 15 years, but he may as well be a ‘new business’ because the majority of his work has always been with a single general contractor. Dad is 64, and its just him working. I’ve been painting for him for 17 years but i’
He wants to join the chamber of commerce- which i think is great. He also wants to run some ads on Nextdoor, i think he should put ads on FB, and list himself on google w/ SEO. Hes with the BBB, and has great reviews there.
BUT other than that he doesnt want to be online because despite never advertising , he gets a distressing number of phone calls from random companies similar to ‘homeadvisor’ for example, he also gets the occasional text. If anyone know how to avoid this/ handle it, we would really appreciate some advice!
Things like joining the local chamber of commerce + the local downtown association, and advertising on nextdoor are all on our list, does anyone have any other ideas on how to get his business going strong without this GC?
Thank you!
We belong to 5 local Chambers and a BNI. It’s a great way to get business as long as you are willing to be active. Don’t just use it as a directory listing.
Make sure you join strong Chambers as there may be some smaller ones that aren’t worthwhile. They should have multiple events each month.
You may want to check out local referral groups such as BNI. The painting company in my chapter does very well with getting fed business.
Google my business listing for sure, and honestly, I see trades do really well on Facebook , especially painting since it’s such a visual service, and a simple website.
However, if you’re looking to diversify and work for other GC’s, you could easily reach out to others and see what you need to do to be their sub.
mid to high rise HOA’s are also an option as they need good contractors to refer to residents and sometimes need work in their common areas too.
Careful to not overload yourself since it’s just you two, and to not piss off that GC if you start cutting back on your availability because you’re working new business so frequently, without having a back up for any missing work.
Much agreed on the Google listing + FB.
Do you have any guidance on getting in touch with HOAs? Maybe a short & sweet flyer/pamphlet with handful of businesses cards is all that’s needed. After a proper online presence is established first, of course.
I would find any surface you can contract that could double as a billboard and put this over a single color coat:
“Look how well this is painted! Need something painted? Call my Dad XXX-XXX-XXXX”
I’ve been advocating to invest in some good signage that would be visible from the road to place outside of whatever job he’s on!