APC is coming up on our 100th year of publishing content for owners of painting companies. A lot of things have changed over the years that APC has been delivered to painters’ mailboxes. We’ve published viewpoints from countless contributors, amazing work by contest winners, and featured countless new products, technologies, laws and processes. It’s stunning to see the incredible evolution that has happened in the painting industry over 99 years of publication. However, one thing has not changed: the labor challenge. Even in 1924 the editors and contributors talk of troubles in finding good painters. It’s the challenge that stood the test of time.
I have a wild delusion that we can all work together to solve this problem before APC completes its first 100 years of publishing; luckily, I’ve learned that I’m a nut when it comes to setting goals. So instead, I’d like to propose that we work together to move the peg one step closer by putting our heads together to create a unified pitch about a career in painting. After all, even though this has been a long challenge, I do believe that the challenge looms larger as college, technology and even becoming a social media influencer have provided more and different career opportunities. If the trend keeps going in this direction, there won’t be anyone out there to paint houses.
With this in mind, my title is a challenge to any who should choose to accept it. I’ve heard quite a few good ideas and strategies on recruiting, benefits and career paths. We’ve done a ton of articles on lifestyles of painters, jobsites of painters and incredible work by painters. However, we’ve never asked anyone to really define the opportunities that a career in painting offers either a new generation or a generation that is just sick and tired of whatever it is they are doing now.
Email me your pitch for a career in painting. We’ll put our entries to reader vote and the Top Five will appear in our November/December issue as brilliant ambassadors of painting as a trade. You don’t need to reveal the secret to your company’s culture. I’m looking for the best pitch to become a painter, period — not a painter at your company. This is a great opportunity for the painting industry to come together and work to solve a problem that most owners struggle with. The goal is to create a bigger pool of more motivated and inspired painters, so I hope you will participate!
Emily Howard
Editor in Chief
ehoward@columbiabooks.com
We have owned a small company for 23 yrs. 2-10 employees. I always used our business as a platform to build better people. My reasons for this were ,and still are because we seem to attract people with less education, more problems, and typically starters or proven non- conformance thinking individuals. However; over time, some of these people have branded out and become business owners themselves. I don't really think that there was a real opportunity for them to move forward in life any other way. We treat them as family and are much more involved in their personal life than we probably should be...but that's what it takes. And we are pleased to see their success! We decided that the jobs would become the tool to teach. It works...a better, smarter, self sufficient worker that keeps the frame of mind of "I need to do my very best for this customer every day" is a better worker and person. Period.
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Reason to become painter
We have owned a small company for 23 yrs. 2-10 employees. I always used our business as a platform to build better people. My reasons for this were ,and still are because we seem to attract people with less education, more problems, and typically starters or proven non- conformance thinking individuals. However; over time, some of these people have branded out and become business owners themselves. I don't really think that there was a real opportunity for them to move forward in life any other way. We treat them as family and are much more involved in their personal life than we probably should be...but that's what it takes. And we are pleased to see their success! We decided that the jobs would become the tool to teach. It works...a better, smarter, self sufficient worker that keeps the frame of mind of "I need to do my very best for this customer every day" is a better worker and person. Period.
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