Shaken Not Stirred

The Commercial Forum 2019 serves up the perfect cocktail of intense coaching with plenty of time to unwind.

First, I have to give a shout out to everyone who sent me photos from the event. I got some good ones, but you all got some awesome ones! Second, I have to give a shout out to the Commercial Forum for allowing me to sit in. The APC readers will greatly benefit, as this event inspired a lot of editorial that you all will see in 2020. Finally, a shout to Kevin Sullivan for naming this article while we were being shaken all over the AZ red rocks in a pink jeep (thanks for the adventure 3M!). Kevin, call me if you ever want to be in charge of subject lines for Paint News. The name was appropriate, not only for the off-road adventure but for the event itself. The PCA Commercial Forum isn’t quietly stirring the pot, they are shakin things up, and that was apparent in Sedona, AZ this year where commercial contractors all across the country joined together to learn, network and enjoy a little downtime. Like I said, much of what I learned there will be coming to you over the next 12 months by way of written editorial, podcasts and even video (I hope you are all tuning into all of APC’s channels, we are all working overtime to make sure you have content in all forms possible!). For now, I’ll give you a pictorial overview of the 2019 Commercial Forum so you can decide if this is something you might want to do next year. Spoiler alert: You do!

Golf Day sponsored by Benjamin Moore

From Left to Right: Randy Fornoff MTS Painting in Arizona, Chad Lyons Lyons Painting and Design in Washington, Garrett Martell Two Day Painting in Wisconsin.

Welcome Reception sponsored by Behr

The first evening’s festivities were compliments of Behr. Attendees caught up with old friends and met new ones! Great sliders!

Sessions Day 1

We’ve all been to conferences where we hear from consultant after consultant, furiously write notes, get super duper stoked, and then return home and only to bury those notes under a stack of things that must be done today. The cool thing about the commercial forum was that not only did they have only ONE consultant … he spent 8 hours coaching the attendees.

Not only did attendees learn about the strategies and systems that need to be put in place, they got a jump on that work and had a chance to ask questions as they went.

Evening Chill

After day one attendees headed off to a fireside bar to mingle, brainstorm and have a little downtime. Dave Scaturro, Aaron Moore and Ian Seigner all pause for a quick pose.

Session Time – Classroom Day 2

I think almost every contractor that I have ever spoken to about events has said that talking to other contractors is one of the top benefits they get from any event. Brainstorming with peers and listening to successful contractors was what day 2 was all about – though there were some sessions sprinkled in on estimating and bonds. Contractors broke into multiple groups based on random selection to revenue for the second part of the day. Here they aired their struggles, talked about successes and helped each other the sometimes rough waters of building a commercial painting business.

Adventure Time

If there is an event trend in 2019, it’s adventure! I’ve seen more events incorporating local excursions than any time I can remember in my career. Work/life balance baby! And this one was pretty awesome! 3M took the entire event attendance out on a Pink Jeep tour of the Sedona back country.