Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in general services but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Paul Stein, co-founder of Trusted House Painter, located in Victoria, BC, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

House painting isn't easy, and hiring the wrong painting company can spoil the experience, especially if you've paid for bad work. Trusted House Painter makes it easy for home and property owners to find and connect to local professional house painters. Our free membership platform provides a safe and easy way to connect to local professional painters who adhere to a strict code of business and industry standards so that you experience a pleasant transformation of your home. Members get access to the Homeowner Toolkit: How to have a perfect painting project. This free resource provides foresight, checklists, and guidance to start your project informed and confident.

Tell us about yourself

As a painter by trade, I love the physical aspect of life. Being active and outdoors is essential for my survival. I also love music and art, so I love using painting as an expression of my creativity and contribution to painting the world a better place. Business, as an art, is where I love to bring people together and create great experiences.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

One of the biggest accomplishments I have made as a business owner is helping local painting companies establish strong and credible relationships with their community. I also created Trusted House Painter to further my desire to create strong and healthy relationships and communities around the world. As a professional painter specializing in interior/exterior commercial/residential painting for over 20 years, I have helped home, and property owners improve the value of their home and their communities. I also spent a considerable amount of time restoring heritage homes to their original look.

Over the years, I have seen and heard so many stories of paint jobs gone wrong – because my painting team was hired to help clean up the aftermath. So over time, I had an idea where we could build a website/online community with the proper communication tools for both homeowners and painters. But more importantly, to help homeowners plan, prepare and communicate their painting project while connecting to local painting professionals in a simple, transparent and confident manner so that they don't have to repeat the common problems faced when hiring painting companies.

Trusted House Painter is beneficial to both the homeowners and the painters because it prepares both parties to communicate together with a common framework – eliminating the common relationship mistakes made by both painting contractors and homeowners.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is not only managing and constantly inspiring the people within your organization but keeping up with technological and social trends. Being a leader isn't easy. And being a leader that holds the vision, especially during hard economic times, is even more difficult because you always have to be motivated, inspirational, and available to those who need your help and direction. As a human, we all deal with the ups and downs of life. So holding it all together while moving forward in a progressive manner is very challenging.

Also, one of the hardest parts of running any business is balancing your work/life schedule so that you don't burn out and let those who depend on you down. Keeping a healthy and active life is the key to my success - without it, it's easy to get lost in your head.

Lastly, as most business owners deal with, maintaining positive cash flow can really cause stress in one's life. As I've run many successful businesses and am currently bootstrapping Trusted House Painter, I've learned to leverage my equity by finding strong and reliable investors that can create financial stability within the operations of the business so that I can focus on building the infrastructure that is needed to scale a business properly.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Three tips I'd give anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today is:

  1. You can't scale WHAT; you can only scale WHO. Invest in your personal development and leadership skills, and you'll have more chance of success.
  2. Constantly improve your knowledge. Invest at least 5% of your income back into growing new knowledge and skills. The future has lots of opportunities, but as the world changes, you need to stay on top of innovative ideas and ways of connecting with people.
  3. Get used to being out of your comfort zone. Understand that as an entrepreneur you solve problems others don't want to touch. And being successful can be greatly rewarding. Running a business is not easy, and there's a lot of uncertainty. However, if you develop grit, consistency, and dedication to improving the lives of the people you touch, you will be successful.

Bonus Tip: You pay for your education no matter how you receive it. Whether you travel the world or you don't, whether you get a university degree or you don't, whether you take that risk or you don't - you always pay for your education.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

If death is the worst thing that can happen to you, which is the one experience all life shares, leap before you look and always do your best because time is of the essence. Falling down isn't a failure. Staying down is. Every challenge you face, every obstacle that stops your progress, is not a problem but rather a stepping block that builds your character. And when life gets you down, and your ego gets the best of you, always remember the "4 Agreements" from don Miguel Ruiz:

  1. Be Impeccable With Your Word.
  2. Don't Take Anything Personally.
  3. Don't Make Assumptions.
  4. Always Do Your Best.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://trustedhousepainter.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FindLocalPainters
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trustedhousepainter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/trustedhpainter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trusted-house-painter-60bb99209/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.