Painting Contractors Business Plan

Executive Summary

Barnum Painters will provide top-quality interior and exterior residential and commercial painting services. The principal officers of Barnum Painters believe that most companies in this industry suffer two major problems. These are poor scheduling of job projects and poor retention of quality employees. Both lead to lower customer satisfaction, lack of repeat business and a low word-of-mouth referral rate. Barnum Painters believes that by implementing this contractor business plan, it can improve upon and exploit these weaknesses to gain local market share.

The objectives for Barnum Painters over the next three years are:

• To achieve sales revenues of approximately $620,000 by year three.
• To achieve a customer mix of 30% commercial/60% residential building contracts per year.
• To expand operations to include all the Greater Seattle area including Kirkland, Renton and the Kitsap Peninsula.

The company will seek to provide its painting services in the most timely manner and with an ongoing comprehensive quality-control program to provide 100% customer satisfaction. The company’s principal officers see each contract as an agreement not between a business and its customers, but between partners that wish to create a close and mutually-beneficial long-term relationship. This will help to provide greater long-term profits through referrals and repeat business.

Barnum Painters will institute the following key procedures to reach its goals:

• Create a position of inventory coordinator, and have at least one expediter assigned to each project.
• Have a dedicated project manager for each project who can handle quality-control issues.
• Institute a program of profit sharing among all employees.

Barnum Painters is a start-up limited liability company consisting of three principal officers with combined industry experience of 40 years. Barnum Painters will be a partnership between Mr. William Barnum, Mr. Anthony Barnum and Mr. Michael Kruger. The principals will be investing significant amounts of their own capital into the company and will also be seeking a loan of $7,000 to cover start-up costs and future growth. Finally, the company has procured a $10,000 line of credit (not shown on financial statements) that will be used if necessary to cover unforeseen expenses or opportunities.

Barnum Painters will be located in a rented suite in the Rucker Industrial Park on 710 Snoquamie Route, Suite 250 in Edmonds, WA. The facilities will include a reception area, offices for the principals, storage area for inventory, and employee lounge. Barnum Painters offers a wide variety of services primarily focused on interior and exterior residential and commercial painting. The firm also provides such services as drywall plastering, acoustical ceilings, pressure washing, and others. The idea is to provide clients with a broad range of related services that will minimize their need to employ a variety of contractors.  Barnum Painters will engage in a low-cost leadership strategy while maintaining a suitable level of quality.

Initially the company will focus on residential and commercial customers in the Everett, Washington area. However, by the end of the three-year projections, the company expects to be serving the entire Puget Sound area. The company has rigorously examined its financial projections and concluded that they are both conservative in profits and generous in expenditures. This was done deliberately to provide for unforeseeable events. The company’s principals believe that cash flow projections are realistic.

Keys to Success

The principal officers of Barnum Painters have had many years of experience in the contracting business. They believe that most companies in this industry, which includes painting contractors, suffer from two major problems that Barnum Painters can improve upon and exploit.

The first problem comes from scheduling of jobs. Many painting contractors find it difficult to maintain established schedules with their customers that lead to a decrease in customer satisfaction and retention. This is caused by poor management, less than reliable employees, and delays in inventory procurement and distribution. The second problem is in retaining reliable and motivated personnel. Many painting companies rely on temporary or transient employees that lead to high turnover rates and decreased service quality.

Barnum Painters will institute the following key procedures:

• Creation of a position of inventory coordinator and have at least one expediter assigned to each project.
• Have a dedicated project manager for each project who can handle quality control issues.
• Institute a program of profit sharing among all employees.

Mission

The mission of Barnum Painters is to provide top-quality interior and exterior residential and commercial painting services. The company will seek to provide these services in the most timely manner and with an ongoing comprehensive quality control program to provide 100% customer satisfaction. The company’s principal officers see each contract as an agreement not between a business and its customers, but between partners that wish to create a close and mutually beneficial long-term relationship. This will help to provide greater long-term profits through referrals and repeat business.

Objectives

The objectives for Barnum Painters over the next three years is to:

• Achieve sales revenues of approximately $450,000 by year three.
• Achieve a customer mix of 30% commercial/60% residential building contracts per year.
• Expand operations to include all the Greater Seattle area including Kirkland, Renton and the Kitsap Peninsula.