Equipment, Supplies, and Training for the Professional Refinisher
NAPCO Refinisher
Two years ago, NAPCO challenged its product development team to think beyond the bathroom. We saw a way for NAPCO’s refinishing products to have an even greater positive impact in peoples’ homes by formulating a product designed for kitchens. And to help our customers and new refinishers venture into the kitchen with us, we expanded our training program to include kitchen refinishing, prepping trainees for both bathrooms and kitchen upon completing their certification.
So what’s holding you back if you haven’t started refinishing kitchens? Stuck just refinishing bathtubs and wondering how you can boost your business volume? Kitchen cabinet and countertop refinishing can look difficult, but we have found that refinishers who take our training course and practice taping hinges, can easily transition from bathroom refinishing into the kitchen with the potential to triple their incomee. Here’s why:
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KITCHEN REFINISHING PAYS 3 X MORE THAN BATHROOMS
Kitchen refinishing jobs allow refinishers to make 3x the amount currently made on one bathroom job. Since kitchen refinishing uses the same equipment, tools, and application techniques as bathtub refinishing, there is no need to invest in anything new to get started. On average, refinishers can make $2,000 on one kitchen job versus working on four to six individual bathroom jobs.
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BUST THE CABINET MYTH
Many bathroom refinishers avoid the kitchen because of how long they think cabinet refinishing takes. Using traditional methods, taking off doors and masking can take anywhere from three to five days. NAPCO’s class teaches refinishers how to tape and mask a single hinge in under two minutes. This technique allows refinishers to get to work fast and finish an entire project in one or two days depending upon the size of the kitchen and number of cabinets.
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YOU ALREADY HAVE LEADS
The beautiful thing about adding kitchen refinishing to your business is that you already have a long list of warm leads. Everyone who has a bathroom that you refinished also has a kitchen. A phone call, postcard mailing and an email campaign may be all you need to start booking kitchen refinishing jobs.
During the pandemic, many refinishers are trying to find ways to bring their businesses back to 100% revenue and what better way to do that than to add kitchen cabinets and countertops to your skillset! Already a certified refinisher? We encourage you to get into the kitchen to continue growing your business NOW! If you need a refresher course, NAPCO’s Kitchen Class will be perfect for you. If you are ready to get started, give us a call. Class sizes are extremely limited as a health precaution. Talk to us about your training needs and interest in kitchen refinishing to get started now! Let NAPCO help you over the “refinish line” toward your career goals! Call 800-888-1081 or click here.
During the pandemic, many refinishers are trying to find ways to bring their businesses back to 100% revenue and what better way to do that than to add kitchen cabinets and countertops to your skillset! Already a certified refinisher? We encourage you to get into the kitchen to continue growing your business NOW! If you need a refresher course, NAPCO’s Kitchen Class will be perfect for you.
Given the uncertainty many refinishers face today, NAPCO has developed a 5-week broadcasting conference series FREE to ALL REFINISHERS, that explores practical measures to consider implementing during and after the pandemic. Throughout the series we will include an explanation of financial planning, lead generation, developing a strategic marketing plan, and other proactive suggestions intended to help refinishers overcome business challenges and position themselves for continued growth. The conference runs from May 13 at 5:00pm CST and continues weekly every Wednesday through June 10.
What challenges are you facing? How are you running your business during this time, what changes have you made? Do you have questions about how to keep the cash rolling in and wondering what new strategies you should take, or just curious about what other refinishers are doing; now is the perfect opportunity to learn and share with each another. During each session you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. For more information on our weekly webinars, or to sign up today, visit https://www.napcoltd.com/online-conference.
We encourage refinishers to come join in on the conversation with industry experts at NAPCO to understand ways to continue growing your business during a pandemic. ALL refinishers welcome - We are ALL in this together!
Given the uncertainty many refinishers face today, NAPCO has developed a 5-week broadcasting conference series FREE to ALL REFINISHERS, that explores practical measures to consider implementing during and after the pandemic.
Everybody daydreams about being their own boss, creating their own schedule and taking vacations whenever they want. Another primary motivation to throw your hat in the ring and launch your own business is to put your hard-earned income into your own pocket and not somebody else’s. Sound good to you?
NAPCO is passionate to help you turn that daydream into the reality of owning and running your own business or improving and upgrading your own existing business. We can help you strengthen your skills so you can start and/or expand your own refinishing business and become your own boss, creating the life you’ve always wanted.
If you’re not a current refinisher, we can teach you how to become an expert in both kitchen and bathroom refinishing with our 3-day hands-on training course. On the other hand, if you’re already a refinisher, we can help position you and your business so you can hire more people to increase the number of jobs and earn even more income. Trained refinishers have the potential to make an easy $100,000 or more per year. If you add one or two more employees, you could increase your annual income to $250,000 or more per year. Can you feel that warm ocean breeze on your face, a cold drink in your hand and your toes in the sand yet?
We know most refinishers look forward to being their own bosses so they can make their own schedule, work hours, and vacations, all while being able to provide jobs to others, spend more time with family and friends, and attend to tasks that don’t usually fit into a regular business day. When you become a NAPCO trained refinisher, all those aspirations are within reach.
Talk to NAPCO about upping your refinishing skills so you can reap the benefits of being your own boss, all while increasing your yearly income and keeping more of your earnings. Take your business to the next level and create the life you want, NAPCO will help get you there – call us at 800-888-1081, so we can help you over the “refinish line”!
Everybody daydreams about being their own boss, creating their own schedule and taking vacations whenever they want. NAPCO can help you strengthen your skills so you can start and/or expand your own refinishing business and become your own boss, creating the life you’ve always wanted.
There’s good news and there’s bad news.
The bad news is that according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, remodeling spending is expected to slow down considerably by the end of 2019.
Specifically, they project that renovation and repair spending in the U.S. will shrink from 7.5 percent in 2018 to 5.1 percent in 2019. This is due to a variety of factors, including flat home sales activity, rising mortgage interest rates and slowing house price appreciation rates, which cause owners’ interest in making major investments in home improvements to decrease.
The good news is that home improvement and repair spending is still set to reach more than $350 billion this year, and the even better news is that as a refinishing business, there are things you can do to remain profitable and busy even during a remodeling slowdown.
How To Keep Your Refinishing Business Busy
Below are three proven strategies you can use to keep your refinishing business going strong.
1. Diversify your services. If you want to appeal to more customers, you’re going to have to make them an offer they can’t refuse, and that starts with offering them a variety of services. If you currently only refinish bathtubs and bathrooms, consider adding kitchen refinishing to your business to boost income. After all, one bathtub refinishing customer will be set for the next decade or so!
Keep in mind that customer will remember your good work and will likely hire you again when they learn that you offer new services like countertop or kitchen refinishing. This strategy allows you to appeal to past customers, and also add new customers looking for reliable refinishing.
2. Re-engage past customers and prospects. If someone has already used your services, they’re more likely to hire you again when their next refinishing need arises. Call on former customers to let them know that you have added new refinishing services to your business and how you can help meet their needs.
Don’t forget about contacts that entered your sales process at some point in time but didn’t hire your company for the job, for whatever reason. Now is the time to routinely follow up with them, even if you didn’t get the sale. Maybe they didn’t move forward for their own reasons, but now they’re looking to hire for that job again. Maybe they went with someone else initially but ended up unsatisfied with the results.
The goal is to engage with customers who were previously in the sales pipeline — either as a paying job or a prospect — and show them the value and expanded services you bring to the table.
3. Optimize your marketing efforts. Now is the time to step up your marketing efforts, and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Start by making sure your website is clean and professional and showcases all the services you offer, as well as customer reviews and important contact information.
Next, add your business to Google My Business, Yelp for Business and Bing Places, which helps your business rank better in the local refinishers search results. And finally, don’t forget about the effectiveness of a local newspaper ad, direct mail and advertising wraps on your company vehicle. This is an easy and effective way to get your name out to prospective customers.
The Bottom Line
Just because a remodeling slowdown is predicted doesn’t mean you can’t still have a thriving refinishing business. Follow the tips above, provide exceptional service and you can remain busy — and profitable — throughout the year.
If you would like further advice on how to expand your refinishing business, get in touch with our customer service team at 800-888-1081. We’d be happy to talk to you about growth strategies and share our training manual with you!
As a refinishing business, there are things you can do to remain profitable and busy even during a remodeling slowdown. Here are three proven strategies you can use to keep your refinishing business going strong.
Confused about the housing market and what it means to your business? You’re not the only one! Interest rates are low, but so is inventory in the affordable housing sector. The numbers are up and down depending upon where you live and the housing category. According to the National Association of Realtors’ Index, May marks the 17th straight month of annual declines. So, what does this mean for the remodeling industry? It’s hard to say. After home remodeling spending hit a record high of nearly $425 billion in 2017, annual gains are projected to slow in more than half of the nation’s largest housing markets in 2019, according to a report from the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
Source: Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
With supplies of timber, aluminum, and steel being impacted by existing tariffs, and a shortage of skilled laborers, the refinishing industry may have a unique opportunity to grab what would have been full remodeling jobs. Refinishers use existing materials and coatings to make dramatic improvements to bathrooms and kitchens. By educating homeowners about this option, the price tag of a bathroom remodel can drop from $8,000.00 - $12,000.00 to a mere $1,500.00. Homeowners don’t have to wait to make improvements until they are ready to put their house on the market (which is when most remodeling activity occurs). The homeowner can upgrade their space and enjoy it as they live there. The improvements made will still yield an increase in value over the expense.
With all this trepidation and confusion in the housing market, refinishers have an exciting opportunity to expand their skills and fill a labor market gap. Robert Dietz, the chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders, said in a recent interview that “Most individual remodelers will say they’re busy and schedules are full because they don’t have enough help.” Building additional refinishing skills of your own and with your staff could give you a leg up to expand work with both existing and new clients.
Many of NAPCO's long-time bathtub refinishing customers have signed on for the new kitchen refinishing training program. Once these refinishers learn the cabinet taping technique and the methods for applying the Kitchen Renew waterborne coatings, they have been able to deliver both bathroom and kitchen refinishing jobs successfully. The best part about expanding refinishing skills to include kitchens is the jump in job pricing. A kitchen refinishing job can be very profitable, and a great additional revenue stream for your business.
For more information on NAPCO’s kitchen refinishing training program and/or its kitchen and bathroom refinishing training program, visit our website.
With all the confusion in the housing market, refinishers have an exciting opportunity to expand their skills and fill a labor market gap. Many of NAPCO’s long-time bathtub refinishing customers have signed on for the new kitchen refinishing training program.
On our NAPCO blog, we talk a lot about how refinishers can use our products and services to start their own refinishing business. But what do you do when your company is already established? As a small business owner, it can be tough to know where to invest your time and money in order to take things to the next level. The first step to growing your small business is to increase your overall revenue. For refinishers, the easiest way to do this is to get more customers. Below are five proven strategies you can make use of to grow your refinishing business:
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Grow Your Customer Base Through Referrals
Instead of using your budget on marketing strategies like direct mail or online advertising (though these can be valuable tools as well), try attracting new customers to your business through existing customers. Though your excellent refinishing work and customer service will speak for itself, you should be actively seeking referrals after every job. This means asking the customer if they know of anyone else that could use your services and requesting they put them in contact with you. You could even set up a referral program with bonuses or discounts for friends and family!
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Extend Your Reach
To attract new customers, you may have to go to them. Though opening a new branch can be a daunting process, it can pay off in the end by allowing you to serve a much greater range of new customers. If you don’t feel ready to operate a multi-location business, you could also start by extending your reach online. Launching a website for your business is another great way to reach new customers, as you can take advantage of new channels of communication such as social media and email newsletters.
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Diversify Your Services
If you want to appeal to more customers, you’re going to have to offer them more. After all, one bathtub refinishing customer should be set for another 5 years at least! However, past customers will likely remember your good work and be interested when they learn that you offer new services like kitchen cabinet and countertop refinishing. Not only do diverse service offerings allow you to appeal to past customers, but they can bring your business to the attention of new customers who may be only looking for kitchen refinishing.
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Keep a Handle on Costs
This one comes as no surprise, but in order to grow your refinishing business you’re going to need to make some tough decisions when it comes to spending. If there is a certain product, service, marketing initiative, or, sadly, employee that doesn’t seem to be worth the cost, you will likely need to let them go. However, don’t be overly quick to pull the trigger on certain expenditures. Some programs may take weeks or even months to bring value but are worth it in the long run.
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Get Yourself Out There
Be it local advertising, paid social media campaigns, a new website launch, or attending trade shows, the most important thing to do in order to grow your refinishing business is to get it out in front of people. Participating in targeted marketing strategies ensures that you are reaching the right people in the right area who could benefit most from your services.
If you would like further advice on how to expand your refinishing business, get in touch with our customer service team at 800-888-1081. We’d be happy to talk to you about growth strategies and share our training manual with you!
The first step to growing your small business is to increase your overall revenue. For refinishers, the easiest way to do this is to get more customers. Below are five proven strategies you can make use of to grow your refinishing business.
Building solid business relationships with our clients so that we can provide the very best customer service is a key value at NAPCO. This month, our president, Dani Nichols and customer service and sales manager, Jackie Stuckert headed out to beautiful Savannah, Georgia to get to know the members of the Painting and Decorating Contractors Association (PDCA).
Question: What was your favorite part of the PDCA Expo?
Answer, Dani Nichols: The Painting and Decorating Contractors Association (PDCA) is passionate about building partnerships with the contractors they serve. That resonated deeply with me because building partnerships is at the core of what we do every day. It was exciting to participate in an event that brings together a community of likeminded painting contractors from all over the country that challenge each other to grow as business owners. The Expo was chock full of seminars, panel discussions and roundtable breakouts on topics to help painting contactors get their businesses to the next level. We went to the Expo to expose attendees to the kitchen and bath refinishing industry, but we also took away many ideas on how to better serve our current customers.
Dani Nichols and Jackie Stuckert at the PDCA expo
Question: Was there anything new/innovative that you learned about at the Expo?
Answer, Jackie Stuckert: One of the hottest topics at the Expo was kitchen cabinet refinishing. Painting contractors are waking up to the idea that refinishing kitchen cabinets can be extremely lucrative and a great way to grow their business. We were obviously excited about this area of interest since NAPCO is in an excellent position to take a lead role in supplying both training and products for kitchen refinishing. Our Kitchen Renew waterborne coating and our ongoing support and training classes are going to be a big hit with painting contractors who want to boost their revenues. In our industry, smart refinishers already know that refinishing cabinets is a great strategy for growing their business. It’s a no brainer! Based on chatter at the Expo, painting contractors are just beginning to get the idea that it can take their businesses to the whole new level. There’s lots of demand for kitchen cabinet refinishing and NAPCO is happy to help professional refinishers make more money with kitchen work.
Question: What important tips did you learn from the keynote speakers?
Answer, Dani Nichols: The painting trade is competitive, especially when you aren’t a specialty tradesman like our customers at NAPCO. Whether you are a brush and roll painter or use an HVLP sprayer, the same rules of business still apply. Keynote speaker, Tom Reeber of Contractor Fight opened the Expo and had lots of great advice for motivating business owners. He challenged contractors in attendance to stop playing by the rules of the industry and to recognize that success is a choice. That same mindset is vital in the kitchen and bathtub refinishing industry as well. Have confidence in your work, stand behind your product and charge what you are worth. As Tom Reeber said, if your margins are low it’s because of your own self-limiting thoughts, so get out of your own way. “Overdosing on discomfort” is the way to grow, according to Tom.
In summary, NAPCO is delighted to be a sponsor of PDCA and looks forward to bringing value to its members and learning how best to support its members with the growth and expansion of their individual businesses.
Building solid business relationships with our clients so that we can provide the very best customer service is a key value at NAPCO. This month, our president, Dani Nichols and customer service and sales manager, Jackie Stuckert headed out to beautiful Savannah, Georgia to get to know the members of the Painting and Decorating Contractors Association (PDCA).
How do today’s consumers find the products and services they are looking for? They rely on internet search engines. You are on the road to marketing success when your services, products, and business locations show up first on search engines like Google. This process is known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
If you’re like many small business owners, figuring out how search engine optimization can work with your existing website can seem like a confusing job. Even the phrase “search engine optimization” can leave you scratching your head.
And while SEO has a lot of moving parts, by just understanding and implementing some basic optimization strategies for your website, you can yield big gains in the refinishing and remodeling industry.
Content is King
The best place to start SEO is by focusing on creating unique content that’s relevant to your audience. The good thing about this is that you do not need to start from scratch. Most likely you already have quality content--whether in the form of blogs, photos and videos, pamphlets/brochures, social media posts - that just needs a little SEO boost.
For example, Backlinko found that by updating and republishing old blog posts with new content and images, organic traffic can increase by as much as 111%.
Unfortunately, there is not one tactic that will ensure your website is in the top spot. But we do know that search engines tend to favor content that includes fresh and detailed information, specific keyword targeting, and is easy for readers to understand.
Applying SEO Best Practices to Content
When updating your content, keep these best practices in mind:
Content Length: Write long, original content that can be copied and quoted. Longer content that goes deeper into a topic has a better chance of including what a specific user is looking for. Blog posts should be between 1,000-2,000 words and include multiple different points about your topic.
Keyword Targeting: Targeted keywords are specific phrases your potential customers might use in a search engine when looking for information like yours. Optimize keywords around important content elements. Use or add keywords in your content but take care not to be too redundant.
Readability: Successful website content is easy for users to read and understand. When your site content is clear for your targeted audience, search engines will rank your site higher. Content with good readability includes clear and concise information, shorter paragraphs and sentences, headings and subheadings.
While these elements are extremely important for your online content, they are not the only SEO best practices you should be following. For a full list of SEO best practices for website content, check out Proceed Innovative’s 2019 SEO Content Writing Checklist.
The Importance of SEO
SEO can seem overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be. You are most likely already investing in techniques that are contributing to SEO and have quality content that just needs a little SEO boost.
SEO is critical because it leads to an increase in your site’s visibility which means more traffic and more chances to attract and convert customers. Going beyond conversion rates, SEO can help increase awareness for your business, facilitate stronger customer relationships, and establish your business as the refinishing expert.
While SEO has a lot of moving parts, by just understanding and implementing some basic optimization strategies for your website, you can yield big gains in the refinishing and remodeling industry.
Now is the time to get a head start on preparing your business for 2019. Whether you’re considering entering the home improvement sector first time or you’re an experienced contractor, adding kitchen refinishing to your skillset is a sure-fire way to grow your business in the new year. Here are 3 reasons why you should add kitchen refinishing onto your business in 2019:
More homeowners are opting for minor kitchen upgrades
When it comes to home improvement projects in the new year, the heart of the home will take center stage. As such, 2019 has been dubbed “the year of the kitchen” by Remodeling Business. The reason for this is simple: return on investment.
Minor kitchen remodels are one of the top home improvement projects that generate the highest return on investment. According to Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value home improvement report, a minor kitchen remodel will get back 81% of its cost in average resale value, while a major upscale kitchen remodel will get back only about 53.5% of its cost. And the most valuable home improvement projects in a minor kitchen remodel include modernizing the cabinets and countertops.
Many times, we are so focused on a current refinishing job that we forget this isn’t the only thing affecting business. The broader consumer market also impacts business. Adjusting your services to offer what current and potential customers want is a simple way to boost business.
Keep customers coming back by offering additional services
Acquiring a new customer is much harder, and more expensive, than retaining an existing one. This makes sense when you think about the time and resources you expend on attracting and convincing homeowners to use your contract services before you even start doing your contracting work. How do you make those one-time customers come back? And how do you turn those customers into long-term clients? Keep them happy and satisfied.
According to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders, bathroom and kitchen updates will be two of the most popular home improvement projects in the upcoming year. That means for contractors in the bathroom refinishing business, at least a few of your current clients will look into making kitchen updates in the new year. Don’t risk losing your clients to another contractor with kitchen experience. Providing additional services like kitchen refinishing for your clients will not only increase your revenue, but also save your clients time and energy as well.
Great way to enhance your business in the off season
During the winter months, many businesses will experience a lull, but this doesn’t mean your contract work has to stop. There are plenty of ways to take advantage of the offseason to grow your refinishing business.
While the breezier temperatures might slow down business a bit, they do provide the perfect opportunity to enhance your refinishing skillset-and in much more bearable weather conditions than the hot summer. Take this time to learn how to add kitchen refinishing on to your bathroom refinishing business. Call us for dates to reserve your spot!
Now is the time to get a head start on preparing your business for 2019. Whether you’re considering entering the home improvement sector first time or you’re an experienced contractor, adding kitchen refinishing to your skillset is a sure-fire way to grow your business in the new year. Here are 3 reasons why you should […]
Whether you are just starting out with your own refinishing business or have been established for some time, these tips could be what you need to help your company get a boost and increase your profit this year. Below are several ways you could help your small refinishing business drive growth.
Be Open to Change
Running your own small business is stressful! There are always a million tasks to complete, especially if you employ several other people. This environment can make it easy for small business owners to be reluctant to adapt and change their business practices, as adding new factors into the workplace can increase existing stress. However, it is so important for small business owners to be open to trying new technologies and opportunities. Being an established veteran in the industry is great, but it might mean that you are missing out on business with a younger audience. One example is allowing mobile payments through apps like Venmo. Many younger homeowners don’t use checks or cash very often anymore, and will appreciate the ease of mobile or online payment options.
If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
That all being said, sometimes traditional methods are traditional for a reason. Creating an online presence for your refinishing business is really important, as having a Facebook page or implementing email marketing strategies can be effective. However, especially in the refinishing business, tried-and-true methods like direct mail marketing and word-of-mouth are even more valuable. Many people decide on which contractors to hire based on the recommendation of someone else. Never underestimate the value of a good review!
Strategize Smartly
Whether you are decide to continue strategies from the past or are looking into implementing new ideas into your business, it is important to take stock of what is working and what isn’t. It sounds simple enough, but oftentimes we get caught up in something that sounds like a great idea, but in practice is not the right fit. Don’t let past successes or flashy new technology get in the way of common sense! Evaluate your small business strategies so you can optimize your operations.
NAPCO is always here as a resource to provide refinishers the strategy and marketing support they need to help their business succeed. Call or email us any time if you need advice or help with any issue!
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Top Tips to Start Your Own Tub Refinishing Business
Whether you are just starting out with your own refinishing business or have been established for some time, these tips could be what you need to help your company get a boost and increase your profit this year.