The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber

Nick Slavic, of Nick Slavic Painting & Restoration is a former Army Paratrooper who volunteered for two tours overseas after the 9/11 attacks. He fishes with a spear, grows his own food and has an accounting degree. I met Nick in early 2016 and immediately had a respect for him as a person and a businessman as I watched how he was building his brand. Show Highlights Nick calls himself a “Proprietor.” Started painting in his dad’s business at about 12 years old. After a disagreement with his father he went out on his own in 2007. Nick’s philosophy is “Remove all excuses,” followed closely with, “Lead by example.” He has been called a “hipster”, but Nick considers himself more a man out of his time. Nick still advertises pretty heavily in traditional newspaper ads which is still pretty effective in his area. He models them on “old-school” advertisements with a modern edge. He works regularly with local photographers styling marketing images intentionally to look more traditional. This helps catch attention on modern social platforms like Facebook. Nick knows his target market is 45-70 year old women and he adapts his marketing to appeal to this audience. Nick differentiates himself from the competition by making the passion he has for this work abundantly clear to the homeowners he meets. He defines “success” as “you supply the best coatings and best finishes, you have the happiest customers and if you can call your life happy, you call it happy.”  Nick feels this is truly his life’s calling and all three are important. Nick’s biggest leadership fail is failing to use the third 8 hours of a 24 hour day. Nick’s top tip for other business owners is to use the third 8 hours of the day. 8 hours each day is for sleep, 8 hours for trade, and Nick believes it’s important to be intentional about how you use what he calls the “third 8”.  Nick truly believes that if you’re passionate about the work that you do, it’s easy to devote this much time to your business. He believes that his passion for his trade is no different than an artist’s passion for creating, or a musician’s passion for music. One of his pet peeves is people not respecting someone’s passion for their trade. Nick finds novice painters and puts them through a journeyman/apprenticeship program.  He fully invests in each employee as though they’ll be with him their whole life, even if they’re just staying for the summer. He feels that contractors place too much value on marketing keywords and hypnotic sales sheets when the bottom-line, most crucial factor to succeeding in a contracting business is authentic trust. Your clients need to trust you and that just takes time. Nick’s rule is perfect the product and experience before you focus on marketing and SEO. Get the foundation right, before you expand on your marketing. Focus on the long-game. Join him Saturday Mornings at 10am CST, “Ask a Painter” on Facebook live from his deck. You can submit questions.   Reach Nick at: http://nickslavik.com/ https://www.instagram.com/slaviknick/ https://www.facebook.com/nick.slavik.92

Jake’s Designs is an award winning, Colorado Springs based, landscape company established in 2000. Jake’s Designs specializes in guiding homeowners through the process of the landscape design all the way through the installation of the project. Jake’s employs two degreed landscape designers to start the process who truly believe that “every great landscape starts with a great design”. Once a design and price is met the designers very comfortably hand the clients off to a great construction manager who ensures the designs are properly installed and come to life!   Jake Harris graduated from Colorado State University in 2000 with a degree in landscape architecture and immediately founded Jake’s Designs. Since that day he has coached his team into what he had envisioned. Coming from a family of self-employed parents he has always had a strong belief in customer satisfaction and credits that to the success of his company. Jake always puts his whole heart into his designs to make sure all the client’s needs are met. jakesdesigns.com Join the Strongpreneur Mastermind Group Outro Music: Takeo Ischi "New Bibi-Hendl   

Jake’s Designs is an award winning, Colorado Springs based, landscape company established in 2000. Jake’s Designs specializes in guiding homeowners through the process of the landscape design all the way through the installation of the project. Jake’s employs two degreed landscape designers to start the process who truly believe that “every great landscape starts with a great design”. Once a design and price is met the designers very comfortably hand the clients off to a great construction manager who ensures the designs are properly installed and come to life!   Jake Harris graduated from Colorado State University in 2000 with a degree in landscape architecture and immediately founded Jake’s Designs. Since that day he has coached his team into what he had envisioned. Coming from a family of self-employed parents he has always had a strong belief in customer satisfaction and credits that to the success of his company. Jake always puts his whole heart into his designs to make sure all the client’s needs are met. jakesdesigns.com Join the Strongpreneur Mastermind Group

In this SOLOCAST, Tom shares his own story and tips on how to avoid burnout and build a strong business.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join the Strongpreneur Mastermind Group

In this episode Tom interviews Keith Kalfas about how he grew a youtube channel from 0 to 21,000 subscribers. Keith gives advice to those who are unsure of what to use youtube and other platforms for growing your contracting business.  http://www.thelandscapingemployeetrap.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/TheEmployeeTrap  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join the Strongpreneur Mastermind Group

In this episode Tom interviews Matt White, the founder of Remodeler Marketing Institute and owner of JoltCMS and The Remodeler's Edge about how to build credibility and trust in this new world of buying & selling.   stopsellingstarthelping.com joltcms.com theremodelersedge.com remodelermarketinginstitute.com contact:matt@theremodelersedge.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join the Strongpreneur Mastermind Group

In this episode Tom interviews Tom Lopatosky about nailing down your sales process, building relationships, charging for estimates, and add value to your community. Tom L gives you 5 steps to creating a system for maximizing networking events.  http://www.lopcocontracting.com/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join the Strongpreneur Mastermind Group

In this episode Tom interviews Travis Brown the producer of the Strongpreneur Podcast. They talk about why every human being should podcast. 1. Become an authority 2. It's "evergreen" promotion3. People get to know you 4. Tell future clients what you want them to know 5. Podcasts are freee. 6. No one reads blogs 7. Technology is your friend.  travisbrown79@me.com 630.915.5780 iamtravisbrown.bandcamp.com   Join the Strongpreneur Mastermind Group

In this episode Tom interviews David Chism from adavidcreation.com a small marketing firm that helps small businesses grow, be more profitable and become better known to their target clients.  David touches on 5 mistakes contractors make in marketing themselves and their business. He talks about closing on the spot and what avenues he thinks are best for contractors to market their business. adavidcreation.com ralawn.com ------------------------------------------------ Join the Strongpreneur Mastermind Group

In this episode Tom interviews Steve Shinholser about the golden rules of contracting. 1. Treat your customers and employees as you want to be treated (like an owner). 2. Make 50% on bids and track your jobs. "I'd rather make an easy $50 than a hard $100." - Steve Shinholser Contractor Sales Academy The Shinholser Effect www.motorhard.com ------------------------------------------------ Join the Strongpreneur Mastermind Group