Today we’d like to introduce you to Marc Blanchette.
Marc, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started MHB Painting in 2004 after spending the previous ten years teaching middle school Math. I loved the classroom part of the job. Unfortunately, the other aspects of the job gradually came to consume the majority of my time so I decided it was time to move on while I was still young enough to do something else.
I started painting as a teenager, painted my way through college so that when I graduated my tuition was paid in full, and painted each summer while I was teaching. The decision to start my own business as a painting contractor was not a difficult one.
Has it been a smooth road?
I can’t say it has always been a smooth road. My first apprehension going into starting the business was the knowledge that my business acumen was not very good. The first adjustment I had not even considered was that I no longer had the exact same amount of money deposited into my account each week.
I also had to get used to the seasonal aspect of the job. Since the majority of my work is residential work slows down quite a bit around Christmas and doesn’t pick up again until a few weeks into February. At this point, I have a reasonable handle on what to expect and plan accordingly.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a small painting company north of Boston. The majority of our work is residential though we do some commercial work as well. I wouldn’t say we specialize in anything in particular but we have a paint shaver that can completely remove the paint from siding. It attaches to a HEPA vacuum so that there is no dust flying throughout the neighborhood.
It is a very labor intensive process but the end result is a new surface that will last far longer than most conventional paint jobs. I mentioned earlier that I painted my way through college. I worked for the same contractor from the time I was 24 until I started my business. He was a builder and although much of the work I did for him involved painting I did learn quite a bit about carpentry.
As a result, we are able to take care of that aspect of the job. It is usually more convenient for both the customer and for us if we are able to perform the carpentry work. Oftentimes there is rotted wood or cracked siding that is not obvious until we start working on it. Waiting for the customer to find a carpenter to replace a few pieces of rotted wood can delay a job quite a bit. We also use quality materials.
The labor on a job is usually the same regardless of the materials used. Why use inferior materials that will result in a job that will last half the time. I usually tell people any job will look good on the day it is completed. What will it look like in five years or longer? Since we started in 2004 we have always used the same product for exterior paint. I have been approached by several salesmen that have attempted to sell me their product. One person asked me, “What can we do to get you to switch over to our product’? My reply was, “Nothing”.
I have never had a problem with the product I am using and until I do I will not switch to anything else although I will use other products at the request of the customer. I would have to say I am most proud of the fact that the vast majority of my work is from referrals and repeat customers. Over the years I have invested a reasonable amount of money on advertising. More often than not I have been disappointed with the results. At this point, I do not need to spend much at all on advertising to stay busy.
Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc?
The most obvious change over the next few years will involve the further elimination of oil-based products. At this point, there are few oil products still available. The last ten years have seen a drastic reduction in the maximum amount of VOC’s allowed in the paint. This has resulted in many new products and changes to existing ones.
New building materials are constantly being introduced and as a result, there will be a need for new products to maintain them. There is a big push towards “maintenance free” products. While they may need less maintenance it is unlikely they will all be truly maintenance free. Vinyl siding comes to mind. I have painted vinyl siding many times. I even had to paint vinyl that was about ten years old.
Whether the siding was defective or produced with inferior materials to keep cost down is irrelevant. What matters is that it needed to be painted. Fortunately, there are many products available today that can be used to do the job correctly but wasn’t always the case.
Contact Info:
- Address: MHB Painting 30 Livingston Ave. Lowell, Ma 01851
- Website: www.mhbpainting.com
- Phone: 978-761-3718
- Email: mhbpainting@comcast.net
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