|
Vista painter doesn’t mind doing a few touch-ups. . .
Thomas J. Morrow, Business Editor, North County Times, 1996
VISTA - Most people approach the job
of painting a house, whether painting the exterior or interior, with a certain degree of
dread. Most people don’t want to think about or want to do it. Joe Lane is different.
Painting is one of life’s tasks that most people either love or hate to do.
Fortunately for Lane, most people who can afford to do so would rather have someone else
do it for them.
"I fell in love with painting while I was a student in college," recalls
Lane, who, with wife, Colleen, runs a successful paint contractor business out of their
Vista home. "I first realized I enjoyed painting when I was a youngster working at
building model cars and other hobbies that involve painting."
A native of Pennsylvania. Lane recalls decorating his own room as a youngster when his
father used to buy "fixer-upper" houses.
"Dad would buy an old home and then spend a year or so fixing it up before selling
it," said Lane. "I’d redecorate my room maybe two or three times during the
year. I guess that’s where I really got into painting."
"Having the exterior or interior of your house painted by a contractor isn’t
an expensive proposition," said Lane. "This is a job much of society does
themselves because it is expensive. Most of my clients are middle- to upper-middle-income
persons who can afford to have it done."
Lane says one-third of his business is commercial - painting for businesses - but the
biggest portion is for private parties (residential).
I would rather do work for a private individual or a businessperson because that way I
only have one boss," Lane explained. "I’ve done new-structure painting but
you’ve got the other sub-contractors walking over your work; you have the owner, the
developer, the general contractor, all of them are bosses."
He prefers repainting work for that reason and he’s stroked his brushes across
some of the better homes throughout Southern California some of them owned by some rather
famous residents. He just completed painting San Diego Charger Ronnie Harmon’s home
in Escondido - inside and out.
Retired baseball outfielder Fred Lynn (Boston Red Sox, Padres, Angels), who now lives
in La Costa, called Lane to come out and paint his home after seeing his ad in the phone
book.
"He (Lynn) told me that ‘anyone with guts enough to put his bald-headed
picture in the yellow pages ad is gonna get my business,’ " laughed Lane.
Lane points out that painting is a property-enhancement procedure that adds to the
value of the home, so most people with a significant investment find having a professional
paint contractor do the work is well worth the expense.
"When I bid a job, everything is included - preparation, labor and the
paint," he said. "I use top-quality paints from Frazee and Vista, depending on
the job (interior or exterior)." And the preparation work is often the most
difficult, but the most important part of any painting job.
"The proof is in the prep," said Colleen Lane, who takes care of most of the
marketing, billing and paperwork for the family business. Colleen Lane works from their
home with the computer, keeping track of past and present clients, while working on future
clients.
"I’m learning the business from top to bottom," said Colleen Lane. Lane
said he always gives a written estimate after carefully figuring all costs, and he does
one more thing: furnishes a reference list of former clients - all of his clients.
"I really believe in customer satisfaction, so I’m constantly updating my
customer list, and anyone who is thinking about having me do their work can call and of
them (former clients) to inquire about the kind of job I did," said Lane.
Lane personally works on every job himself, but he now has three full-time painters
helping him. He believes in hands-on management because clients feel more comfortable
having the boss right there slapping paint with the employees.
"It used to take me a week to do the exterior of a standard-size home, but now we
can do it all in one day," said Lane.¨ [back to
"In the Media"]
|
