Painting Biz Coach

06/13/2026

📚🎨 I’LL BE AT PRETTY BOY PAINT FEST 2026! 🎨📚

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be attending the Pretty Boy Paint Fest in Ithaca, New York, on July 24th and 25th with Painting Biz Publishing!

If you’re a painting contractor looking to improve your estimating, marketing, hiring, sales systems, production rates, or overall business performance, stop by and say hello. I’ll be bringing a variety of painting business books, forms, resources, and practical tools designed specifically for painting contractors.

Have a tough painting business question? Bring it with you! I always enjoy talking shop and helping fellow painters overcome the challenges that come with growing a successful painting company.

✅ Meet Jeff Lockwood in person
✅ Browse Painting Biz Publishing resources
✅ Ask your toughest business questions
✅ Connect with painters from across North America

📍 Pretty Boy Paint Fest
📅 July 24–25, 2026
📌 Dryden Lake Park, NY

I look forward to meeting new friends, reconnecting with old ones, and sharing ideas that can help you build a stronger painting business.

See you in Ithaca!

05/27/2026

TODAY’S THE DAY, Toronto Pro Painters

Painting Biz Publishing with Jeff Lockwood is LIVE today at the Sherwin Williams Pro Painters Show 2026 at the International Centre in Mississauga from 2PM–7PM!

If you’re serious about growing your painting business, come by and say hello. Let’s talk estimating, marketing, hiring, production rates, sales systems, and the real challenges painters are facing in today’s market. Bring your toughest questions.

I’ll have:
✅ FREE books from Painting Biz Publishing
✅ Swag giveaways
✅ Real conversations about growing a profitable painting company
✅ Answers to your toughest business questions

Whether you’re just getting started or trying to level up your company, I’d love to connect with you in person.

Let’s make 2026 your best year yet.
See you at the show! 👊

05/23/2026

Had a great conversation over coffee the other day with a local painting contractor. We spent some time discussing one of the most important skills in our industry—accurate estimating.

Far too many painters focus only on labour hours and material costs when putting together a quote. While those are certainly important, a truly profitable estimate must account for much more than that. Vehicle expenses, insurance, office costs, marketing, equipment replacement, training, taxes, and countless other operating expenses all play a role in the real cost of running a professional painting company.

And let’s not forget profit. Profit isn’t a dirty word—it’s what allows a business to invest in better equipment, hire great people, weather slow seasons, and continue serving clients for years to come.

The reality is that you can stay busy all year long and still struggle financially if your estimates aren’t built on accurate numbers. Working harder isn’t always the answer. Knowing your numbers is.

Every estimate should answer one simple question: “Will this job help my business grow, or will it simply keep me busy?”

It was great talking shop and sharing ideas. Conversations like these remind me that no matter how long you’ve been in business, there’s always something new to learn and opportunities to improve.

05/16/2026

Another great coaching call the other day with a newer painting contractor who’s starting to break into exterior work and new construction projects.

We covered some BIG topics that every painting contractor needs to understand before jumping into new builds:

✔️ Why new construction is completely different than repaints
✔️ How other trades can destroy your schedule and profits
✔️ Why ceilings and priming are the “meat and potatoes” of new build painting
✔️ The importance of staged payments and protecting your cash flow
✔️ How to properly price small homes without undercharging
✔️ Why cheap clients and low-ball pricing can bankrupt a painting business
✔️ Pressure washing tips, moisture readings, sprayer recommendations, and production rates
✔️ The importance of selling a “hassle-free” premium experience instead of racing to the bottom on price

One of the biggest lessons from today’s conversation:

STOP pricing jobs based on fear.

Price your work based on what it ACTUALLY takes to produce professional results and run a profitable company.

Too many painting contractors work incredibly hard… only to discover they’re making less than an hourly employee after expenses are paid.

That’s not a business. That’s burnout.

The goal is to build a painting company that is profitable, professional, and sustainable long-term.

This is exactly the type of real-world coaching we work on through Painting Biz Coach — production rates, estimating systems, equipment decisions, marketing strategy, subcontractor relationships, builder negotiations, and protecting profit margins.

Knowledge beats guessing every single time.

– Jeff LockwoodPainting Contractor • Author • Painting Business Coach

04/01/2026

I saw this posted today on the PCA YouTube page and immediately thought, Awesome — I can share this.

This was probably the best lecture I attended at PCA Expo 2026. If your painting company has grown to the point where you need a project manager — or if you’re handling project management yourself — you should definitely give this a listen.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

03/31/2026

Here’s a good question that was just thrown my way -

“Hey Jeff, what are your thoughts if a Painting contractor is selling 6 out of 10. Can he survive? Or do they need a Professional painting marketing coach? Cheers! Some guy are closing 30%? some 40%. ?”

Here’s my answer -

First off, let me say pro coaching is always great to have , regardless of the problem. In this case, closing 6 out of 10 estimates usually tells me the pricing is too low. In most cases, that means they’re likely undervaluing their service and leaving money on the table.

A healthier target close rate is typically around 1 in 3 estimates, or roughly 35%. That usually indicates you’re priced in a way that allows for both profitability and enough room to sustain growth.

On the other hand, if your close rate is too low, that can be a sign your pricing is too high for your market and may need to be adjusted.

In short, your close rate can tell you a lot about whether your pricing is dialed in or not.

03/01/2026

02/21/2026

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Tanner Mullin, the founder and owner of DripJobs. Our discussion centered around his software for painting contractors, which I found to be particularly impressive due to its CRM features, metrics, and ease of use.