EP43 Sam Reuter: From Going Door To Door To $750K, Profitably
SUMMARY:
Our guest today is Sam Reuter. He owns Painter Pro, a painting company based in the Greater Indianapolis Area. Sam comes from a family of entrepreneurs, leaning a lot from seeing his father run a successful plumbing business in his childhood.
Sam started working a summer job when he was 13-years-old, then added a second job when he got his driver’s license. He liked to stay busy, which he credits to the work ethic he learned from his entrepreneurial family. At 16-years-old, he started to knock on doors to generate customers for a lawn care business he started with his cousin.
Sam eventually went away to college for civil engineering but returned home after one year. At this time, he started doing landscaping again. One day, he was on Craigslist looking for work and found an ad looking for painters. He applied and landed the job, but later, a friend’s father offered Sam a job at his lumber company. Working under this man, Sam bounced around a few different companies, working up the ladder and eventually going into sales. Sam started Painter Pro in 2015 while holding on to this job until 2017, meaning that he often worked 50-60 hours a week while knocking on doors for his own company on the weekends.
Sam has grown his business exponentially, with both his own entrepreneurial drive and help from DYB. Join us as we listen to Sam talk about the hard work that he has put into his business, how he applied skills learned at other jobs to his success, and how he takes care of his subcontractors.
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WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
- The entrepreneurial traits that helped Sam start his business and find success.
- The usefulness of grassroots lead generation techniques.
- Sam’s experience of growing his business with the help of DYB.
- Building a positive company culture by talking to your employees.
- How to accept and grow from failure.
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LISTEN HERE:
QUOTES:
“I loved the people I worked with; that was a good environment. But, [the company’s] culture… if there was an issue, they’d always want to find out first who made the mistake… It was “who messed up, who made the mistake” and not “how can we fix this?”
“I looked online and I found some articles on running a painting business and I had done that myself before. I thought “low overhead, low startup” like everyone does, and thought “this can’t be that hard.” Boy, did I not know.”
“We didn’t really have much a website until this year. So, our lead generation wasn’t from SEO or anything like that. It was really just networking, and that was our main source of revenue.”
“The plan has worked so far. I’m very happy with it. A lot of it is from working with DYB, with the insane amount of knowledge I’ve gained.”
“Once you hit 18, it doesn’t matter what your parents were, who influenced you, it’s you. It’s your life now. You don’t get to play the card of “I had a rough life.” That doesn’t do anything for anybody; it just makes it harder on you. The sooner you realize that, you’re going to experience a lot more happiness in your life.”
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HIGHLIGHTS:
[01:54] When did Sam first start working? Did he always have an entrepreneurial spirit?
[10:48] Why did Sam leave his job?
[13:42] How did Sam get started with his business? What was his initial lead generation process?
[20:34] What sales number is Sam on track to hit this year?
[22:45] What was it like for Sam to work with DYB?
[24:23] Where did Sam’s entrepreneurial drive come from?
[27:33] What was the paradigm shift that helped Sam reach this level?
[28:46] What software has made the biggest change in Sam’s business?
[29:42] What does Sam to do elevate the culture of his company?
[31:09] Are there any books that made a big impact on Sam?
[33:22] What final thoughts does Sam have for this episode?
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LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field
Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself
Secret Service: Hidden Systems That Deliver Unforgettable Customer Service
https://www.facebook.com/PainterProIndiana/
ADDITIONAL FREE RESOURCES:
Schedule Your Free Strategy Call With Steve
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Connect with Sam Reuter on Facebook here
Connect with Steve on Facebook here
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