painting business, painting contractor, painting, business coach, painting

What to Do When Asked, “Can You Throw That in for Free?”

“Can you do that for free?”

Or, “are you just going to throw that in for me?”

Has this ever happened to you with a homeowner?

Expecting you to do something for free or just throw something in?

It happens to us every now and then.

This is my response that I wanted to share with you.

I am Ron Ramsden and I am a DYB Coach, also a painting contractor.

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When I am out on the field some days with my crews, talking to customers, they sometimes say, “while you are here, do you mind painting a door?”

Or, “One little thing… can you patch that hole?”

They try to get away not paying for it.

They just feel like they should be able to ask this, and you’re there anyway, let’s do it for free.

Well, this is my response, and it’s worked very well in the last few years I have done it.

Offer to Write an Additional Work Order

First of all, if they ask a crew leader, he would always say, we can write up an additional work order, and they know what to charge.

Let Them Know About Your Charity Program

If they do ask, we also say we would love to do charity work, and our charity this year is… and we name the charity.

We tell them what we do for that charity and that’s where all our work goes, and they kind of get the hint that they are not that charity.

Offer to Schedule a New Estimate

We also offer to schedule a new estimate and schedule for additional work.

This usually ends the conversation, and then they realize.

We are in here to make money, it’s nice when you are starting out, to throw one of these things in every now and then, but we can’t pay the bills by doing that kind of work for customers.

If you choose to pick a charity, pick a charity that means something to you, you can also share that on social media, and other things like that, but do it from your heart.

Don’t do it for the homeowner who is looking to have a couple of extra doors painted.

Yeah, it’s a nice thing to do, but time is money, and we are here to make a dollar.

When was the last time you went to your mechanic and then he threw in an oil change?

It just doesn’t happen.

Anyways, if you want to reach out to me, please find me on Facebook, send me a message, or you can find me at ron@dybcoach.com

I would love to chat with you!

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About the Author

As many of you know, my journey has been one of grit, grace, and transformation. At 19, I was a high school dropout, single father, and struggling paint contractor in Michigan. I later moved to Florida, where I faced both personal and professional hardships. With nothing left to lose, I turned to prayer—and was blessed with a relentless hunger to learn. I devoured books, attended seminars, and discovered better ways to streamline and grow my business—even through the Great Recession (and yes, I did hit the wife lottery along the way!). In 2014, I published How To Double Your Business and later sold the painting business, launching a new chapter: coaching others to grow their businesses. For the past 10 years, I’ve dedicated myself to helping business owners scale through the DYB System, while also drawing from frameworks like EOS, Scaling Up, and The Four Disciplines of Execution. Yet something was still missing—something more adaptive, integrated, and complete. Then I found Pinnacle. After months of research and interviews with other Guides, I joined Pinnacle. Their tools and strategies have exceeded every expectation. Now, as a Pinnacle Business Guide, I help leadership teams implement a custom-tailored operating system that draws from the best in the industry—but flexes with your unique business. It’s a dynamic, proven approach to achieve clarity, momentum, and lasting growth. I’m no longer taking on any more 1:1 coaching clients… Instead, I now specialize in working with visionary business owners who are ready to get their leadership teams aligned—around a clear vision, a focused strategy, and an actionable execution plan. With the tools and process I now have as a Pinnacle Business Guide, I help turn alignment into momentum, and momentum into results. If your business is growing—but your leadership team isn’t fully rowing in the same direction—let’s talk.