Contractor Secrets

What's up good people! As some of you may know, the 31-Days of Value challenge was born on this podcast. Since then, it's evolved into a new vision - Stronghold. New name, new vision, same powerful content. Here's the first 7 days of the audiobook - listen one day at a time - implement the ONE action - don't miss a day. If you want to read along, grab the ⁠Kindle version here

How do you build a painting business that runs without you? Justin Georgopoulos explains the systems behind his $6.5M painting company and how his team sold and produced $300,000 while he spent 11 days away in Greece. In this special episode of Contractor Secrets from the Routemize launch party, Tanner Mullen welcomes Justin Georgopoulos, founder of High Five Painting (formerly 519 Painters) and T...

What's up good people! As some of you may know, the 31-Days of Value challenge was born on this podcast. Since then, it's evolved into a new vision - Stronghold. New name, new vision, same powerful content. Here's the first 7 days of the audiobook - listen one day at a time - implement the ONE action - don't miss a day. If you want to read along, grab the Kindle version here

Getting comfortable in business can be more dangerous than failure. In this episode, Tanner Mullen explains why business owners start playing small after they've finally built something worth protecting. When I started my painting business, I knew almost nothing. I was hungry. I asked questions. I took risks. I figured things out as I went. And that's what I've been reflecting on latel...

Painting contractors spend thousands generating leads — but how many painting leads are lost because nobody answers the phone, follows up, or properly manages the sales pipeline? In this episode of Contractor Secrets, Tanner sits down with Katie from Tech Brush Works to break down one of the most overlooked parts of growing a painting business: what happens AFTER the lead comes in. Answering the p...

Your painting contractor mindset could be the biggest thing holding your business back. Joel Mercado breaks down the limiting beliefs, leadership habits and systems that keep painting contractors stuck. In this special episode of Contractor Secrets from the Routemize launch party, Joel explains why changing your business often starts with changing the way you think. From struggling to make payroll...

After 4 years running a remodeling business, Joe Altobelli is spread thin, worn down, dealing with slow cash flow, and considering going back to work for someone else. In this episode of Contractor Secrets, Tanner sits down with Joe and breaks down what he would change if he were rebuilding Joe’s business from the ground up. The biggest recommendation? Simplify. Instead of trying to sell and fulfi...

Painting contractors don't always need more leads — they need a better sales process. Jason Phillips explains how closing more painting estimates at higher margins can completely change the economics of your painting business. In this episode of Contractor Secrets, Jason breaks down why constantly spending more money on painting leads can actually hide the real problem in your business. If you...

Painting contractor leads aren't automatically good or bad because they came from Facebook, Instagram, or another lead source. Jacob Ransom breaks down the painting lead strategy he uses to turn cold traffic into referral-quality opportunities. In this episode of Contractor Secrets, Tanner sits down with Jacob, founder of Monumental Growth and owner of a multi-location painting company, to bre...

Painting contractor marketing isn't just Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and generating more leads. Glenn Williamson explains why building local brand and trust is one of the most overlooked marketing strategies for painting contractors. Glenn is a painting contractor on track for $8M this year, and in this episode he breaks down the strategies his company uses to become known and trusted in its loc...

How to start a painting business, get painting leads, win your first jobs, and grow without a huge marketing budget — Tanner Mullen breaks down what he would do starting a painting company from scratch. Lauren recently launched Wild Grain Painting and joins Tanner for a Business Breakthrough session to figure out exactly what she should focus on next. They cover everything from positioning and sal...

Painting contractor sales, painting estimates, close rates, and in-home sales — Durant breaks down the exact sales process he uses to close roughly 75–80% of his painting estimates. In this episode of Contractor Secrets, Durant shares how he approaches an estimate from the moment he walks through the door all the way to asking for the business and overcoming objections. His philosophy is simple: I...

Painting contractor leads, painting business marketing, Facebook Ads, Google LSA, and booked estimates — Cayleb Pletos reveals how painting contractors can build a predictable lead generation system. In this episode of Contractor Secrets, Cayleb breaks down his Ultimate Estimate Engine — a system designed to generate painting leads, automatically schedule qualified estimates, optimize routes, and...

Painting contractor marketing, painting business marketing, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, SEO, and painting leads — which marketing strategy should you actually use to grow your painting company? Brandon Pierpont, founder of Painter Marketing Pros, breaks down exactly which marketing channels painting contractors should focus on at each stage of growth — from starting at $0 to scaling beyond $1 millio...

Entrepreneur mindset, business mindset, problem solving, and business leadership are essential when you’re trying to overcome business problems and grow as a business owner. In this episode, Austin Houser shares his framework for solving problems, overcoming fear, and staying calm under pressure. After being diagnosed with a brain tumor at 34 years old, Austin was forced to confront extreme uncert...

Facebook Ads for painting contractors can generate consistent painting leads — but only if your ads, marketing message, and follow-up system are built correctly. In this episode of the Contractor Secrets Podcast, Tanner Mullen audits Axel’s Facebook Ads and explains why his painting business marketing is getting clicks but failing to turn those clicks into painting leads and booked jobs. Axel spen...

Want to close more painting leads and grow your painting business? Aiden Smith breaks down the exact painting contractor sales funnel his company uses to close around 60% of leads and consistently sell more painting jobs. In this episode of the Contractor Secrets Podcast, we're joined by Aiden Smith, founder of Smith & Co Painting and Paint Pro Coaching, to reveal how he generates painting...

If you're a painting contractor struggling to find good employees, this episode breaks down how to hire painters, retain great employees, and build a painting business that can grow without relying on the owner. In this episode of the Contractor Secrets Podcast, Tanner Mullen sits down with Mason from Progressive Painting to discuss one of the biggest challenges facing painting contractors and...

AI isn't going to replace painting contractors — but contractors who know how to use AI might. In this special episode of the Contractor Secrets Podcast, Tanner Mullen is joined by Mike Hickman, founder and CEO of Painter Growth, for a deep dive into what an AI-native painting business actually looks like. Mike breaks down practical ways contractors can start using AI across their sales, marke...

Most painters optimize their Facebook ads for leads. Lucas Jensen optimizes for booked appointments — and it's the reason his agency's clients add over $1.5 million in new sales every single week. In this Contractor Secrets episode, recorded live at the Routemize launch, the founder of Forward Media Marketing breaks down the exact Facebook (Meta) ads playbook his team runs for 175+ painting, floor...

In this official Routemize launch demo, DripJobs founder Tanner Mullen reveals why home service businesses lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in leads every year — and demos the tool built to fix it: instant booking, AI-powered route optimization, and a live AI voice agent that schedules jobs for you. Tanner breaks down the psychology of why customers fill out your lead form and never book,why...

Rebecca from Zellers Painting already hit last year's total sales with months left on the calendar — she's basically doubled the business. But growth exposed the cracks: estimating that isn't dialed in, a brand-new salesperson she can't cleanly hand pricing to, and a $200K operation still being run off an Excel sheet. In this live Business Breakthrough, Tanner walks her through the...

Jonathan just launched a permanent lighting business. He has one client, a deposit in the bank, and 90 days to hit three installs a week. In this Business Breakthrough episode, Tanner Mullen coaches Jonathan through the launch of Epic Light, a permanent LED lighting company with 50 to 70 percent margins in a category almost nobody has figured out how to market. The problem: permanent lights are 90...

In this episode of the DripJobs Partner Spotlight, host Eli sits down with Alessandro Sanford — founder of Kingdom Paintreprenuer and Holiday FX — to break down how to build a painting business (and a 6-figure Christmas light installation business) that runs without you. Alessandro went from being an "accidental painter" who started below zero in a town of 350 people to running multiple...

Tired of fighting with low-quality subcontractors in your home service business? In this episode I break down exactly why I run my painting business with 14 W-2 employees across 4 crews — the pros, the cons, and the hiring system that keeps my best people loyal for 9+ years. I own Premium Painting, and my goal was never a $10M company — it's a $2M–$2.5M business with 47–52% gross margins that runs...