Transforming a Struggling Business into a Profitable Venture // Phil VanderLaan of PMV Custom Finishes

Beyond $1,000,000 Podcast

Discover the secrets to transforming your business and skyrocketing your profits in our fascinating conversation with Phil VanderLaan, owner of PMV Custom Finishes in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We discuss Phil's inspiring journey, from his time at college in Grand Rapids to founding and growing his own successful painting company. You'll learn about navigating the "Dutch mafia" in Southwest Michigan, the importance of asking for advice early, and the hard work that went into building a multi-million dollar business.

Join host Scott Lollar, host of the Beyond $1,000,000 Podcast and owner/coach at Consulting4Contractors as Phil opens up about the strategic changes he made to maximize profitability and his "aha moment" when he realized he had the wrong people in the wrong seats. Through others' advice, including his own father-in-law's, Phil looked at the sectors of his business that were losing money and overcame his fear of "firing customers" and raising prices. By narrowing down his customer base, he saw positive results and used various funding options to expand his spray division's capacity and capabilities.

Finally, we delve into the operations, staffing, and company culture of PMV Custom Finishes. Phil shares his insights on streamlining his spray operation for increased efficiency, implementing the EOS entrepreneurial operating system, and the significance of reaching out for help. We explore PMV's org chart, revenue targets, and their unique "secret sauce," which includes a family-first benefits package, hiring based on skill and personality, and empowering those with no painting experience whatsoever. Don't miss this eye-opening conversation with Phil VanderLaan as we take you on his journey to success.

About Phil VanderLaan:

Phil VanderLaan founded PMV Custom Finishes in 2001 and has maintained an active role in company operations and management ever since. He also provides oversight of the company and its growth.

Phil holds a builder’s license and is a member of the Home Builder’s Association of Western Michigan. He and his wife, Katie, are the proud parents of three children, Taylor, Drew, and Mackenzie. They live in the Kalamazoo area and are active members of their community.

----Links from this Episode----

• Open invitation for a free discovery call with Scott Lollar
• Consulting4Contractors’ Website
• PMV Custom Finishes
• PMV Custom Finishes on Instagram
• Check out this video of Consulting4Contractors' Operations Module, one of our flagship Done-For-You tech offerings, and what PMV Custom Finishes utilizes as part of their tech-stack!
• Connect with C4C on Instagram
• Join the C4C community
• Connect on LinkedIn
• Submit to be a guest on our podcast

Credits:

• Scott Lollar: Host & Founder of Consulting4Contractors
• Phil VanderLaan: Owner/President, Project Manager – Finishing Division, PMV Custom Finishes, Kalamazoo, MI
• Justin Hange: Original music, artwork, transcripts, show notes, audio engineering

-------- EPISODE CHAPTERS ---------

(0:00:00) - Introduction
Phil VanderLaan's journey from college to owning a painting company, the 'Dutch mafia' in Southwest Michigan, and hard work to grow his business are discussed.

(0:13:53) - Maximizing Profitability Through Strategic Changes
Phil VanderLaan pivoted from college to landscaping, then to eventually to owning a painting business, overcame fear of firing customers and raising prices, and used economic opportunities to expand capacity and capabilities.

(0:19:11) - PMV's Operations, Staffing, and Culture
Phil discussed streamlining his spray operation, EOS principles, org chart, revenue targets, and PMV's family-first benefits package.

(0:27:06) - Growing Business With Tech & Planning
Phil VanderLaan shares his journey from college to owning a painting business, discussing software, tools, EOS process, delegation, transparency, and advice for entrepreneurs.

--------- EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS ---------
(0:9:13) - Knowing Your Numbers

I thought I knew my numbers, but come to find out I didn't. But yeah, we got into commercial. It was a natural progression in our business. I didn't have project management staff.

I didn't have the money to hire somebody to do that. And so I, I found work where I could put, you know, two to four painters on site and kind of put 'em there and forget about 'em for six to eight weeks while I did other things.

(0:11:52) - How To Crawl Out Of A Bad Job

The general contractor that was running that project got fired at the end and we had outstanding change orders totaling about $80,000. And like I said in debt over $200k and the heat was on, the stress was on.

And I just remember sitting at my office late one night, at my work office, just scratching my head, trying to figure out, do I want to keep doing this? How do I get to a better spot? I see other business owners that are making money and I, I figured there's gotta be something here that I'm missing.

And so I just did a Google search and searched painting. I think I searched "coaches", "painting coaches", and that next day you and I started talking and that was really the start of the transition.

(0:14:27) - Drains Vs. Gains

Working with you, Scott, the first step that we took was to evaluate our spray booth division and try to determine, " Is this a drain on the business or is this actually pumping money into the business?" And we soon realized that we started to find wrong people in the wrong seats.

And so we made some changes internally and in the spray booth to try to get that more profitable. And then we did the same thing in our field, and we started looking at all the jobs and realizing that there were sectors of our business that were basically losing money. And then the areas in our business or the customer base there was a small section of that was actually making money.

And so we determined that our new construction was a drain. All of the work that we were doing on new construction to keep our guys busy throughout the year was actually stealing all the profits from the work that of our repaint work. That was actually the only thing making money.

(0:15:31) - You Might Need To Fire Your Customers

We kept talking about firing customers and that was a concept that I just wasn't comfortable with. Be...