I just billed my first $100,000 year as a painting contractor and I'm still in shock

I started my own crew three years ago after working for someone else for fifteen. This year, I looked at the books in December and the total was $102,400. The number matters because for the longest time, I thought hitting six figures meant you had to be in some fancy office job. It proved to me that skilled trade work can build a real, solid living if you run it right. I got here by focusing on high quality exterior work and not underbidding just to get jobs. Has anyone else in a hands-on field been surprised by hitting a financial goal they once thought was out of reach?

3 comments

3 Comments

fionat558d ago

Same thing happened when my landscaping business crossed that line. The key for me was charging what the work was actually worth and sticking to a few services we did really well, like custom stonework. It took a couple years for word of mouth to build, but then people started calling because they knew the quality.

kai8397d agoMost Upvoted

Exactly. That's the real shift. You stop competing on price and start competing on your actual skill. It's scary to turn down cheap jobs at first, but then you get the clients who care about the work, not just the bottom line.

jesse_smith107d ago

Totally agree with focusing on quality over low bids. It builds a reputation that lets you pick better clients and charge fairly.