Profitable Painter Podcast

Hosted by Daniel Honan, CPA

Business Entrepreneurship

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Episodes

258

Latest episode

Nov 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Profitable Painter Podcast is a rich resource for anyone interested in starting, running, and scaling a professional painting business, offering valuable insights, strategies, and interviews with industry leaders. Through case studies and in-depth discussions, we deliver a vivid picture of the painting industry, with a disclaimer that any financial or tax information is general and not a substitute for professional advice.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

November 12, 202630 min

How a $50M Contractor Wins Jobs Without Being the Cheapest

Send us Fan Mail Painting contractors can raise prices 5–10% with a guarantee and keep their close rate about the same. Randy Hurtado of the Good Contractors List and I show how. If you want to raise prices in your painting business without losing jobs, your offer is one of the two biggest levers I see. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. WANT ME TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 600+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here → profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS FREE! Just cover shipping. Get your copy here → profitablepaintercpa.com/book Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube 📌 What We Discuss: 00:00 How to raise prices without crashing your close rate 02:03 Why homeowners pick the cheapest painter (and pay twice) 03:51 Why your 5-year warranty sounds like everyone else's 06:22 The risk reversal guarantee that lets you charge more 09:38 A $5,000 bid vs. a $4,000 bid, which one wins 11:39 Guarantee or warranty, which one actually wins jobs 14:14 Why only 1 in 10 contractors get approved 17:53 5–10% higher prices with the same close rate 20:21 The closing line that makes the guarantee sell itself 24:29 3 referrals per job, asked at the start, middle, and end About us - Profitable Painter CPA: We helping painting business owners understand their numbers, reduce taxes, and build sustainable wealth. Check us out → profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the Profitable Painter YouTube channel . https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters For being a loyal listener, I want to send you a copy of my new book Profitable Painter. Inside, I’ll show you the exact frameworks that have helped painting businesses save big on taxes, increase profits, and scale with confidence Head over to profitablepaintercpa.com/book and grab your copy today. Don’t wait — this is my gift to you for being part of the Profitable Painter community.

November 11, 202651 min

Why Painting Businesses Get Stuck at $1.5M (And How to Reach $4M)

Send us Fan Mail If I had to grow a painting business from $1.5M to $4M today, here's what I'd do. Brandon Pierpont from Painter Marketing Pros and I walk through the money side and the marketing side of the stage we call the swamp, where most painting companies get stuck. We talk about getting sales off your plate, paying your salesperson in a way that's tied to gross profit, and why 50% gross profit is the starting line, not the finish line. We also cover making Google your main source of leads, raising your prices with a better sales process and a stronger offer, tracking what each marketing channel actually brings in, and why you should be taking home at least 20%, and working toward 30%, so you can afford the managers who get you out. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. WANT ME TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 600+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here → profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS FREE! Just cover shipping. Get your copy here → profitablepaintercpa.com/book Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube 📌 What We Discuss: 0:00 - Why painting companies get stuck at $1.5M 1:01 - What "the swamp" is 2:37 - Make Google your main marketing 4:04 - Google Business Profile and a physical office 11:39 - Hiring a salesperson: hunter or farmer 13:52 - How to pay your salesperson 15:59 - What your margins should look like 18:50 - Scaling Meta, local service, and pay-per-click ads 21:19 - When Angi and Thumbtack make sense 23:07 - Keep managing your sales process 24:14 - Don't stop what worked before 26:37 - Tracking ROI by marketing channel 30:22 - Why your sales process matters 33:48 - Two ways to raise your prices 36:38 - Free interior touch-ups for life 41:04 - Direct mail and print ads 42:44 - Why branding and billboards waste money 44:51 - Why "Where did you hear about us?" fails 45:59 - What the owner should take home 47:15 - Quarterly tax planning 48:15 - Treat leads like customers from day one About us - Profitable Painter CPA: We helping painting business owners understand their numbers, reduce taxes, and build sustainable wealth. Check us out → profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the Profitable Painter YouTube channel . https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters For being a loyal listener, I want to send you a copy of my new book Profitable Painter. Inside, I’ll show you the exact frameworks that have helped painting businesses save big on taxes, increase profits, and scale with confidence Head over to profitablepaintercpa.com/book and grab your copy today. Don’t wait — this is my gift to you for being part of the Profitable Painter community.

November 10, 202612 min

Give Me 12 minutes and I’ll Save Your Painting Business $200K in Tax

Send us Fan Mail Learn how to save your painting business thousands in tax with the same moves that got one painting contractor $202K back from the IRS. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. WANT ME TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 600+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here → profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS FREE! Just cover shipping. Get your copy here → profitablepaintercpa.com/book Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube 📌 What We Discuss: 00:00 How a Painting Business Saved $202K in Tax 00:55 Knowing Your Real Profit Before Tax Planning 01:05 When an S Corp Election Makes Sense 03:00 Setting Your Salary and Using an Accountable Plan 04:40 Removing IRS Penalties 05:08 Using Section 179 on Business Vehicles 05:55 Retirement Plans That Lower Your Taxes 07:43 Using a Short-Term Rental to Lower Taxes 09:17 Owning the Building Your Painting Business Uses 10:08 The Grouping Provision and SBA 504 Financing About us - Profitable Painter CPA: We helping painting business owners understand their numbers, reduce taxes, and build sustainable wealth. Check us out → profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the Profitable Painter YouTube channel . https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters

November 6, 202610 min

The 4 Hires to a $10 Million Painting Business

Send us Fan Mail What are the 4 hires that build a $10M painting business without building yourself a bigger job? In this episode, I break down the four leadership seats I build toward: sales, marketing, operations, and finance. I explain why owners between about $1.5M and $4M end up managing everyone themselves, then walk through an example base pay and bonus plan for a sales manager, marketing manager, operations manager, and controller. I show how to tie each bonus to results so goals aren't hit by cutting prices or rushing jobs, add up what the full team costs at $10M in revenue, and explain why CEO pay and ownership profit are two different paychecks. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. WANT ME TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 600+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here → profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS FREE! Just cover shipping. Get your copy here → profitablepaintercpa.com/book Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube 📌 What We Discuss: 00:00 4 hires to stop managing everyone 01:31 Pay plan: leaders, CEO pay, and net profit 02:34 Hire 1: Sales manager 03:42 Hire 2: Marketing manager 04:41 Hire 3: Operations manager 05:45 Hire 4: Controller 06:33 What the leadership team costs 08:16 CEO pay vs. ownership profit About us - Profitable Painter CPA: We helping painting business owners understand their numbers, reduce taxes, and build sustainable wealth. Check us out → profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the Profitable Painter YouTube channel . https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters

November 3, 202640 min

How to Grow a Painting Business From $500K to $1.5M

Send us Fan Mail Going from $500K to $1.5M usually means going from referrals to paid leads. Those leads are colder, cost more, and are harder to close. New episode with Brandon Pierpon t from Painter Marketing Pros : Stage 2 of growing a painting business. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. WANT ME TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 600+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here → profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS FREE! Just cover shipping. Get your copy here → profitablepaintercpa.com/book Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube 📌 What We Discuss: 0:00 - What changes between $500K and $1.5M 1:23 - Build a financial plan for your next hires 2:58 - Don't skip estimated tax payments 3:37 - Moving from inbound to outbound marketing 6:06 - Why cold leads need a tighter sales process 9:12 - Why 50% gross profit may not be enough 10:07 - Meta ads and Google Local Service Ads 12:00 - The pay-per-lead trap (Angi, Thumbtack) 14:19 - Hold off on Google pay-per-click 15:37 - Gross profit vs. cost to win a customer 18:43 - Add one outbound channel at a time 20:46 - Get your cash flow ready to scale 24:51 - First key hires: admin and project manager 27:33 - Build marketing assets: website and SEO 30:45 - How one painter grew to $4M on SEO 32:40 - Optimize your Google Business Profile 34:22 - ChatGPT, AI search, and painting companies 37:32 - Recap About us - Profitable Painter CPA: We helping painting business owners understand their numbers, reduce taxes, and build sustainable wealth. Check us out → profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the Profitable Painter YouTube channel . https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters For being a loyal listener, I want to send you a copy of my new book Profitable Painter. Inside, I’ll show you the exact frameworks that have helped painting businesses save big on taxes, increase profits, and scale with confidence Head over to profitablepaintercpa.com/book and grab your copy today. Don’t wait — this is my gift to you for being part of the Profitable Painter community.

November 3, 202620 min

I've Coached 600+ Painting Business Owners. Here's What I Learned

Send us Fan Mail After my first year running a painting business, I was worse off than when I started. Over the last 10 years, I’ve worked with more than 600 painting businesses , and I keep seeing owners make the same mistakes I made. In this episode, I share 7 lessons I’d want you to know before you spend another year growing, from pricing and taxes to hiring, cash flow, and building your team. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. WANT ME TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 600+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here → profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS FREE! Just cover shipping. Get your copy here → profitablepaintercpa.com/book Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube 📌 What We Discuss: 00:00 Seven Lessons for Building a More Profitable Painting Business 00:48 Pricing Labor and Materials for 50% Gross Profit 03:39 Keeping Up With Taxes, Payroll, and Records 05:16 Making Sure You Can Afford Your Next Hire 07:15 Hiring and Paying Salespeople Based on Profitable Work 08:48 Managing Cash Flow and Getting Paid on Time 10:37 Building a Two-Month Cash Reserve 11:10 Measuring Gross Profit Against Customer Acquisition Costs 13:02 Knowing When to Increase or Cut Marketing Spend 14:09 Building a Team That Can Take Ownership 16:13 Budgeting for Recruiting and Finding Better Employees 17:38 Planning Taxes Before the Year Ends 19:04 When to Consider an S Corp Election About us - Profitable Painter CPA: We helping painting business owners understand their numbers, reduce taxes, and build sustainable wealth. Check us out → profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the Profitable Painter YouTube channel . https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters

November 2, 202625 min

How I Would Scale a $10M Painting Business (If I Had to Start Over)

Send us Fan Mail Learn how I would scale a $10M painting business if I had to start over . It starts with profitable jobs, enough cash, and a customer acquisition cost that supports growth before you hire. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. WANT ME TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 600+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here → profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS FREE! Just cover shipping. Get your copy here → profitablepaintercpa.com/book Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube 📌 What We Discuss: 00:00 How I Would Scale a $10M Painting Business 01:13 Getting Your Books and Taxes Right 01:46 Paying Employees vs Subcontractors 02:48 Pricing for a 50% Gross Profit Margin 03:58 Markup vs Margin and Pricing Materials 05:37 Checking Job Costs Every Week 07:20 When an S Corp Election Makes Sense 08:08 Building a Cash Buffer Before You Hire 10:41 Paying Yourself With Discretionary Earnings 13:37 Making Customer Acquisition Profitable 15:02 Using Your Close Rate to Raise Prices 17:28 How One Client Went From $2 to $4 of Gross Profit 18:25 Hiring Managers Who Take Ownership 20:20 Budgeting for a Production Director 21:49 Making the Business Less Dependent on You 23:45 What It Takes to Reach $10M About us - Profitable Painter CPA: We helping painting business owners understand their numbers, reduce taxes, and build sustainable wealth. Check us out → profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the Profitable Painter YouTube channel . https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters For being a loyal listener, I want to send you a copy of my new book Profitable Painter. Inside, I’ll show you the exact frameworks that have helped painting businesses save big on taxes, increase profits, and scale with confidence Head over to profitablepaintercpa.com/book and grab your copy today. Don’t wait — this is my gift to you for being part of the Profitable Painter community.

October 27, 202621 min

Alex Hormozi's Advice for Painting Businesses

Send us Fan Mail Learn how to apply Alex Hormozi’s growth strategies to a painting business by evaluating gross profit, customer acquisition costs, and service profitability before scaling. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. WANT ME TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 600+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here → profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS FREE! Just cover shipping. Get your copy here → profitablepaintercpa.com/book Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube 📌 What We Discuss: 00:00 Alex Hormozi’s Growth Advice for Contractors 01:04 Measuring Marketing Returns and GP-to-CAC Ratios 02:54 Finding Opportunities in Specialized Services 03:38 Using Job Costing to Identify Profitable Services 05:15 Evaluating Smaller Jobs and Customer Acquisition Costs 06:30 Scaling Door-to-Door Sales 07:09 Calculating Sales Commissions and Gross Profit Margins 08:47 Increasing Customer Lifetime Value and Repeat Business 09:50 Reactivating Past Customers and Generating Repeat Revenue 10:59 Building Recurring Revenue With Maintenance Plans 12:21 Increasing Ticket Size and Repair Volume 13:09 Charging More for Faster Service and Priority Scheduling 14:31 Specializing Your Offer and Scaling Salespeople 15:43 Building a Repeatable Sales Process Before Hiring About us - Profitable Painter CPA: We helping painting business owners understand their numbers, reduce taxes, and build sustainable wealth. Check us out → profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the Profitable Painter YouTube channel . https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters

October 23, 202634 min

If I Started a Painting Business in 2026, I’d Do This First

Send us Fan Mail If I had to grow a painting business to $500K from scratch today, here's what I'd do. Brandon Pierpont from Painter Marketing Pros and I walk through the money side and the marketing side of that first stage. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. WANT ME TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 600+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here → profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS FREE! Just cover shipping. Get your copy here → profitablepaintercpa.com/book Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube 📌 What We Discuss: 0:00 - If I Started a Painting Business Today 1:25 - The Marketing You Should Always Be Doing 4:25 - Fix Your Sales Process Before You Chase More Leads 8:28 - Production Rates: How Long Each Surface Takes to Paint 10:17 - Marking Up Labor and Materials 11:56 - Checking Your Job Numbers Every Week + Pricing for Risk 16:00 - Where to Get Leads When You're Starting Out 20:54 - When It Makes Sense to Pay for Leads 22:35 - Why the Same Lead Is Worth More to Some Painters 24:07 - Staying Compliant + Two Months of Cash in the Bank 26:20 - How Much You Should Be Paying Yourself 27:47 - What We'd Do Differently Starting Over 31:00 - The Numbers to Hit Before You Scale About us - Profitable Painter CPA: We helping painting business owners understand their numbers, reduce taxes, and build sustainable wealth. Check us out → profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the Profitable Painter YouTube channel . https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters For being a loyal listener, I want to send you a copy of my new book Profitable Painter. Inside, I’ll show you the exact frameworks that have helped painting businesses save big on taxes, increase profits, and scale with confidence Head over to profitablepaintercpa.com/book and grab your copy today. Don’t wait — this is my gift to you for being part of the Profitable Painter community.

October 21, 20266 min

How to Raise Painting Prices (And Still Win Jobs)

Send us Fan Mail Want to raise your painting prices but worried you'll lose money if you lose a few jobs? In this episode, I break down how to raise painting prices without losing money. We test an increase that adds more dollars to the average job, see what it does to your close rate, and find how many jobs you can afford to lose before it stops paying off. Know Your Numbers & Save Big in Taxes, Daniel Honan, CPA Every episode is made for painting business owners. Follow the show so the next one downloads automatically. FREE BOOK FOR PAINTING CONTRACTORS FREE! Just cover shipping. Get your copy here → profitablepaintercpa.com/book WANT ME TO LOOK AT YOUR NUMBERS? Join 600+ painting contractors who know exactly where their money goes, keep more of what they earn, and scale without tax surprises. Book a free Profit Checkup here → profitablepaintercpa.com/vsl Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube 📌 What We Discuss: 0:00 - Raise Prices Without Making Less Money 0:46 - What a High Close Rate Is Telling You 1:17 - The Close Rate Target for Residential Repaints 1:41 - Check Your Sales Process Before You Raise Prices 2:42 - Testing a 10% Price Increase 4:25 - Was the Price Increase Worth It? 5:12 - The Minimum Close Rate You Can Afford 5:58 - 5 Steps to Raise Your Prices About us - Profitable Painter CPA: We helping painting business owners understand their numbers, reduce taxes, and build sustainable wealth. Check us out → profitablepaintercpa.com This episode was originally recorded as a video for YouTube. If you hear me say things like “in this video” or reference visuals, don’t worry — the content still works perfectly in audio form. And if you ever want to watch the video version, you can find it on the Profitable Painter YouTube channel . https://www.youtube.com/@BookkeepingForPainters