Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina Barnfield.
Hi Tina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story:
I launched our busy cabinet painting business in my 50s, after having worked at office jobs most of my life. I’ve always been artistic and creative, even as a teenager, painting my dresser and wallpapering my bedroom. I always dreamed of running some sort of “HGTV” type home improvement or decorating business, but I had no idea exactly what that would be. Years ago as a young mother, I was always painting something… from the dining room table, chairs and china cabinet to the second-hand chandelier I purchased on eBay. I taught myself to wallpaper. Twenty-five years ago, I painted our ugly and outdated fireplace tiles when everyone said I shouldn’t. It turned out great, by the way! I felt trapped in an office job to make ends meet, but I didn’t have the courage or know-how to pursue anything else.
Flash forward to 2008. Raising three children and having just gone through a divorce, met my current husband, Ralph, who ran his own house painting company called The English Painter. Not only did I fall madly in love with this crazy British painter, but as time went on I became completely enthralled with helping him run and grow his business. I listened to his calls with customers as he explained his processes and pricing and sold himself and his services so well. I admired his confidence in his work product and his knowledge about the products, methods and the industry. And I began saying, I want to do what you do!! You’re so happy, you love what you do, and you get to be at a different location every week! Of course, I knew I didn’t really want to work out in the heat painting house exteriors or even run a big crew of men doing full interior repaints. But I did have another idea!
When Ralph and I bought a house, I said let’s paint these outdated orange maple cabinets that don’t match our home’s decor. And after some convincing he agreed, and loved the new look! He had painted a few sets of cabinets at the request of his customers, but it wasn’t his favorite thing to do and he really preferred to stick with the full exterior and interior repaints. I told him and my kids my idea several years ago… “I’m going to start a company painting kitchen cabinets! Most women want white or trendy colored cabinets like I do! I think there’s a market for it!” They were very supportive, but of course, it was ultimately up to me to really pursue it or not.
Finally, about five years ago, after practicing a few times with my husband for his customers, painting for a couple of neighbors and researching for weeks and weeks, I said, “I’m going to do it! I’m quitting my paralegal job at the law firm and I’m going to start a cabinet painting business.” So I quit my old job, got my state and local corporate documents filed, purchased a $2 million liability insurance policy, created social media pages, and Elite Painting & Decorating, LLC was off and running! It took off immediately thanks to lots of contacts made through my husband’s great reputation and continues to be extremely busy, staying booked out for 8-12 weeks year-round. It is so very rewarding transforming kitchens and bathrooms and seeing people so thrilled with the new look. I have had lots of customers hug me at the end, and a couple of ladies actually cried tears of joy!
One of the best parts of running my own business is having our whole family involved. My 24 year old daughter works with me full time, and my college-student son also works with us part-time. My 15 year old son has started training as well and has a great work ethic already. I’m so happy to be able to show them, again thanks to what I’ve learned from my husband Ralph, everything it takes to run a small business. From dealing with paint stores and vendors, ordering supplies, emailing and calling customers, doing in-home color consultations and estimates, and keeping the social media posts interesting and effective, there are so many ways to learn and grow, improve and expand. The keys to success, in my opinion, have been using the best and most durable products, learning to effectively communicate with customers, marketing on social media to get the word out about our services, and just hard work! It takes dedication and obsession with your trade, and willingness to work 24/7, because when we’re not painting we are answering emails, texts, social media messages and phone calls, organizing and ordering supplies, and researching to keep up with industry trends and new products. I’m also planning to expand and working with a stone fabricator to offer quartz countertops soon. It’s exciting to work in the home improvement trades, and I’m so happy that I decided at age 50 to take the plunge and start a whole new career and a great family business!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Lately the biggest challenge is a nationwide paint shortage! We all hope this situation is remedied very soon so we can continue to provide our painting services to customers! At times scheduling can be a challenge. Most jobs take between 2-4 days to complete, and we work all over Central Florida, including Orange, Seminole, Lake, Osceola and Volusia Counties. We have to accurately estimate how long each job will take, because if a job runs over it can cause a chain reaction and throw off the start date of all future customers. Fortunately this rarely happens and we work hard to keep the schedule running smoothly.
Contact Info:
- Email: elitepaintingtina@gmail.com
- Instagram: @elitepaintinganddecoratingllc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cabinetpaintingexperts
