Every painter has an origin story. An aha moment when they realized their true calling. And while each story is unique, there are often common threads that tie them together.
When we sat down to chat with two expert pros, we discovered it is their love of the trade, a desire to build their knowledge and skills and an openness to collaboration that led them to turn “just a job” into businesses and lifelong careers.
These craftsmen – Joe Hiera, owner of Papa Joe Paint Co in St. Louis, and Salomon Velazquez, owner of Painters with a Purpose, LLC in Greensboro, North Carolina – shared how it all began, as well as how they grow their skills, what tips they have for other painters and what they’re excited about right now in the world of painting.
The sharp dressed plan of Salomon Velazquez
Seven years ago, Salomon Velazquez set out to start his own residential painting company. Looking for ways to be efficient while producing a professional look, Salomon experimented with different tools and techniques.
“In those early days, I didn’t have the steadiest hand, so I didn’t do free hand cutting in,” Velazquez remembers. “For me, taping was faster, especially when doing a second coat. I started working with a professional-grade painter’s tape, and it made a big difference in the quality of my work by creating sharp lines.”
Those sharp lines led to a sharp increase in high-end work for Velazquez and his crew, who now work in $3 million to $5 million homes. Velazquez gives some of the credit for the large-scale projects to his early lesson in taping. While some painters feel taping takes too much time, he sees taping as an investment in quality.
“Our work has to be extremely professional looking, so we use tape to create the sharp lines,” says Velazquez, who recently finished a beach house with huge windows that were 15 feet by 20 feet, and each window comprised smaller 12 in squares. “Our teams have steady hands and can free-hand straight lines; however, no matter how good you are, nothing compares to the sharp lines of using professional tape.”
Velazquez, who is always eager to delight customers with excellent craftsmanship, said he also enjoys engaging in the annual PCA Expo and is especially excited about the growing Latino community within PCA.
According to Velazquez, the organization is engaging the community by providing Latino contractors an opportunity to meet one another and contribute to the knowledge of the trade in Spanish and English.
This is a good opportunity for all of us to start building a network of resources, information and best practices,” says Velazquez.
How Joe Hiera became a rockstar
Ask Joe Hiera why he learned to paint, and he’ll tell you a career in the trades is in his DNA – many of his uncles were carpenters. Joe always liked painting, but he never thought he would become a painter. He went to school for business management and started heading in that direction when along came family life.
“There’s a time in life when you’re ready to commit to something, and for me, it was when I had my kids,” recalls Hiera. “That’s why it’s Papa Joe Paint Co.”
Hiera said he’s always been nerdy about topics that interest him, like music theory, and eventually, he transferred that nerdiness to painting.
Along his path to becoming a painting pro, he experimented with some of his passions. “I tried a bunch of things, failed a lot and got really good at some stuff,” reflects Hiera. “I thought I would be a rockstar musician. Now, I’m a rockstar painter.”
As the owner of a small residential painting business, Hiera wears all the hats. A typical week for him includes 40 hours working as a painter and another 10 hours of administrative tasks and project organization.
One of Joe’s latest projects is a 150-year-old home full of historic architectural charm like millwork, crown molding, Waldorf trim, chandeliers, interior brick walls and intricate windows.
“We’re doing a lot of masking and spraying to protect the historic features, so there’s orange and blue painter’s tape everywhere,” he says.
For residential projects that require a lot of spraying, Hiera offers some tips that help the project move along more efficiently.
“I like to wrap my shield in tape to prevent the paint from building up,” he says. “I cut the tape off when I’m done, and I have a clean shield. I also learned not to tear tape. Instead, I fold it when I come to a corner and lay it down in one continuous piece. Then, I can pull it all up in one strip. It saves time and prevents a lot of bending over.”
To feed his inner painting nerd and stay on trend, Hiera takes time to continue learning. His go-to source is Nick Slavik’s “Ask a Painter Live” series on YouTube.
He’s also a fan of the “Contractor Freedom” podcast by Jason Phillips, which he said is great for learning about the business side of painting, and he frequently checks out the Painting Contractors Association (PCA) app Overdrive. What he’s most excited about right now, though, is a new line of paint.
“I do a lot of cabinet painting, so I’m excited about Sherwin-Williams Gallery Series™, which is a waterborne topcoat,” he says.
Painting your own path
Becoming a “real painter” is an individual journey, but one thing these successful painters have in common is a desire to continue learning about their craft and a set of resources that helps them do it.
Seeking knowledge and insight from your own network of professional resources is a great first step in turning your job into a career and painting your own path to success.
This article was published in the Summer 2024 issue of Pintor Pro magazine. ©2024 Fusable. Story by Diane Walsh, Vice President, Sales & Market Development for Shurtape Technologies, LLC, makers of FrogTape® brand Painter’s Tape. Photos courtesy Shurtape. Read more about what pro painters have learned on the job in the Pintor Pro magazine archive.
