Painters like to think that they have all this good will out there, and people talk about them. The fact is, they don't. It just doesn't come up. When you get together with people, talking about the painter does not lead the interesting conversation list.
Painters overly rely on word of mouth.
It just isn't aggressive enough to bring in adequate amounts of new business. It's not the most profitable, because there simply aren't enough people talking about you often enough to keep your schedule full. Another problem stems from the stereotype the industry has yet to overcome. Most people's image of the painting contractor is not that of an established business that will be here very long. An article in a remodeling magazine mentioning Wold's company evoked two calls from people he had worked with years before.