In case you hadn't noticed, image is king in the '90s.
Perception is everything.
Probably always has been. Whether or not someone perceives you as a professional painter or wallcovering contractor has less to do with your technical ability and more to do with your ability to project an image of professionalism. You may be the greatest painter in the Western hemisphere, but if you show up for a bid half-covered in paint, sweaty, unshaven, cigarette dangling from mouth, with a hamburger wrapper for a notebook, most people will think you're a derelict and no one will hire you. Not all that many contractors really recognize that, Dougherty said. If you drew a pyramid of the industry, you'd find that the majority of contractors fall into the bottom tier.