Inquiring minds often ask College Pro Painters franchise managers “Does my house NEED to be painted this summer?”

When assessing the value of house painting, College Pro Painters recommends that consumers should really look at a few key factors:

1)      The state of the current paint job. Is it peeling? Faded? Are there cracks in the siding or your trim that need to be sealed? The main purpose of painting surfaces on your home is to protect the wood/surface. If that paint or stain covering is failing, that also means that the protection is failing. Usually homes need to be re-painted every 5-8 years. Any walked on surfaces or fences should be re done every 1—3 years depending on wear and tear.

A College Pro Quote will take all these factors into consideration so we can give you the best advice on what is necessary in terms of a thorough paint job.

2)      Are you selling? If selling, you should think about curb appeal. Often a fresh coat of paint can go a long way in terms of enticing potential buyers to view your home. Painting is one of the cheapest renovations that you can do to increase the value of your home as well.

A College Pro Quote usually includes having us to a few test patches of potential colours so that you can make the best choice on what colour will work on your home.

3)      Are you happy with the current colours? Amazingly enough, a large percentage of the jobs we paint are simply to change the colour of the exterior of the home to suit customer’s needs. Once someone moves in or has lived with colours for years they want to modernize their home.

A College Pro Quote can give you options on price differences with different products and what it means to your price if you change the colours.

If you are trying to decide if painting is necessary, the biggest factor is #1 above, the state of the current paint job; however, being happy in your home environment and being able to sell your home at a higher value are just as good of reasons to paint. If you are thinking about the option of painting this year, contact College Pro Painters at www.collegepro.com or 1-800-32-PAINT. The local franchise manager can give you their personal advice once they see your home up close.

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Many homeowners have been bundled up inside all winter, and now it’s time to come outside and enjoy the sun and start taking in some Vitamin D. While you’re outside, take a look at your home and see what last summer and this past winter has done to your home.  Is the paint starting to fade?  Is it peeling anywhere? How is the protective layer on your home looking? Maybe it’s time to re-paint your home to ensure that your house is able to face more summer sun, and plenty more winter rains, all in a healthy state. College Pro Painters is here to help take care of your home by giving you 5 spring painting tips! There are many components to a good paint job and here are the main ones you need to be aware of this summer!

Spring Painting Tips:  #1

First and foremost, any contractor who is on your property should be fully covered by all insurances.  At College Pro Painters, we believe that a paint job means zero headaches for the homeowner, and we pride ourselves on being covered with all our insurances. Workers Compensation Board (or WBC) coverage for all of the workers on your site should be supplied by the contactor you are working with.  If they fail to carry it and one of their employees gets hurt, the homeowner could be held liable for all damages. Liability insurance is also very important. If anything is broken or damaged on your property, it should be covered by the contractor; that way you are not left with a home incurring more expenses than what you began the job with! The last spring painting tip for insurance is also the guarantee provided by your contractor. If painting is going to fail, it will almost always fail within the first year of the paint job. The summer heat will expose all the weak spots under your fresh coat of paint, then “old man winter” combined with a sever lack of sun will bring any excess moisture that may get trapped below the surface of the paint.  As soon as the summer heat beings to increase, it’s going to begin pulling out all of the excess moisture from winter hidden beneath the paint, causing it to fail! Having a contractor with a good name and at least one year promise of guarantee will ensure that anything gone wrong will be repaired at no cost to you!

Spring Painting Tips:  #2

The second spring painting tip from our experts here at College Pro Painters is to pick the right colors! The colors on a home can change the way you feel when you come home, and a negative reaction is the last thing that you want when you’re coming back to your “home sweet home” from a hard day’s work! Choose colors that are warm, avoid stark colors such as a harsh black or a cold white; if you want an accent that looks like black, add an undertone color to it as this will warm it up. For your whites, just add a drop of the siding color to make it blend together better and to make it less of a contrast.  Also note the fixed colors on your house, such as white window frames or gutters.  If they are white, try not to choose a beige color that is too light because beside the white they will just look dirty. To ensure you will be happy with your colors, do test patches. A large test patch in an area where you can see all the new colors is best, such as beside a garage door where you will have both the trim and siding color next to one another. Apply large test patches on each side of your home and allow for a couple of days to take them in. Look at them in the morning and in the evenings so you can get a feel for how the colors will react in different lights as well as on the different sides of your home.

Spring Painting Tips:  #3

Now that you’ve picked the right contractor and the right colors, it’s time to focus on the actual painting, and with that comes spring painting tips number three.

The entire paint job relies on one aspect of the job – the prep. At College Pro Painters, we firmly believe good prep is what is going to make the difference between a five year paint job and a ten year paint job. You can put the top quality paint on your home but, if you don’t prep properly, it will come right off, just like standard or cheap paint.  Ensure that any failing areas have all failing paint (anything that is bubbling, peeling, and just coming off) removed, because if you try and apply a fresh coat to weak  paint, the new paint will try to hold on to something to adhere to and it will pull the old paint right off! The type of prep is dependent upon the substrate (wood, vinyl, aluminum, etc.) and on the product (stain or paint). Figure out what you’ve got, and proceed from there. Remember, prep is like the foundation of a home or the base of a pyramid, if it’s weak then anything built on top will fail.

Spring Painting Tips:  #4 and #5

Spring painting tips four and five both have to do with the product you are going to use on your home. Product questions such as: what is the difference between a solid stain and a paint? And, “If I’m going to paint, what sheen should I use?” Before choosing what product you want on your home, you need to figure out what your home already has on it. A solid stain and a paint can be very hard to tell apart unless you know what to look for. The easiest way to tell the difference is how the product that is currently on your home is failing. If the area is fading and alligatoring (this will kind of look like the molting skin of a reptile – a snake perhaps – and it comes off in flakes), it is probably a stain. Here, any College Pro Painters Franchisee will be able to tell you more accurately, but, if it is, they will probably recommend staying with a stain.  Stains function by being absorbed into the wood and gripping into the grain for longer durability. A failing stain is easier to address than failing paint, and even after 10 years it will look far better than a painted home. On the other hand, if the product is peeling off (in paper-like layers), it is probably a paint. Regardless of your assessment, make sure you have an expert like the franchise managers at College Pro Painters double check to make sure you’re not using the wrong products on your home.

Once you’ve decided what you have on your home, regardless of whether it’s a stain or a paint, here at College Pro Painters we feel you should almost always paint your trim.  The reason for this is that trim is inevitably the first thing that will fail on your home.  Since you can add the protective layer of a sheen when you paint, it will ensure the longevity of the paint job.  The sheen acts as a protective layer that makes sure that water rolls right off and that harmful rays of the sun are deflected. Adding even a very low level of sheen to your home trim is like waxing your car or using a top clear coat on your nail polish.  The other positive aspect of adding a sheen is that it makes it much easier to clean – a wet cloth will clean any dirt, mud, or grime right off. Also, the protective layer will ensure that high traffic areas such as doors and door frames, where bangs and nicks are likely to occur, will have lower chances of the paint chipping (that is, considering what kind of hit it’s taking!)

Follow these spring painting tips from College Pro Painters and enjoy your home in a new and refreshed light! Call today for a FREE painting quote 1-800-32-PAINT or visit us online at www.collegepro.com.

The great thing about window cleaning is that everyone can do it.  A challenge arises if you don’t know how to do it properly because you may leave water marks, excess water or streaks on the window and it will likely take you a really long time to clean your entire house.  But, window cleaning is not rocket science.  With some practice using the right techniques, you will be able cut down how much time it takes you and have sparkling clean windows.  Here are some tips that we employ at College Pro Window Cleaning that can help you on your home:

1) Before you start, ensure you have the right tools.  At College Pro Window Cleaning we do everything by hand, so we suggest you use a squeegee with a clean rubber blade, a washer to wipe down the window, some rags to wipe up excess water, and a bucket with water and soap.  Note: you don’t need a lot of soap as your windows will end up streaky!

2) When scrubbing the window, ensure you get right into the edges.  Often dirt will add up and if you don’t get right into those edges, when you squeegee, you will just be pulling that dirt across the rest of the window.

3) Now, before you start squeegeeing, take the rag and dry off the edge you are going to start squeegeeing from.  This is one of the most important things to ensuring that you end up with streak-free windows.

4) When you squeegee, ensure you squeegee with one solid, full stroke.  Don’t stop part way through and begin squeegeeing again from the middle of the window.  That is one sure way to end up with streaks!

5) An insider trade secret from College Pro Window Cleaning is to dry the squeegee blade between each stroke.  This helps ensure that the entire window ends up streak-free without water marks.

6) When done, inspection is really important.  A good tip is to use the light of the sun and to look at the window from many different angles.  This will allow you to be sure that you didn’t leave streaks.

7) If you need to wipe off any streaks, ensure that you are using a rag that is completely dry.  If not, it may appear as if you got the streak, but later it will be evident otherwise!

If you follow these steps, with some practice, you will be sure to end up with beautiful streak-free windows; the same type of quality cleaning provided by College Pro Window Cleaning.  The most important part is following the techniques.  Although window cleaning is not rocket science, it can be challenging to learn how to get consistent streak-free windows.  At College Pro Window Cleaning we focus on quality over speed, because when the sun is shining you want to be able to look out your perfectly clean windows onto the beautiful summer day.  So, get some practice, or call us at 1-800-268-4248 and we would be happy to clean your windows for you and show you our techniques in person!

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You may be surprised to know that two of the market leading residential home service brands are also Canadian success stories, and enormous contributors to the future of the nation. College Pro Painters and College Pro Window Cleaning have become household names over the last decade. Both service providers fall under the banner of College Pro, an innovative, customer-centered, professional organization. Understanding the College Pro difference and it’s winning formula requires one to peel back a few layers and learn some foundational values on which this unique and extremely successful company was built, and continues to be built to this day.

In a nutshell, College Pro Painters and College Pro Window Cleaners are the market leaders because College Pro is not a Painting or Window Cleaning Company. It may surprise you to hear this. Certainly few companies touch as many residential homeowners with these services in North America as College Pro, but the root to the company’s success lies in the history and values it continues to live and breathe today. College Pro is North America’s top ‘first venture’ entrepreneur developer for young rising entrepreneurial hopefuls who want to be professionally trained and mentored in how to start, staff and run an ethics based, customer centered, successful small business – nearly 1000 of these fortunate candidates are hand selected for this ‘once in a lifetime’ experience.

Some obvious concerns that arise include the quality of the workmanship, the long term care of the customer, and the soundness of the entrepreneurs running these small businesses. With over 40 years of experience and professional development at the very core of the company’s organizational fabric, College Pro has mastered the process of carefully hand selecting candidates from thousands of applicants annually, an interview process that includes as many as 6 stages.

With over 40 years of internal construction, College Pro has a market leading customer service process. College Pro has all of it’s candidates go through an extremely exhaustive training process, weekly one-on-one mentoring, priority service from suppliers, quality management processes, a custom built professional call center that contacts completed projects surveying customer satisfaction and alerting multiple levels of management of even the slightest concern, and a market leading complaint resolution process that ensures every concern is seen to resolution. In addition to this, College Pro offers a 2 year warranty on its painting services, a warranty honored by the long standing company itself.

On top of all this, because College Pro’s candidates are focused on learning how to run a high quality business, they go ‘the extra mile’ to ensure the customer’s expectations are met or exceeded.  This is compounded by the fact that all the candidates are recognized and awarded at the end of the season based on their customer satisfaction level. In short, College Pro takes care of it’s customers.

Finally, College Pro ensures a high standard of workmanship on all of it’s painting and window cleaning projects through thorough training, a market leading customer satisfaction process explained earlier, constant communication with the customer and a corporate culture centered on a high standard of quality workmanship.

Who would have thought that capturing professional training and mentorship, world class customer service processes and training, and harnessing the power of the entrepreneurial sprit within the services of house painting and window cleaning would become a timeless winning recipe! College Pro is proud to be a household brand and strives to remain the market leader, holding onto it’s rich history and ever evolving to meet consumer’s needs. That is the College Pro difference.   www.collegepro.com

My summers spent running my College Pro Painters franchise over my summer breaks in University were many of favorite memories. I loved waking up knowing that every step forward, every decision and every ounce of energy I was about expend that day was for something I was building for me – building my own empire. I did not want your average summer job, and I did not believe the myth that life started after 4 or 5 years in University. I knew I could work hard, I was ambitious and I wanted to start establishing myself now. College Pro Painters was the perfect fit. A typical day in the summer ranged from what my staff, my customers or my business required. Where my friends, in their summer job, rolled out of bed with just enough time to make it to the clothing store on time, folded clothes all day or worked a till, then went home, my world could not have been more different.

A standard day looked like the following: I would wake up at 6am (because I wanted to, not because I had to – important distinction), over breakfast I would dive into my daytimer and make sure I had a really clear plan for the day. I would be out the door in time to make it to my paint store for 7am to be the first person inside. I would take some time to strengthen my relationship with the supplier staff, grab the supplies I had ordered a few days prior, place my orders for the next week, load it up and head to see my staff. I would have 4 to 5 project sites on the go at a time and 2 staff on each site and I needed to see them all before 9am to make sure they had clear direction, some encouragement, receive a quality review and the products they needed for the day. This was always a highlight, I really enjoyed being a boss and even though most of my staff was older than I was, they respected me because I provided them with a great job and they made good money. Rarely was there a morning that I did not have to get after one worker for being late or give a worker some feedback on a quality issue I was concerned about, but they knew I was committed to them succeeding in their summer job. I would then be off to meet up with clients, swing by the bank to deposit money, interview a couple new candidates for my marketing teams, my painting staff or my pressure washers. Lunch was generally on the go, packed leftovers from the night prior. As often as I could, I would have lunch with one of my crews to shoot the breeze and build team culture.

The afternoons were the best, I would do a round through my project sites again, taking time to spend a good 20 minutes up on the ladders with my workers, or showing them some tips to improve their skill. Often some customers were home and I would take every opportunity I could get to do a short coffee with them, tour them around the site or address any questions they had – tons of fun. I would generally have to move one or two crews to their next project and make sure that they were set up for the remainder of the day and the days to come. About mid-afternoon is when I would be either training a new marketer, placing product orders at the paint store for the days to come, returning dozens of calls from interested customers or updating my financials. At 5:30 when my staff called it a day, I switched to sales mode, and the second half of my day would start – like I said, College Pro Painters is not your average summer job. From 5:30 to generally 9:30 I would meet with 2 – 3 homeowners providing them with pricing on their projects and answering all their questions, and often times, signing them up to get their projects done.

From 9:30 – 10:00 pm, on my way home, I always had a volume of calls to return and I would call all the projects on the go and provide an update on their project (hands-free of course). Often a worker would call with an idea or a concern and I would make sure to resolve it before the next day. Getting home was always a great feeling. I loved reflecting on the day and being totally amazed that I did ‘all that’ in one day! Before I went to bed I would list out everything I would need to get done the next couple days then head to bed. It was great going to bed exhausted, really excited for the day to come.

Like I said, running my own business with College Pro Painters was not your average summer job, it was not a job at all – it was me building my own business!

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Since our inception in 1971, College Pro has continued to improve the standards as both student painters and student window cleaners, in order to consistently increase the quality home services we provide to our customers.  One of our core values speaks to this; deliver what you promise.

At College Pro, we take pride in what we do, and, likewise, we know that our customers take pride in their homes.

There are two fundamental areas we measure at College Pro to determine a quality job:

1)      Quality Paint Job / Window Cleaning Job

• Student entrepreneurs are taught, in field, how to produce a quality job
• This includes: set-up, preparation, finish coating/washing, inspection & clean-up
• Warranty Program:  In the event that a paint job fails prematurely (within the first 2 years) we will come back to correct the issue.
• Payment for jobs is due upon completion – to ensure a customers’ expectations are met before the job is closed.
• We use top of the line products from our national suppliers; Sherwin Williams, Dulux and General Paints.

2)      Customer Experience

• The goal is to maintain a long-standing customer relationship through continued exceptional customer service, and we are constantly working to improve here.
• Student Entrepreneurs are coached on: communication, planning & scheduling, accountability and leadership in efforts to maintain the customer experience.
• A number of measures are in place to track how we are doing as a franchisor:
  • Customer Recommendation Ratings
  • Customer Experience Scores / Net Promoter Scores

Continued Improvement:

In 2012, College Pro has taken an initiative to improve the customer experience across our brand, focusing on increasing our net promoter score (experience ranking out of 10).  This is an area of the business where we are consistently working to be better.

Watch more about the College Pro Standard

Finally, part of our mission states: For our customers who have show a belief in young entrepreneurs – to deliver a service that will be recommended to others.  This has always been, and will continue to be a cornerstone of what College Pro is all about!

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As a College Pro franchisee, I embarked on things that I never thought I would. As a business owner, I was responsible for figuring out how to move a 40 foot ladder, organizing payroll, recruit employees, and everything in between. At the end of the day, when I looked at the condition of my business it was entirely my final product. If things were going well I could look at it and say, this is what I have done and taken full recognition for it. On the other hand, if my College Pro franchise was at a standstill or there were struggles, I could look at it and see where I came up short. For this reason, the experience was better than any other business internship could offer.

In a short 8 month process, I went from someone with absolutely no painting experience to a College Pro Painters professional. I started as a student with a multitude of book knowledge and ended up with large quantities of hands-on practical experience in a tremendous amount of different areas. Outside of production, I experienced first-hand direct and indirect marketing, sales, human resources, accounting, public relations, and customer service. When you are a College Pro Painters franchise owner, there is an unquantifiable responsibility on you to make sure that everything is running smoothly. I had ten painters whose summer job was based squarely on my shoulders.  If I was unsuccessful in booking or setting up jobs, they would not have a place to work for the day. Looking back at the summer, the amount of skills I developed could not be enumerated by a list but only by looking at each set of unique problems solved in the producing of 47 projects.

Probably the most beneficial thing I learned was about myself. When there were rough times in the business, I had to find out if there was a line I would not cross and figure out how hard I would be able to push myself. Thankfully, I was able to work through every situation and make the best out of my summer experience. My summer job was more than a full fledged business internship, it was a personal experience that I will never forget. Through hard work, dedication, and proper training, I was able to achieve that in my first summer with College Pro.

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The College Pro franchise system provides you with everything you need to build your future.  You are given the opportunity to prove your abilities and create a track record for success.

For the past 40 years, College Pro has built a trusted reputation by teaching college and university students how to build and run successful businesses, providing these students with the opportunity to become entrepreneurs, develop crucial real-world skills that can be used in any future career, and build an impressive resume.

Skilled people can go further and faster. One summer with College Pro will provide you the skills you need in business and financial management, marketing, sales planning, and leadership. Our internship program will also help you stand out in the competitive post-graduate job market.

College Pro interviews for limited summer internships that include painting and franchise positions. We are looking for entrepreneurial, self-motivated people who are eager to challenge themselves.  College Pro has provided exceptional leadership and small business management training, coaching and mentoring to our young entrepreneurs every step of the way.

College Pro is about getting people noticed, giving you an advantage, or allowing you to show what you are made of.  It is about bridging the gaps between where you are today and where you want to go, and having the desire to succeed versus having the skills to succeed.  Turn your ‘can do’ attitude into real results.  Learning the best way to apply your efforts is the difference you need to succeed.

Elevate your career opportunities above the competition through managing your own business. University can build your skill set based on your selected program, and College Pro offers you the opportunity to learn valuable business skills, preparing you for real life situations, which can enhance your future employment in many different industries.

Build your resume with real business skills. Being able to list your skills while backing up your ability to use them will be indisputable. A strong resume will have skills listed and provide the proof that backs them up. College Pro franchisees enjoy this advantage.

The benefits of College Pro are unmatched!

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Are you looking for a great summer college student opportunity?  You could do a lot of things this summer, but no other experience can provide you with the exceptional leadership and management training that helps you stand out now and in your future careers.

College Pro is the largest and most successful student painting and window cleaning company in North America.  Since 1971, College Pro has been helping business students and entrepreneurs realize their potentials by offering an exciting, challenging, and rewarding summer experience.   You may already be working on your education in school, but this summer learn the tools you will need in order to make and manage money, run your own business and gain the self-confidence you will need for any future career.

This college student opportunity can be the bridge to your future in the business world.  As a College Pro Manager you’re in charge of your own painting or window cleaning business. You market your services to homeowners and manage multiple crews who are responsible for delivering quality work on schedule and within budget. You’re responsible for the profitability of your own business.

Yes, that’s a lot. As a College Pro Manager, you should be prepared to work long and hard to make your business successful. And we are in this with you every step of the way. Our exceptional leadership and management training program provides the tools you need to succeed.

Visit http://www.collegepro.com for more information about realizing your potentials.

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College Pro Painters has been painting the exterior of homes for over 40 years.  When an organization operates in 28 US states and 7 Canadian provinces, you can imagine how much experience College Pro Painters has in not only delivering a rewarding experience to homeowners, but also in training its franchise managers and painters.  Part of the franchise manager’s experience is to learn how to formally train their painters.  Because of this, College Pro’ painters are individually trained on job sites so that they are clear how to do their job to a very high standard, allowing College Pro Painters to achieve such a high customer service rating.

As a summer job, students can’t beat working with College Pro Painters.  As a painter, students gain hands-on experience in customer service, project management and time management, teamwork, peer management and financial management and accountability.  College Pro Painters works to deliver the best experience possible to painters by allowing them to not only grow as an individual and gain a base set of skills when working with customers in the real world, but painters also have the opportunity to work outside all summer with like-minded students, creating a great working experience.  Over the past 40 years College Pro Painters has been in business, more than 100,000 students have been painters with College Pro.

Something that College Pro Painters also offers their student painters is the opportunity for advancement. One of the best opportunities for a painter is to look into getting promoted into the Management program that College Pro offers.  In the Franchise Manager role you run a set territory allowing you to oversee your own business of College Pro, in which you would be responsible for all aspects of the business.

By painting and working hard, and potentially even moving into the management opportunity, painting with College Pro is a great experience as you learn key customers service and leadership skills as well as creating opportunities down the line for you to grow and build your resume for the future.

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