Q. Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
A. Burnett Painting is located in Venice, FL. We provide exceptional service from Sarasota to Punta Gorda, changing the color of people’s lives one home at a time. We specialize in residential re-paint but also do commercial offices as well. If you have a painting project, call BURNETT!
Q. Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
A. Burnett Painting is owned and operated by myself, Jenn, and my husband, Kurt. Although we only recently took over Burnett Painting we previously owned and operated a painting company, Kurt Dwyer Painting, in Boston, MA for 10+ years. We decided to move down to Florida three years ago to be closer to our two grandchildren, Michael and Olivia. We are proud to say that their parents are also part of Team Burnett with our daughter managing the office and our son-in-law out in the field!
Q. What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
A. We were lucky enough to be moving at the most perfect timing as the previous owners of Burnett Painting, our friends Steve and April Burnett, were selling their business to pursue a new adventure. We had experience and they had built a name in our community. We are grateful to them for allowing us to take over the fabulous company they are started and we are forever blessed to have turned it in to our own family business.
Q. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
A. You have to be willing to give 310% all the time.
You have to take a step back every once in a while, to see the big picture. What seems like a set back now could actually be the best thing that could happen for your business.
Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from other business owners, whether they are in your field of work or not they have experienced similar situations to what you are going through.
Q. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
A. Dedication, Adaptability & Tenacity
Q. How many hours do you work a day on average?
A. 14
Q. To what do you most attribute your success?
A. Team work
Q. How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
A. We have a Facebook page, we post every day and run contests to win coffee gift cards by engaging with our page. My husband and I are both part of several different networking groups in our area. We also have several company vehicles that are branded with our name and phone number to promote our business everywhere we, and our employees, go!
Q. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
A. Family inheritance
Q. What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
A. You have to work, hard, every single day. Don’t take the good times for granted and don’t let success go to your head it can go as easy as it came!
Q. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
A. I would like to slowly put my responsibility on to our daughter and son-in-law as our business grows so that within 10 years my husband and I will be semi-retired!!
Q. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
A. Every entrepreneur that has been running a successful business for more than 10 years is admirable to me. It takes a lot of work and dedication to make it that far. Someday I hope to be able to say I’ve owned Burnett Painting for over 10 years (50 years!)
Q. How important have good employees been to your success?
A. A good employee is like gold. Without good, trustworthy employees we would not be able to succeed at all.
Q. How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
A. As long as it takes. Every good idea is worth putting in to action and whether it needs to be tweaked to work or it doesn’t work out at all, you’d never know if you didn’t try!
Q. What motivates you?
A. My family.
Q. What are your ideals?
A. Ideally, our calendar would be slam packed everyday with estimates and our schedule would be booked out 6 months in advance!!
Q. How do you generate new ideas?
A. I try to listen to our Team and I also ask them for advice. I look at other successful businesses and, if applicable, I borrow some of their techniques that have proven to be successful for them and adjust them to work for our business!
Q. How do you define success?
A. Happy, healthy family with time to spend with them.
Q. How do you build a successful customer base?
A. Without our customer’s we wouldn’t have any homes to paint and word of mouth is one of the strongest recommendations you can go off of. We strive to rate a 10 with each and every one of our customers. On the off chance we don’t get a 10 we find out what we could have done better and apply what we learned to the next project.
Q. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
A. When I’m not checking on a job or giving an estimate I work from home which allows me some time to hang out with my grandchildren, I couldn’t do that if I worked for someone else.
Q. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
A. Every time we finish a project and give a final walk through with the homeowners it is extremely rewarding to see how happy Team Burnett has made them by applying a fresh coat of paint. That never gets old!
Q. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
A. The wait of the business and of all of our employee’s families rests on our shoulders. That’s an enormous amount of responsibility.
Q. What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
A. We strive for a trusting yet laid back atmosphere. We want our Team to be leaders yet also be able to turn to us or a fellow employee for help.
Q. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
A. Freeing
Q. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
A. I would instill the knowledge I have gained through years of running my own business right from the get go.
Q. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
A. I have the freedom to hang out with my family whenever I want to. I am able to schedule things around my family.
Q. What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
A. I think every business owner is afraid of things not working out but I just keep pushing every day giving 310% and learning everything I can to make our business grow.
Q. How did you decide on the location for your business?
A. Our business was already established in this area, we just happened to love Venice and moved here before we even took over Burnett Painting.
Q. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
A. You need to put in the same amount of time and effort day after day.
Q. If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
A. George Washington. He, with help, managed to establish our great nation. I’m sure he has some advice on management strategies and tactics. If he can build a nation, I can build a paint company!
Q. Who has been your greatest inspiration?
A. My mother. She raised five kids on her own while working full time. I’m still not sure how she did it.
Q. What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
A. Since taking over Burnett Painting I have increased my level of reading and have read about a dozen or so self-improvement & goal setting books in the last 2.5 years (for me that is a lot of reading!!). All of these books have common denominators but the one that has hit me the hardest is the idea that you are whatever you decide you are – so dream big, imagine big then go set and achieve your goals!!
Q. What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
A. The mistakes are not important, it’s what you take from them that builds character.
Q. How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
A. Every situation is unique.
Q. What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
A. I like to hang out with my family, go to the beach, go on walks, watch the sunset. I’m also into crossfit and running.
Q. What makes you happy?
A. Family.
About Burnett Painting LLC: Home of the 9 Year Material & Labor Warranty! Burnett Painting uses quality Benjamin Moore paints, and backs up their workmanship with a warranty unmatched in the business. If paint peels or fades, we’ll fix it. We specialize in residential interior and exterior painting. Book an Estimate today!
Company Name: Burnett Painting LLC
Address: 1435 E Venice Ave, Unit 104, Venice FL 34292
Contact No. (941) 423-5249