Aussie Painting Contractor April 2016

Painting for Profit Gold Coast Conference

Lead Paint

on US Presidential Agenda

Sherwin Williams buys Valspar

Paintback

Launches in May

www.aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

EDITOR Nigel Gorman EXECUTIVE EDITOR Caroline Miall CONTRIBUTORS • Caroline Miall • Clayton Coughlan • Dan Buzer • Jim Baker • Leo Babauta • Monroe Porter • Nigel Gorman • Robert Bauman

GRAPHIC DESIGNER J. Anne Delgado

From the Editor Hi Everyone, This month, I’m pleased to report what a great success our first joint venture into the conference world was. The Likeminded Painters Australia / Aussie Painters Network ‘mini conference’ that eventuated at quite short notice on the Gold Coast in March, went fantastically well, with all participants giving great feedback and expressing a keenness for more of the same. In that vein, we wish to host an event on a larger scale in September for all those who didn’t get the opportunity the first time. Watch this space, and let us know if you have any ideas as we want to customise the experience for you, the painter.

Big news in the past couple of weeks is the acquisition of Valspar by US paint giant Sherwin-Williams. With their logo and slogan indicating they are going to ‘Cover the Earth’, they’re well on their way to fulfilling the goal. With their future in the Australian market uncertain in the light of their local carrier Masters going under, this was a wise move and seems to have been met with a positive response in the market and by shareholders.

It’s only a matter of weeks until the Paintback scheme is available to all who purchase coatings, providing a viable waste disposal service to prevent paint being deposited into landfill. Understandably the program is being met with a variety of responses from painters who will have to absorb or pass on the 15c per litre rise.

We have been receiving a lot of calls from around the country about employers looking for staff. There seems to be a shortage of quality trades people at the moment. We suggest you employ and train your own staff to how you want them to work. If you need assistance in finding staff let us know and we will endeavour to assist you.

Till next month.

Happy painting,

Nigel Gorman

nigel@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

07 3555 8010

Contents Painting for Profit

6

APN-LPA Conference

Business Success

10

COGGIE’S

26

Tips and Tricks

14

Every Customer You Want, IS ALREADY Somebody Else’s Customer!

18

28

History of Wallpaper Giant in Paint

31 32

42

Sherwin-Williams Acquires Vaslpar

The Wallpaper Whisperer Taubmans New Store

38

Industry Idiot

46

Important Contacts

47

Hillary puts Lead back

Choosing Value over Price

Rags to Hopes of Riches to Stuck

24

Program in effect May 2016

Out of the Park

Epoxy Product Selection –

Paint Stewardship

21

on the Presidential Agenda

Get to the Root of Work Stress

35

Opinions and viewpoints expressed in the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine do not necessarily represent those of the editor, staff or publisher or any Aussie Painters Network’s staff or related parties. The publisher, Aussie Painters Network and Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine personnel are not liable for any mistake, misprint or omission.

Information contained in the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine is intended to inform and illustrate and should not be taken as financial, legal or accounting advice. You should seek professional advice before making business related decisions. We are not liable for any losses you may incur directly or indirectly as a result of reading Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine. Reproduction of any material or contents of the magazine without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

Advertise with us...

1800 355 344 07 3555 8010 info@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au www.aussiepaintingcontractor.com

In the first week of March, painters from all around the country converged on the Gold Coast for the inaugural Likeminded Painters Australia and Aussie Painters Network Mini Conference. What was to be a social catch up with some Likeminded Painters, quickly turned into something that many painters have been desperately needing. An opportunity to get together and discuss the changing state of their industry and the best ways to running a successful business in it.

With the inspiration and support of Christina Toon of Enhance Business Support, and less than a month till the ‘catch-up’, the Mini Conference Painting for Profit was born.

With almost 60 painters from WA, Vic, NSW and Qld, speakers Clayton Coughlan, Dan Buzer, Christina Toon, Keith Banfield and Nigel Gorman presented to audience of painters from across Australia. Corporate sponsors Taubmans, Graco, Rokset, & Lets Clean saw the opportunity to meet with their trade clientele on a

fresh level, to inform and support the industry that supports them.

vices did in pulling it together at such short notice!

Friday night saw all the travelling members of the party gather for dinner and drinks at the stingray bar at QT hotel in Surfers Paradise. Many a story was told; some true and some you could almost believe! On the Saturday morning everyone was up earlier in anticipation of the first business development seminar. This was designed to have a relaxed atmosphere yet still provide the attendees with as much information as possible for them to develop their business.

The gathering has garnered such a great response from painters and industry that both Aussie Painters Network and the folks at Likeminded Painters are planning their own individual events in follow up.

We’ve already begun researching our next great meeting of minds and our initial enquiries have come up with some excellent feedback and suggestions which we will take on-board and developing further.

We’re looking at staging an event around September in Brisbane city, to give everyone in the industry the opportunity to get themselves along. We hope to bring together professional demonstrations, keynote speakers and a trade expo, so stay tuned to Aussie Painting Contractor and our regular email updates for further information as it comes to hand.

The feedback that both APN & LPA received was outstanding with almost all attendees expressing interest in attending further, similar events. The enthusiasm of the attendees was a great testament to the calibre of the business people drawn to the gathering. A big shout out to those who flew in or drove a great distance to be there. Thanks to all involved and for the great job Enhance Business Ser-

Caroline Miall

carlone@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

2016 April Issue | 7

The Top 3 Routines… That Can Kick Your

Business Success Out of the Park When you start a new project for your clients you probably have certain routines to get them up and running. Everything runs a certain way when you do business, from quoting for the job, scheduling it in your calendar of work commitments, to making sure you’ve got enough help and materials to undertake the project… and finally, delivering a job that your client is happy with. You know how to get it done because you’ve done it before, you have established routines that work for you and your team to deliver the desired result.

1. Weekly: Look at your debtors and creditors on the same day, every week Depending on your business type you may have more big jobs or you may have a majority of smaller jobs, which all start and finish at different times. You may source varying amount of materials or contractors that hit the budget at different times.

The same goes for your invoice payments. So the most important thing is that you keep track of what’s going in an out on a regular basis for all the jobs that you have on.

It’s the same with doing the ‘behind the scenes’ work, the work that clients don’t see, the work that in effect is the engine room of your business.

It’s the work that keeps the money ticking over, what you pay to your providers and creditors, what you pay yourself and your team and what you get from your clients.

To really get a handle on this, the best thing you can do for your business is to schedule a regular time every week to go through your debtors and creditors. If you have a bookkeeper helping you with your financial administration, schedule a meeting with them to discuss the week’s necessary financial transactions, what’s outstanding and what needs paying. Its’ that simple!

Unfortunately this is the work that is often put in the ‘later on’ pile and, at worst, is being overlooked or ignored.

The solution to this are routines… habits you set up that, once you’ve established them, you’ll do them as a matter of course, like clockwork. I’m talking about financial administration routines, of course. Let me explain what I mean, and it’s really simple, anyone can follow this advice:

10 | Aussie Painters Network

This is the time when you delegate or do all your invoicing and actioning of any payments that are due. You could even tell your suppliers that you attend to bill payments once a week, and that is… say a Friday. It could be any day of the week, really, as long as it’s a regular appointment in your diary, and you stick to it.

If you need help with setting up a complete debt collection system including follow up scripts, please visit the Resource Centre at www.adhmailton.com.au.

2. Monthly: Check your budget once a month You can see where this is going, can’t you? Yes, the next step is to look at your budget once a month.

Again, schedule an appointment in your calendar for at least one hour, once a month, at the beginning or end of the month, whatever suits you best, and turn up! This is a high priority activity in your business, as it can help you correct course in time, if necessary.

There is a great advantage to having a broader perspective and not getting lost in the daily grind. When you look at your last month’s business performance, you can see how your weekly financial meetings will have had an effect. All the weekly activities of making payments and issuing invoices, or sending out follow up notices, will have produced a result that is plain to see in last month’s data. It will also show up where you need to tighten up your follow up procedures.

2016 April Issue | 11

Deal with an insurance company that has the best available cost effective insurance for tradies.

The security for this product is placed via Lloyds of London as well as other Australian authorised insurers.

12 | Aussie Painters Network

3. Quarterly: Schedule a meeting with your accountant When I say the word ‘quarterly’ most of my business clients think ‘BAS time’. The Business Activity Statement (BAS) is used for reporting and paying goods and services tax (GST), pay as you go (PAYG) instalments, PAYG withholding tax and other tax obligations.

So business owners, who have to submit a BAS statements every quarter, have to have their financial house in order. They need to understand how much profit they make and what their tax obligations are. This is where a look at your business’ Profit & Loss report can help you identify further tax minimisation opportunities.

This report requires specialist knowledge to be generated from your cur-

rent financial data, and the best way to appreciate the information you can gain from it is to have a meeting with your accountant and talk about it. They know what to look for. These reports are generated in a standard way looking at all the available financial data you’ve got recorded, and there are certain markers, that can tell a detailed story about your business performance.

Knowledge is power, that much is true. And knowledge about the financial performance of your business is not only power, but it is also a motivator to do better next month. Setting financial goals is only the start of it.

There’s a saying that ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ In that sense, I want to encourage you to take more time to work ‘on your business’ than ‘in your business’. Set up routines! It’s about taking the helicopter view, being a strategist who knows where they’re going, because they’ve surveyed where they’ve been. Keep at establishing working ‘on the business’ routines and try to perfect them… it will kick your business profits out of the park..

Copyright © 2016 Robert Bauman

A D Hamilton & Associates www.adhamilton.com.au

2016 April Issue | 13

Every Customer You Want IS ALREADY Somebody Else’s Customer!

Mike is a great car mechanic. One of the best! His business is good at what it does, has been around for many years and has hundreds of long-time repeat customers that trust him with their vehicles. But an important part of Mike’s business is completely broken. Let me explain …

Often Mike is asked by his customers, “Hey Mike, who would you recommend for x, y, z”? Mike picks up one of the many business cards on his counter, passes it over without another thought and in that one action commits three of the most common, wasteful and business stagnating sins there are.

Let’s break them down …

1. Gave up Control of the Referral: Mike will probably never know if that customer actually used the services of the person he recommended.

2 Missed out on Credit: How will the referred business know that Mike referred them? If they don’t know about the support they’re getting its likely sending people back to Mike is not at the top of their mind.

3. A Bad Referral: Every time we refer another person’s products or services we’re taking a HUGE risk. If his customer doesn’t get what he’s after that could reflect badly on Mike.

14 | Aussie Painters Network

But the biggest thing Mike is losing out on is something that successful business owners spend their waking hours pondering almost non-stop.

special offer each (40 people with offers valued at $250 each = $10,000).

A local map pointing out where everyone was located and more!

“What is a great win-win opportunity for me to help my customers and at the same time get introduced to other prospective ideal customers?”

Now, what if Mike didn’t just stack the booklets up on his counter and let ‘anyone’ grab one? He could bring it out when listening to what the customer wants before the work even starts. Mike explains to his customer that at some stage they might need tires, bull-bars, body work, car detailing, windshields and more. Now Mike has become a ‘portal’, or a central hub of anything to do with the automotive world in his area. A force to be reckoned with!

What if Mike compiled the business cards of the people he recommends the products and services for into a booklet? It could be called “Mike the Mechanic’s Guide to Local Tried & Tested Vehicle Industry Professionals”. It could have $10,000 of value if all the people in the booklet had a

But Mike could be even savvier than that. He could say “Mrs Jones, you’re in need of an auto-electrician. I’ll email Rob at Rob’s Auto Electrics with your details, your vehicle’s details and the work we have discussed that you need done. That way you don’t have to remember everything yourself. Would that be helpful for you?” Notice how many boxes this one easy process ticks and everyone wins!

Then, at the end of this unique service from Mike the mechanic and Rob the auto-electrician, Mrs Jones gets a ‘Thank You’ letter in the mail personalised by Mike. Within the folds of the letter slips out a free car wash voucher from Mary’s Local Mobile Car Detailing company valued at $60.

Now ask yourself … if you were a customer of Mike’s, would you tell your friends about this extraordinary experience? Of course you would! It’s not hard or expensive, but it does take a little bit of guidance and know how. If you would like to experience a complimentary review of your business that takes less than an hour, call Dan at Profit Mechanics on 0414 567 188. An easy to understand business performance questionnaire will be rushed to you so you can see where profit may be leaking from your business and how to fix it.

Dan Buzer 0414 567 188

2016 April Issue | 15

Epoxy Product Selection Choosing Value OVER Price

The coatings industry has come Why do we love a low a long way in many respects, but coating price? it remains a price-driven market and the lure of a bargain, it seems, Why is there such a pull towards is still too good to refuse. It’s an the lowest price in the first place? attitude I believe has to change! Maybe it’s a legacy of solvent-borne

looks like a bargain on paper often ends up costing you far more down the track anyway when the reasons for a low price rear their ugly head.

In an epoxy coating context, that’s usually stuff like blushing, bubbles, premature failure, repairs etc.

The truth is, when it comes to epoxy product selection most of us place far too much emphasis on the price we can get it for. Fair enough if the coatings in question are genuine equivalents and all more than capable of doing the job at hand - there are certainly no problems there.

Problems do arise, however, when price becomes such a focus that inferior, unsuitable products are used in the hope of “saving a few bucks”.

Coating value v coating price

18 | Aussie Painters Network

products with only 30% solids, or perhaps it’s just a quirk of human nature to get as much as possible for as little as possible? Whatever it is, it’s a strong force and one that needs to be addressed if the industry is to reach its full potential.

So, what’s the answer? I think a big part of it lies in this favourite quote of mine: “By only looking at the ‘price’ of a product, you can miss the true ‘value’”. In other words, what

If all that makes sense and you’re convinced that coating value, not coating price, is what we should be searching for, how do you actually find it? How do you know what products represent good value and aren’t simply dressed up with a good price?

This task becomes a little easier when you consider the following – • Price per litre v price per kilogram - some manufacturers will advertise price per kilogram (or unit weight) instead of the price per litre (or unit volume). By using a heap of cheap fillers, a product can be made extremely heavy and very cheap per kilogram. Coating applications work in volume and thickness of film, however, so you need to work back to the price per unit volume anyway. When you do, you’ll find a low cost per kilogram might not be as cheap as you thought!

• Percent solids - another way to drop the price of coatings is through the addition of solvent, which is often used in combination with the high filler levels mentioned above to make these products easier to apply and lower the cost even further. The value consideration here relates to the thickness and quality of film that remains after the solvent evaporates. In other words, a coating with 50% solvent will normally be a lot cheaper than a solventless product, however if they’re both applied at 200 microns/8 mils, the solvent-borne product will ul-

timately leave behind only 100 microns/4 mils. You’d need twice as much volume and probably another day of labour to get the same thickness, plus the actual film itself can be weakened in a number of ways by such heavy dilution.

• How many coats - some cheaper coatings, for various reasons, will require more coats than higher quality options. More coats equal more volume and generally more time to apply, all of which clearly offset any apparent cost savings.

• Priming- over-filled products with a very low cost per kilogram often require a primer to help them stick.

This cost is not always taken into account during the selection process.

• Pigment pot - some prices even omit the cost of pigmenting the system. The nice price will be for the tintable base, however when the colour is added savings are reduced.

• How long it lasts - a cheaper coating may very well cost less, but how

long will it last? How often will it need to be replaced? A premium coating that lasts over 10 years is better value than a cheap coating that has to be replaced every 2 years. That doesn’t even take in account defects and the number of goes you might need with a cheaper coating to make it work!

Ask yourself one question A more expensive product might be a turn off to begin with, but if it doesn’t play up all the time, requires no primers, needs fewer coats, lasts longer and protects better, the actual cost over the full lifespan of the product will be far less.

To finish, I’ll leave you with something to keep in mind when seeking coating value. Just ask yourself one question before you buy: “Will it cost me more to do it properly now with a better product, or do it cheaply and come back again shortly?”

Jack Josephsen 0408 877 256

Employee/contractor decision tool You can use the Employee/contractor decision tool to work out if your worker is an employee or contractor for tax and super purposes.

The decision tool is for use by businesses that engage and pay a worker. https://www.ato.gov.au/Calculators-and-tools/Employeeor-contractor/?page=1#Important_information

2016 April Issue | 19

20 | Aussie Painters Network

Rags... to Hopes of Riches... to STUCK! People start contracting businesses for many reasons. Some because their side jobs out grew their day job. Others wanted to become rich. Whatever the reason, almost all start with little money hoping to have a better life and livelihood.

Unfortunately, when you are knee deep in alligators, you can forget you came to drain the swamp. Year after year of the same old, same old can lead to burn out and frustration.

When you own a business, your business life and personal life can all mesh into one giant ball of string. It can be tough to tell where your business life begins and your personal life stops. If your business is messed up, your life is messed up and vice versa. Running a contracting business can be a tough and lonely job.

Employees, family members, old high school friends and other buddies don’t understand your challenges. I find people join our networking groups to make more money but they stay because there is someone on their side and understands their day to day dilemmas. If it were easy to be an entrepreneur and own a business, then everyone would do it.

I have been amazed at the number of contractors who year after year do not improve their performance.

Sometimes lack of success is driven by just good old fashion math. They don’t charge enough, inaccurately

estimate too many jobs or as their business grew, failed to raise prices to cover overheadS. However, with further investigation, you will discover many contractors have a personal health, learning disability or personality issue that is contributing to their poor performance. Unlike speaking, networking groups are personal. The participant comes back every year, so eventually what gets in the way of their success surfaces. Working with contractors in an intimate consulting role has uncovered numerous cases of sleep apnoea, ADD like symptoms, adult ADD, depression, anxiety issues, addictive behaviors like alcoholism and numerous other health problems. It is interesting that almost everyone has some type of issue but if you work on the assembly line at the local factory or at the post office you

can probably hide these problems much easier than a business owner can. It is also hard to tell which came first, the chicken or the egg. Did the contractor’s personality cause issues or did a poor business model break the contractor down over time? Regardless of the cause, if you do not have your head screwed on right, you cannot expect to be successful.

Fix you first. Figure it out. Many of the above health issues above can be genetic. They are medical issues not craziness. I have seen people lose their business because they were too prideful to wear a hearing aid. Others that simply refuse to address their extreme anxiety issues and therefore choose to live a life of panic. If you had diabetes, you would take insulin. Don’t let foolish pride get in the way of your success.

2016 April Issue | 21

Paint by the numbers. Remember those number paintings you did as a kid. While not perfect or beautiful, you really could not mess them up. Just follow the numbers. Learn to follow the numbers. Math is science, much like gravity. You can’t jump off a cliff and fly and you can’t do work you lose money on. For smaller contractors, you don’t need a fancy computer to do job costs.

Simply compare your weekly payroll costs to the labor costs you estimated to do the job.

Take time to figure out all your overhead costs. Just add it up with paper and pencil. Then divide it by 12 and figure out how much gross profit you need to bring in each month to breakeven. Understand owner salary as part of overhead. Owners tell me, “I don’t want to take it out until I make it.” Well, if you never put it in, it won’t be there to take out.

Supposed you wanted to make $75,000 a year and no longer work in the field. If you had 5 employees and they worked 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, you would have 2000 billable hours per person. Multiple that by 5 and you have 10,000 production hours. Divide 10,000 hours into $75,000 and you come up with $7.50 an hour overhead just to pay you. It costs about $12,000 a year to operate a nice truck. So there is another $6 per hour for the foreman’s vehicle. Yes, you can have a truck for less but when the time comes you won’t have enough money to buy a new truck.

Get organized. If you are not organized, you have to accept the fact and work hard to do something about it. Clean your desk, truck, shop and throw everything away you do not need. Do paperwork each and every day. Don’t let it pile up. Try

The portable, inexpensive method to prevent paint waste-water polluting the environment.

22 | Aussie Painters Network

to hire a strong office or admin person who can help organize you. The right person will tell you what needs to be done and direct you. Run a monthly profit and loss statement.

Look at it and ask questions. Know where you are financially.

In closing, next year is going to be the same as this year unless you do something different. It’s not the economy, your employee’s or your customers fault if you are not successful. Want to talk about it? Call me, I will even pay for the call; 800 864-0284.

Monroe Porter is president of a PROOF Management Consultants.

For consulting or a seminar, just call at 804 267-1688 email

monroe@proofman.com

www.proofman.com

2016 April Issue | 23

Paint Stewardship Program IN EFFECT MAY 2016….

Are you propping up a scheme that you won’t use?

The waste paint stewardship program, now known as Paintback, has been in development for a while now, with the Aussie Painting Contractor having reported the progress as the official launch, set for May 2016, draws nearer. The ACCC approved the 15 cents a litre rise in paint to cover the cost of the program, on 29 October last year, and authorised the change for a minimum of six years to begin with. Beyond our reporting, however, have the proposals and decisions been adequately communicated to those whose businesses will be most affected? The answer is a possible no, given that at the LPA/APN ‘mini conference’ recently, it appeared to be the first time many painting contractors had heard of the plans.

The Australian Paint Manufacturers’ Federation Inc. (APMF) on behalf of itself, Paint Stewardship Limited (PSL) and certain paint manufacturers and suppliers (APMF & Ors).

APMF & Ors propose to apply a levy of up to $0.15 per litre to the cost of supply of certain architectural and design (A&D) paints and woodcare products, which will fund a National Paint Product Stewardship Scheme to provide a nationally co-ordinated approach to the collection and disposal of A&D paints in Australia.

24 | Aussie Painters Network

On 29 October 2015, the ACCC issued a determination granting authorisation to the applicants until 1 June 2021. http://registers. accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1187728/fromItemId/278039 • The Australian Paint Manufacturers Federation, with DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd, Henry Haymes Proprietary Limited, PPG Industries Australia Pty Limited, Resene Paints (Australia) Limited & Valspar Paint (Australia) Pty Ltd have made this application to create Paintback®, a national environmental scheme, that removes architectural and decorative waste paint from landfill and waterways. Ostensibly this is a great move forward for the care of our environment and the responsible handling of industrial waste, but one could argue that the most affected are actually the least likely to require the service.

For many a professional painter, there is little, to no actual waste paint produced after a job. With adequate and experienced estimation of the required amount of paint, and then left over paint being put to use for future contracts whenever possible, how many painters will actually take advantage of the scheme, par-

ticularly in light of the fact they will be predominantly the ones funding it? Many would claim that it isn’t a fair application of a levy given they would have less requirement for disposing of paint than most end users of the product bearing the increase.

A similar scheme was introduced for waste oil with the Product Stewardship (Oil) Act 2000, introduced by the Australian Government to ensure environmentally sustainable management, re-refining and reuse of waste oil and to support economic recycling options for waste oil. A third independent review of the scheme found a range of positive outcomes have been achieved, but that some major challenges also exist with current Scheme arrangements. Much has been done to minimise improper disposal, and encourage the collection and re-use or recycling of used oil and other factors like changes in community awareness and behaviour.

“The volume of used oil being input into recycling processes has grown from nil in 2000 to approximately 80 megalitres (ML) in 2011-12. This is approximately 25 per cent of the estimated total volume of oil collected under the Scheme (around 315 ML in 2011-12)

COGGIE’S

Tips and Tricks

Clayton Coghlan - with Coggies Tips and Tricks!

With 25 years in the industry, Coggie has offered to share some of the tricks of the trade that he’s picked up throughout his career. He is very passionate about the Painting Industry and will be sharing with us regular videos to assist in your business.

Enjoy the videos and hopefully you’ll pick up something that makes a difference!

26 | Aussie Painters Network

and approximately thirteen per cent of the total volume of oil sold that year (613 ML). It was recycled to become approximately 48 ML of output – base oil for blending and subsequent re-use as a lubricant. This represented only about eight per cent of the total oil sales that year. Payment of Category 1 benefits (for re-refined base oil) increased substantially between 2006-07 and 2008-09 with the opening of a second larger re-refiner… The remaining seventy-five per cent of used oil collected under the Scheme in 2011-12 was burnt as fuel after various levels of treatment, either domestically or as exports to other countries in the Asia Pacific region. http://www. environment.gov.au/system/files/ resources/a44a765a-e044-4eacadfd-e10c670143a1/files/pso-review-2013.pdf

Stakeholders say to a large degree the objects of the ‘PSO’ Act are being met; however the review states that the Scheme is under-funded to achieve even modest levels of recycling without requiring large, and ever-increasing financial input from government. Some say that the review didn’t go far enough, (See http://www.resourcerecovery. biz/news/tpi-oil-levy-must-be-lifted) despite it recommending that for the scheme to continue and be in any way self-sustaining, the levy be increased immediately from 5cents per litre, to 7 cents, and likely increased incrementally over future years. Does this suggest that the proposed 15c per litre for paint is just the beginning?

Certainly there has been a mixed bag of reactions from Painters to the schemes introduction. For some

Instant HR Policies and Procedures Manual Complete HR Policies & Procedures Manuals in Minutes Over 280 comprehensive pre-written HR policies and procedures templates Written in plain English – Easy to Understand Specifically written for Australian small to medium businesses Instant download – no waiting for books or discs Up-to-date with Australian IR, Privacy, Workplace UpSurveillance & Anti-Discrimination Legislation Customisable Word format – Insert your company name & details with just a few simple clicks Researched & professionally written employee handbook templates by Australian HR experts

it will be seen as a welcome service which will be taken advantage of to the full extent, solving a few problems of disposal and storage. For others, it seems an unfair levy that they won’t use that will only hit the hip pocket.

What do you think of the scheme - Will you use it?

Send us your thoughts and we will revisit the issue when it is implemented after May.

Caroline Miall

caroline@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

28 | Aussie Painters Network

THE WALLPAPER

WHISPERER

Although progress, technology and social media baffles me some time, Facebook can be a great place to meet new people. I was on an English group site called ‘Brothers of the Brush’ a few months back and I struck up a conversation with a painter. After a day or two, I found out he was actually a paper hanger who lives about 25 kilometres from me in Brisbane (small world). After seeing his website and photos of some of the work he had completed, I just had to write a story on his business.

Lee Whiter and his wife Lucy and have been trading for four years under the name of IWI (I Wallpaper Interiors) in Brisbane. They have 3 young children and a small painting team. They pride themselves on bringing high end quality to every job they do and take on all wallpaper installation and specialty projects large and small, residential and commercial.

Lee began his Painting and Decorating apprenticeship in England in 1990 and found he had the knack for wallpapering. He worked for many years in the U.K. renovating top hotels such as ‘The Athenaum’, ‘Park Lane’, ‘The Grove’, ‘The Savoy’ and ‘The Cavendish’. There he learnt how to work with textures such as velvet and other luxury fabric wallpapers.

Lee says, ‘In 2007 I moved to Brisbane and found the painting industry here lacking in skilled wallpaper hangers

and I decided to specialise in what I love most. We have been working up to the high end hotel market which we are now doing more and more of.

Another great product new to the market we have been installing lately is ‘Woodwall’. It is a wood veneer that is installed like wallpaper and is great for commercial areas’.

Lee mentions that, ‘Custom made murals are very popular and can be made in any size. The longest continual roll of wallpaper I have installed was 29m long! This was a non-woven metallic wallpaper hung on a ‘ceiling coffer’ at the East Leagues Club’ (see link below). http://iwallpaperinteriors.com. au/2014/11/10/longest-roll-wallpaper-ceiling-installed/ ‘The largest commercial wallpaper suppliers in Australia are ‘Baresque’ and ‘Hume International’ Lee says.

‘In the residential market we find there is a huge variance. People will spend anything from $80 a roll to $400 a roll. From our standpoint, the better quality papers go up easierand give a better finish. The most expensive wallpaper I have ever hung was $2000 a roll and the most expensive job was $157 per M2 which was a velvet fabric with gold leafing as the pattern. Today non-woven paper is the most used paper and murals are the most popular design feature’.

‘I Wallpaper Interiors’ are getting busier and busier as interior designers and architects are using wallpaper in their designs more and more. ‘Customers want the texture, uniqueness and the luxurious look that wallpaper brings’.

If you are in the Brisbane area and a client wants some wallpaper hung and you are not experienced enough to do the job, don’t turn it down, pass it on to Lee Whiter.

Check out their website at

www.iwallpaperinteriors.com.au

Jim Baker

info@mytools4business.com 2016 April Issue | 29

30 | Aussie Painters Network

Taubmans have recently opened a new Professional Trade Centre located only a few kilometres from the Adelaide CBD at 1 Albert Street, Thebarton, South Australia. The new stores joins the national network of forty stores with coverage over all states and territories.

Taubmans Professional Trade Centres stock the Taubmans, Bristol, White Knight and Flood range of products. The Taubmans Professional Trade Centres are open from Monday to Friday 6.30am to 4.30am and are also open on Saturday mornings. They offer a free delivery service for all orders over $200.

The dedicated trade team of over 200 people are all very knowledgeable on the daily requirements of a trade painter. No challenge is too great and they pride themselves on doing the little things better than anyone else.

Drop in and see your local Trade Centre to discover monthly merchandise specials as well as regular promotional offers.

2016 April Issue | 31

Hillary puts LEAD back on the Presidential Agenda As the race to the white house begins to reach fever pitch, the decades old fight against lead exposure in the US becomes once again becomes a campaign hot potato.

A good thing too, as it still affects thousands of lives in their country, particularly the most politically powerless and vulnerable poorer areas.

Featuring heavily in the news recently Flint, Michigan, has experienced high levels of the poisonous toxin in their water supply, since changing their water source in 2014 from Detroit to Flint River.

Apparently failing to add ‘corrosion inhibitors’ has meant the corrosive Flint River water has caused lead from old pipes to leach into the water supply. The results have been devastating for the cities’ population, causing extremely elevated levels of the heavy metal in its population, particularly the children.

In a Democratic debate in March, Hillary Clinton was asked if elected president, would she take on the commitment to remove lead from water pipes in American cities. She said she’d go much further than that; “we have to have an absolute commitment to getting rid of lead wherever it is. Because it’s not only in water systems, it’s also in soil and

32 | Aussie Painters Network

it’s in lead paint that’s found mostly in older homes. ...So I want to do exactly what you said. We will commit to a priority to change the water systems, and we will commit to within five years to remove lead from everywhere...

Water, soil, and paint—we’re gonna get rid of it!” the former Madame Secretary told the public.

One hundred and fifty miles from Flint, the residents of Cleveland Ohio have been feeling the effects of lead in the paint in their homes for decades, with up to 14% of their children testing with elevated lead levels in their blood (it was around 7% for Flint children). The crusade to end the lead exposure in old homes began decades ago, but has sadly slowed to almost a complete halt here, and in dozens of similar cities. The NY Times reported “It is a tragic reminder that one of the great public health crusades of the 20th century remains unfinished.”

The latest estimates suggest that around 37 million US homes and apartments still have some lead paint on walls and woodwork, 23 million with potentially hazardous levels of lead in soil, paint chips or household dust.

Starkly highlighting the economics of it all are the results that have occurred in New York, where housing stock is similarly aged, but the city has some of the strictest laws on testing and removal of lead. There, only 2.1% of children tested came up with elevated levels.

But in cities where the lead threat is synonymous with the poor parts of town, those who are already presented with the least opportunity and investment in their futures are further disadvantaged by the impact of lead on the growing brains of their children. Children who will likely be unable to fulfil the potential they were born with, perform poorly at school and often fall in to the revolving door of the criminal justice system.

So, it’s heartening to see it on the political agenda for the US. Hopefully whoever ends up in the oval office understands the devastating affect it is having on their people and do something now. As far as a five year goal goes… it’s ambitious, and largely unrealistic… but it’s something!

Caroline Miall

caroline@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

We are Painters working with Painters to improve the industry. You receive information designed to assist in advancing your business practices and maintaining a high degree of professionalism. We keep painting businesses up to date on the latest government legislative changes whilst assisting you in running your business with tips and tricks to

SAVE YOU MONEY!

2016 April Issue | 33

BECOME A

MEMBER TODAY!

34 | Aussie Painters Network

Get to the Root of

WORK STRESS

There isn’t a working person among us who doesn’t deal with stress — whether you’re an entrepreneur, a freelancer, working for a struggling startup, or clocking in working for a company, work stress is inevitable.

But where does this stress originate, and how do we deal with it?

Most guides to stress will give you some actions to take: exercise, sleep well, eat right, meditate, and do some yoga at your desk. These are all amazing, and you should do them.

However, I’m more interested in getting at the root of stress. Dig down, ferret out the cause, and work with that directly, rather than treating the symptoms. Only once you deal with the cause of stress can you truly be a master of it.

Cause of Stress

Let’s take a look at some things you might be stressed about at work: • • • •

Hard deadlines Difficult co-workers or boss Uncertainty about your job Uncertainty about whether you can succeed at this project • Competition, office politics, interpersonal conflicts • Not having enough time for family or personal life • Being overwhelmed by too much to do There are many more possibilities, but these are a good sampling. In all these examples, the cause is really the same thing: We are attached to how we want things to be. We have an ideal about how each of these situations should be, and our clinging to this ideal is causing the stress.

Let’s take the uncertainty about the job. Of course, that’s not ideal, we would rather have a stable job that we don’t have to worry about.

So reality is not matching our ideal (a stable job), and that causes us stress. We don’t like the present situation, and this not wanting uncertainty is causing us to stress out.

The same is true of each of the above examples — when a co-worker is not meeting our ideal, when we have an ideal that we won’t have too much to do, when our ideal of having easy-to-meet deadlines isn’t being met … we get stressed.

Unfortunately, this happens all day long, every day. Our ideals about reality are constantly not being met, and so we stress out. It builds up. It becomes a health problem.

2016 April Issue | 35

Dealing with the Cause of Stress

If our attachment to an ideal is the cause of our stress, then can we just not have ideals? Well, that would be ideal, perhaps, but no, I’ve found it impossible to not have ideals. The ideals come up, unbidden, in our active and ever hopeful minds.

The way to deal with the cause of stress is to 1) notice that you’re feeling stress or frustration, 2) mindfully notice your attachment to an ideal, and 3) loosen the attachment, finding love for the actual reality of the present moment.

Let’s look at these in turn.

First, you have to notice the stress.

Learn to see your frustration or worry about something as a signpost, a flag that tells you what’s going on. In this way, stress becomes a positive thing, because it’s letting you know that something is going on. It’s like a notification system on your phone — instead of ignoring the notifications, as we usually do (we don’t like to think about stress), we can mindfully drop into ourselves and deal with it.

Next, you have to mindfully notice your attachment to the ideal. That means dropping in and saying, “Hey, things are meeting my ideal and it’s stressing me out — what’s my ideal?” It’s probably something that is more secure, stable, comfortable, controlled than what you’re currently experiencing.

For example, if you’re overwhelmed by too much work, your ideal is probably that you have a very controlled, comfortable amount of work, and that you’re on top of it all. That would feel much more secure, stable, comfortable to you.

36 | Aussie Painters Network

Unfortunately, comfort and control and security aren’t what life provides us. It mostly provides us the very opposite — something chaotic, unpredictable, uncomfortable, unstable. And we can be upset by this, or we can embrace it. We can hate all of this about life, or we can love it. This is a choice.

Finally, we can loosen our attachment to this expectation or ideal.

We can say, “This ideal is not helping me. Clinging to wanting things this way is actually harming me.

I hereby open my heart to many more possibilities.”

That means we can be open to a less-than-ideal co-worker, who isn’t perfect and is struggling with his issues. We can be open to loving having too much work, more than we can possibly do, and having to prioritize and just focus on the important stuff for now. We can be open to the possibility that we’ll do poorly, or lose our jobs, because even then we’ll figure something out and life will be just fine.

Loosening our attachments is about realizing that life doesn’t have to be one way, our way, that we can be open to life’s way. It’s about learning to love everything, shit and all.

It’s about being curious about life, about others, instead of judging life and other people as bad.

And then it’s about working from this place of peace and love. Have too much to do? Pick one task, and do your best with it. Have an annoying co-worker? Find compassion for her struggles, and be curious about what she’s going through, and talk to her compassionately and empathetically about your conflict with her.

Worried about losing your job? Focus on doing your best, while preparing yourself for the possibility that you might need to find another job.

Many people won’t like this solution, because it means that they don’t get the ideals they want.

Most of us want to control life to be the way we want. And that’s fine, if it works for you.

What I’m suggesting is being open to the many other possibilities, opening your heart to what life offers instead of what you want it to offer, being curious about what’s really in front of you rather than judgmental, and learning to love everything as it is.

Leo Babauta,

a successful ‘simplicity’ blogger & author from California, is the creator of top 25 Blog, Zen Habits, chronicling his insights from acting significant changes in his personal and working life.

www.zenhabits.net

Find out if the things around you are SAFE for humans and pets

You take the samples and send them to Sydney Analytical Labs. The lab analyses the sample and we explain the results.

www.lead.org.au

2016 April Issue | 37

The History of

WALLPAPER Wallpaper is one of those products that ‘comes-and-goes’ with fashion. In the 80’s and 90’s, many of the paint outlets sold wallpaper and $15-$20 was the average cost per roll (remember those days?) At the time, I found hanging wallpaper very relaxing and I much preferred it to painting.

The novelty faded away though as painted walls and feature design effects replaced it, but after many years it now seems to be making a come-back.

Here is a brief history of when and how the advent of wallpaper began.

ous patterns in 1675 which continued well into the nineteenth century.

The size of ‘pattern repeat’ was limited to the width of the paper and the weight of wood block that the printer could work with. The wallpaper was made up of 12 sheets of hand-made paper pasted together to make strips long enough to go from the top to the bottom of the wall. Usually a blank margin was left along both edges of the paper to protect the paper from damage during transportation, which was trimmed off before the paper was hung. https://www.rebelmouse.com/

textile_cuisine/1591218172.html

HISTORY

In 1481, fifty rolls of paper were hand painted with angels on a blue background for Louis XI of France.

The King ordered the portable wallpaper because he found it necessary to move frequently from castle to castle but real wallpaper can hardly be said to have existed until the advent of the printing press 200 years later. As wallpaper was becoming more popular a guild of paperhangers was established in France in 1599.

Although rice paper was being glued to walls in ancient China as early as 200BC, it is Jean-Michel Papillon that is considered to be the French inventor of wallpaper. He started making block designs in matching, continu-

38 | Aussie Painters Network

Traditional hand-blocking technique in France 1877 In 1778, Louis XVI issued a decree that required the length of a wallpaper roll to be about 34 feet, (there is no mention about the width).

In 1785, the first machine came into production in France for printing

coloured tints on sheets of wallpaper and in 1799 a machine was patented to produce a continuous length of wallpaper.

At this time, the manufacturing methods developed by the English were significant and the products from 18th century London workshops became all the rage.

Not to be out-done by the French, in 1839 the English invented a four color surface printing machine with designs hand-cut on cylinders that could print 400 rolls a day. By 1850, eight color printing was available and in 1874, the twenty color printing machine was invented.

‘Aniline’ dyes were discovered in 1856 increasing the choice of colours and lowering the price of wallpaper. Arsenic and white lead were used in many Victorian papers as dyes which lead to widespread health issues for many workers in the industry, so that by the 1870s many firms were advertising their papers as being ‘arsenic-free’. As a consequence of these innovations, wallpaper production and use increased enormously and the price fell steadily throughout the 19th Century. A wallpaper tax that was introduced during the reign of Queen Anne and existed for 124 years was repealed in 1836 which also made wallpaper affordable for the less wealthy.

With the introduction into rooms of the dado and picture rails to divide the room up, which was deemed to be the epitome of artistic taste, so wallpapers came to be produced in sets of three, one for cornice to picture rail, one for picture rail down to the dado and the last for the bottom portion of the wall under the dado.

Wallpaper pasting machines first appeared around the turn of the 20th century and it was at this time that wallpaper really took the spotlight. This period was known as the ‘Golden Age of Wallpaper’ and around 400 million rolls were produced and sold.

A paste powder that was soluble in cold water made its market debut in 1936 as Henkel-Zellkleister Z 5. After World War II, the entire industry was revolutionized with the

SPECIAL OFFER to Aussie Painting Contractor Readers!

• • • •

appearance of plastic resins which made the wallpaper stain resistant, washable, durable and strong.

Today there are many types of wallpaper available on the market, such as; Paper-Backed, Vinyl Coating, Pure Vinyl, Embossed, Anaglypta, Flock, Foil, Grass-Weave, Grass-Cloth and Murals (there is even a paper with LED lighting embedded into it). Some you paste, some are pre-pasted, there even some where you paste the wall first and hang the wallpaper up dry.

It was all getting too much for me in the end so I have ‘hung-up’ my apron and I’m letting the experts carry on with the task (see Lee Whiter’s article from ‘I Wallpaper Interiors’).

Jim Baker

www.mytools4business.com info@mytools4business.com

1 x MOBILE WEBSITE 5 x TAX/QUOTE BOOKS 1 x SET CAR MAGNETS 1000 x BUSINESS CARDS

TO REDEEM OFFER CALL

07 3217 1599 Quote promocode “APN1”

r

fo s i h t l l A

only 0 $100 Centre Name

2016 April Issue Centre | 39 Name

Trace My Business Keep a record of ALL your clients • • • •

•

Where the referral came from

The quote success and failure rates

•

Suburb comparisons

The different advertising campaigns

•

(what (wh works and what doesn’t) First projects vs repeat business

New vs existing revenue and projects

•

Yearly and overall client revenue

•

Growth analysis

Projects, who referred them, and the referrals they subsequently provided

Written and Developed by Jim Baker

40 | Aussie Painters Network

2016 April Issue | 41

Giants in Paint, Sherwin-Williams

ACQUIRES VALSPAR

CLEVELAND, OH and MINNEAPOLIS, MN – March 20, 2016. The SherwinWilliams Company (NYSE: SHW) and The Valspar Corporation (NYSE: VAL) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Sherwin-Williams will acquire Valspar for $113 per share in an all-cash transaction, or an enterprise value of approximately $11.3 billion. At $113 per share, the transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, represents a premium of approximately 41% to Valspar’s volume weighted average price for the 30 days up to and including March 18, 2016.

Sherwin-Williams and Valspar have highly complementary paints and coatings offerings and this combination enhances Sherwin-Williams position as a premier global paints and coatings provider. The transaction results in an exceptional, diversified array of strong brands and technologies, accelerates Sherwin-Williams growth strategy by expanding its global platform in Asia-Pacific and EMEA, and also adds new capabilities in the packaging and coil segments. The combined company would have pro forma 2015 Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA (including estimated annual synergies) of approximately $15.6 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively, with approximately 58,000 employees.

42 | Aussie Painters Network

John G. Morikis, President and Chief Executive Officer of The SherwinWilliams Company, said, “Valspar is an excellent strategic fit with Sherwin-Williams. The combination expands our brand portfolio and customer relationships in North America, significantly strengthens our Global Finishes business, and extends our capabilities into new geographies and applications, including a scale platform to grow in Asia-Pacific and EMEA. Customers of both companies will benefit from our increased product range, enhanced technology and innovation capabilities, and the transaction’s clearly defined cost synergies. We have tremendous respect for the expertise and dedication of the Valspar team and we are excited about the opportunities that this combination will provide to both companies’ employees. Sherwin-Williams will continue to be headquartered in Cleveland and we intend to maintain a significant presence in Minneapolis.”

Morikis added: “Sherwin-Williams has a long track record of successfully integrating acquisitions. We are highly confident in the industrial logic of the transaction and, once closed, our ability to achieve $280 million of estimated annual synergies in the areas of sourcing, SG&A and process and efficiency savings within two years and our long-term annual synergy

target of $320 million. We expect this transaction to be immediately accretive excluding one-time costs and meaningfully enhance our cash flow generation profile.”

Gary E. Hendrickson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Valspar, said, “We are pleased to announce this compelling transaction, which delivers immediate and certain cash value to our stockholders. We believe that Sherwin-Williams is the right partner to utilize our array of brands and create a premier global coatings company. The combination of Sherwin-Williams and Valspar will benefit our customers, employees and other stakeholders. We are confident this transaction will create opportunities to accelerate many of the operating initiatives already underway at Valspar. We look forward to positioning Valspar to enter its next phase of growth and success and to working closely with Sherwin-Williams to seamlessly close this transaction. Together we will continue to build on the solid momentum our team has worked so hard to create.”

For more see: http://investors.sherwinwilliams.com/press/2016/0320_PR/index. jsp

About The Sherwin-Williams Company Founded in 1866, The Sherwin-Williams Company is a global leader in the manufacture, development, distribution, and sale of coatings and related products to profession-

al, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. The company manufactures products under well-known brands such as Sherwin-Williams®, HGTV HOME® by Sherwin-Williams, Dutch Boy®, Krylon®, Minwax®, Thompson’s® Water Seal®, and many more. With global headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, Sherwin-Williams® branded products are sold exclusively through a chain of more than 4,100 company-operated stores and facilities, while the company’s other brands are sold through leading mass merchandisers, home centers, independent paint dealers, hardware stores, automotive retailers, and industrial distributors. The SherwinWilliams Global Finishes Group distributes a wide range of products in more than 115 countries around the world. For more information,

visit www.sherwin.com

About Valspar Valspar is a global leader in the coatings industry providing customers with innovative, high-quality products and value-added services. Our 11,000 employees deliver advanced coatings solutions with best-in-class appearance, performance, protection and sustainability to customers in more than 100 countries. Valspar offers a broad range of superior coatings products for the consumer market, and highly-engineered solutions for the construction, industrial, packaging and transportation markets. Founded in 1806, Valspar is headquartered in Minneapolis.

Valspar’s reported net sales in fiscal 2015 were $4.4 billion and its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: VAL).

visit : www.valspar.com

Developed by Jim Baker 2013

2016 April Issue | 43

Maintain Your Family’s Living Standard

44 | Aussie Painters Network

Painters JSEA s

2016 April Issue | 45

The Industry

Idiots

46 | Aussie Painters Network

Important Contacts Aussie Painters Network

Ph. 0430 399 800

National Institute for Painting and Decorating

Ph. 1300 319 790

Australian Tax Office

Ph. 13 72 26 / Ph. 13 28 65

www.aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au www.painters.edu.au www.ato.gov.au

Award Rates

Ph. 13 13 94

Fair Work Building & Construction

Ph. 1800 003 338

Mates In Construction

Ph. 1300 642 111

www.fairwork.gov.au www.fwbc.gov.au www.matesinconstruction.com.au

Workplace Health and Safety Contacts Comcare WorkSafe ACT Workplace Health and Safety QLD Victorian WorkCover Authority WorkCover NSW SafeWork SA WorkSafe WA NT WorkSafe WorkSafe Tasmania

www.comcare.gov.au www.worksafe.act.gov.au www.worksafe.qld.gov.au www.vwa.vic.gov.au www.workcover.nsw.gov.au www.safework.sa.gov.au www.commerce.wa.gov.au/WorkSafe/ www.worksafe.nt.gov.au www.worksafe.tas.gov.au

1300 366 979 02 6207 3000 1300 362 128 1800 136 089 13 10 50 1300 365 255 1300 307 877 1800 019 115 1300 366 322

www.actcancer.org www.cancercouncil.com.au www.cancercouncilnt.com.au www.cancerqld.org.au www.cancersa.org.au www.cancervic.org.au www.cancerwa.asn.au

(02) 6257 9999 (02) 9334 1900 (08) 8927 4888 (07) 3634 5100 (08) 8291 4111 (03) 9635 5000 (08) 9212 4333

Cancer Council Australia ACT NSW NT QLD SA VIC WA

2016 April Issue | 47

Standard Membership • Five postcode listings in our online directory • Work, Health and Safety Plan • Risk Assessment and Safe Work Method Statements • Incident Investigation Forms and Incident Investigation Form Register • Instant access to our pricing and estimating guides • Quotation guide to assist you when quoting • Personal service and phone advice • Web Listing for prospective customers to find you easily • Free targeted online marketing & advertising • Back-links to assist you in SEO rankings • Assistance with Debt Collection and Discounted Terms of Trade • Discounts on Courses • Painter Help section if you are looking for work or looking for painters to help