Pennsylvania Painting Intern Learns Management, Sales
Jul. 19–A few months ago, Nathan Lehman knew little about painting a house.
Now, Lehman, 19, of East Pennsboro Twp., is running his own painting business.
The sophomore engineering student at Penn State University is serving an internship this summer with College Works Painting. In addition to training and supervising two, two-man painting crews, Lehman is responsible for signing up customers and obtaining the materials needed for each job.
So far, he has booked more than $42,000 in house-painting and power-washing jobs in his service area on the West Shore. He hopes to reach $60,000 to $80,000 in production by the end of the summer.
The average painting job costs the customer $2,500. From that, Lehman has to pay his crew and pay for paint, materials and other expenses. College Works Painting provides insurance and workers’ compensation and guarantees the quality of the work performed.
Lehman’s pay is 20 percent to 30 percent of what remains after expenses.
On one job, Lehman’s crew was painting the trim and garage door on a brick house, matching the existing color with one coat of paint.
“This job is budgeted for 27 hours,” he said. “The crew earns $8 an hour, and they will get paid for 27 hours for this job, even if we finish sooner. That’s an incentive to complete this job and move on to the next one.”
Lehman said he earns more than he would on most summer jobs, and he enjoys the work more than his previous part-time job as a cashier in a grocery store.
“I’m my own boss and can set my own hours, we’re working out of doors, and I’m earning Penn State credits because it’s an internship,” he said.
“More important, I’m learning leadership, business and management skills. A lot of engineers lack actual business experience, so this will be more of an advantage to me than working at a supermarket,” Lehman added.
College Works Painting, based in Irvine, Calif., has been in business for more than 25 years and operates in 18 states. District manager Bill Ferst said the company focuses on developing its college interns as the successful young entrepreneurs of the future.
Lehman is one of 11 branch managers Ferst supervises.
“Nate is definitely one of my best managers,” Ferst said. “His work ethic is incredible, he is self-confident, and he is always striving to be the best he can be.”
Ferst said he has seen Lehman develop confidence in himself while improving his leadership and management skills.
“He’s a good manager and salesman, and his customers are very satisfied with the work his crews have done,” Ferst said.
Lehman said he never thought about running a small business until a clipboard was passed around in one of his college classes. It was a sign-up sheet for College Works Painting.
He signed up, went through a training program and spent his spring break doing marketing, handing out business cards and putting out yard signs.
Then he had to buy ladders, paintbrushes and other equipment and hire his crews. He owns the equipment and can use it again next summer.
“The ideal situation is to have two, two-man crews plus backup,” Lehman said. “I started with eight people and now employ six. I have to book the jobs, do the estimates and manage the crew.”
Lehman begins by selecting a neighborhood and driving down the street looking for houses that need to be painted. He then goes door-to-door, offering his services.
“I try to be friendly and outgoing, and I’ve found I’m good at booking jobs,” he said. “I’ve met a ton of great people, too.”
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