Found Most Useful

My Student Works Painting experience began when I unwittingly signed a clipboard in my Introductory Psychology course. Little did I know my life would change forever after that fateful day. I attended two info sessions, much like you. During said info sessions I listened as the host sputtered on about how if hired, this would be a life-changing experience.

When someone tells you something is going to be “life-changing”, it can be hard to intimately understand what they are saying. Hearing something is incomparable to experiencing something-and experience I did. I started door knocking and initially had a tough time. I didn’t love rejection 100+ times a session, but by persevering, I started to see a steady supply of leads come in, with many leading to estimates.

I continued to gruel through the work (door knocking, estimates, hiring, etc.) while also keeping my grades up in school to be admitted to the Haskayne School of business. It was tough, but I pushed through it, booking about 30k in the preseason. The shit hit the fan when production began. Despite the 70+ chaotic hours I worked a week in May, my problem was not with hitting production goals, but sustaining them. I struggled the whole summer booking enough work for my painters. It was sad to see the potential dollars not be produced. Booking as much as possible in the preseason is paramount to your full success in the summer as a Student Works Painting Franchisee. It gives you more time to refine your business and relax during production.

The job of Franchisee is not for the faint of heart. You will work harder than you ever have before. There will be bad days, there will be tears, but with a positive attitude you will succeed. I ended my business with $65,000 booked and produced- a respectable figure in the 2019 painting year. Profit was good, but it wasn’t the money that I found most useful after the fact- it was the experience. Sure $16,000 is a nice sum to make over a summer, but I would say I earned $100,000 in experience. Student Works gave me much more emotional intelligence. I learned to take nothing personally and to not let the actions of others affect me. It gave me compassion for the struggles of others, because now I too understood adversity.

Student Works taught me how to “make it”-it taught me the essence of the American dream. You will grow in one summer more than in all of high school. Is Student Works worth it? Only if you are strong-you will be eaten alive otherwise.

Good luck on your journey.