May 23, 2017

Meet Joshua Williams of J. Williams Painting

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Williams.

Joshua, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Having an artistic side and being a bit of a perfectionist have defined my personality for as long as I can remember. I learned work ethic from my father who spent over sixty hours every week managing a restaurant and thrift from my mother who couldn’t stand to see a penny wasted. At the age of 13 I started painting neighbor’s fences, bathrooms, and lawn furniture to supplement my weekly allowance. Taking a project from start to finish and making something as simple as an old picket fence look beautiful always instilled a sense of pride in me. I approached every project in the same fashion; this is going to look perfect, my neighbor is going to love it and I’m not leaving until both have been checked off the agenda. During my sophomore year of high school, my Uncle, a contractor well known for his fine-tuned artistic abilities, gave me the opportunity to work with him and his crew of exceedingly talented painters. For the following three summers I learned an incredible amount about the painting trade and important business skills. My uncle was very particular in his ways and everything he did in business followed an integrated system. Everything got done very effectively with little to no room for variance. He wasn’t always the easiest to work for but everything that he taught me from proper brush and roller technique to estimating and bidding managed to benefit my future. Being a teenager who was focused on girls and other extracurricular activities, I didn’t pay attention to his teachings as closely as I should have. But the steady 40 hours a week at 12.00 an hour allowed me to purchase my first truck (paint mobile) at the age of 17. My 1995 Pathfinder was my baby and it could carry all my paintbrushes, buckets, friends and surfboards. In 2010 it took my father, my family dog and I across the country to Knoxville Tennessee to meet my mom and little brother who moved a month prior. My family was fed up with the high cost of living in Southern California so they decided to give southern living a try. It was quite a culture shock for everyone. I then began to attend a local university. Having the opportunity to attend college is something I never took for granted & will always be thankful for. However, sitting in lectures listening to a professor talk without being able to get my hands on something and figure it out myself wasn’t compatible with my learning style. All I could think about was how I wish I paid better attention to my uncle when he tried to teach me business in the field. I lasted about two years in Tennessee until I was back on the Interstate 40 heading towards the place I love to call home; Redondo Beach. Upon arrival I didn’t have much to my name besides my dog and Pathfinder. However, I did remember the words of my uncle stating, “You can earn a living anywhere in the world”. I quickly began painting. My first year back I worked for my uncle and had the opportunity to “brush up” on my skills: pun intended. However, in that year he retired and decided to liquidate his business. He decided I wasn’t quite where I needed to be to run his operation and I did not take that decision personally. I had my first business cards made and started handing them out like candy on Halloween. I went to every paint and hardware store in the South Bay to hand them out. I targeted neighborhoods I wanted to work in and handed them out. I would try and steer every conversation I had towards telling people I’m a painter and handed them out. My efforts landed me small jobs like touch-up work & bathroom. I kept up the same efforts for another two years and the jobs slowly started getting larger & more frequent. Eventually I realized I needed my contractor’s license and insurance to continue my quest forward which took me about a year to attain. I also realized I wasn’t going to be able to do all the work myself and would need at least 2 experienced full time painters. By the grace of God I found two absolutely incredible painters by the names of Freddy & Henry; credit is given when deserved and they really deserve it. With a license number and insurance certificates in hand I started going after bigger fish. With every other lot in Hermosa/Manhattan/Redondo being developed, I started walking up to job sites and simply asking whoever was in charge if they need a good painter. Just so you know, I still do this and it is an incredibly effective form of marketing. Doing this was and still is slightly intimidating, but when you are genuine and able to back your talk up, people usually respond very well. My first large new construction job was a set of six custom condos in Redondo Beach. Talk about going fishing and hooking a whale. The project took me eight months to complete and forced me to scale up significantly in terms of manpower. There were some tough times and I can’t say that there weren’t moments I doubted myself. However the project was finished on time to high standards and everybody on board including the developer, designer and general contractor were absolutely stunned with the high level of detail and finish. This job was the equivalent to Noah’s Arch. This project and my continued “walk up marketing” efforts led to an abundance of new business. J. Williams Painting and its seven exquisite painters are on to their next set of projects and we couldn’t be more happy and grateful to be where we are today.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, the path an entrepreneur must take to find success is never smooth. There have been plenty of obstacles. Some have been financial, like not having the income and using your personal credit cards to pay your employees and other bills. Some are more personal, like finding yourself burnt out because you can never get your mind off work and be still even for a moment. I have encountered both. But you learn so much about yourself and what you are capable of along the way.

J. Williams Painting – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
J Williams Painting is a full service interior/exterior painting company capable of residential as well as commercial sized projects. We paint stucco, siding, trim, windows, doors, cabinets, bookshelves, decorative molding and a whole lot more. We also specialize in wood staining & high end finishes. We do work for homeowners who are willing to invest in a quality paint job and for general contractors, developers & designers. The company’s motto is “Quality Craftsmanship & Service” and everyone aboard understands this and practices it daily. We show utmost respect towards everyone and their property at all our job sites and are unwilling to cut corners in our preparation and painting practices. Nobody is perfect but at J. Williams Painting we sure try our best.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is happiness. So you have to figure out what really makes you happy as an individual which might take some soul searching. For some it’s monetary for others it’s spiritual. For me it’s a combination. I want stability and peace knowing I can provide for my future regardless of what the economy is doing but I also want to know that my work and presence has a positive impact on others in my community. I would love to start giving back in a meaningful way, still need some time to think about how I would do it. Perhaps start a non-profit painting company that goes into bad neighborhoods and paints over gang graffiti & tagging.

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