Most painting companies sell paint jobs. Artisan Painting sells an experience, and its owners learned how in the restaurant industry.
On this episode of the Shoemaker Podcast, Dane and Morgan sat down with Mike and Jon, co-owners of Artisan Painting. Now in their 12th year, and coming off the recent win of Business of the Year by Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, the company handles interior and exterior painting, kitchen cabinets, wallpaper, epoxy floors, drywall repair, and home care services, positioning itself as a one-stop shop for homeowners.
What makes their story stand out is not the services list. It is the mindset behind it.
From restaurant managers to business owners
Mike and Jon met while managing restaurants. Jon grew up in the trades, painting alongside his father and grandfather, but went to school for hotel and restaurant management and spent seven years in the industry. As a young dad of two working constant nights and weekends, he realized early that he was missing too much. He went back to his roots in painting.
Mike had an 18-year restaurant management career that, by his own account, was successful but left room for little else. When he started asking what came next, he looked at a group of friends who were already running a painting business. They realized each of them had skills the others could use. Mike left his career, spent a summer working hourly to learn the trade, and the group rebranded. Artisan Painting launched in October 2014.
The motivation was simple: work-life balance. Jon says he never missed his kids’ games or recitals, and he later traveled to watch two of them play in college. Now Mike, father to a two-year-old, gets the same flexibility. That value is built into how they run the business for their team, too.
They are honest that owning a business is not stress-free. As Mike puts it, the buck stops with you. But the autonomy to decide what matters is what made the leap worth it.
The hospitality difference
“Painting is the service we offer, but the product is really how you feel about it,” Mike explains. Just as a restaurant can serve a great meal and still deliver a bad experience, a painter can do good work and still leave a homeowner frustrated.
Artisan focuses on the experience from the first phone call:
- Easy to reach. Someone answers and responds.
- Transparent pricing. Costs are spelled out up front, with nothing hidden.
- Clear communication. Clients know where they stand in the schedule and when the crew will arrive.
- Familiar faces. The people who sell the job stay involved, backed by project managers who follow up.
On site, the details matter. Floor protection starts at the car. Crews bring in the trash cans, grab the newspaper, and let the dog out if asked. For kitchen cabinet projects, where they may be in a home for close to a week, they learn the household routine and work around it.
Jon shared a story from before Artisan: a client badly cut her finger while making the crew lunch. One painter drove her to the emergency room while the other stayed with her two-year-old. It is an extreme example, but it shows the level of trust they aim for. Your home is personal, and the people working in it should be people you trust.
As Jon puts it, they are not a “splash and dash” company. They want to be called back, and they want the next generation of clients too.
What homeowners are investing in right now
Mike and Jon see three trends driving their work.
Wallpaper is back. It started with accent walls and has grown to full rooms and even ceilings. This is not your grandmother’s floral print. Today’s papers are higher quality, heavily textured, and installed differently. Artisan partners with local designers who bring deep catalogs, which helps clients make confident choices.
Kitchen facelifts instead of full renovations. Painted cabinets, new countertops, and a new backsplash can transform a kitchen for around $20,000, compared with $100,000 or more for a full remodel.
Epoxy floors beyond the garage. Basements and outdoor patios are now popular, with finishes ranging from metallics to full broadcast coats.
The bigger theme, Jon says, is protecting what you already own. With a tight real estate market keeping many people in place, homeowners are investing in their current homes. Heading into winter, Artisan encourages clients to run through a fall checklist so small issues don’t become big ones by spring.
And if a client needs something Artisan doesn’t do, Jon’s goal is to find someone who does. Being a resource means rarely having to say no.
Growing through relationships, not ads
Like many small businesses, Artisan spent its early years throwing darts at marketing: print, social media, online ads. Then they found structured networking through BNI, with weekly meetings and one-on-ones that let members confidently refer each other.
Mike saw that Jon had the personality for it, so they split the work. Mike carries more of the day-to-day operations, and Jon focuses on building relationships. Over the last four years, Jon has become one of the most recognizable people at local networking events. When he meets someone, his first question is who they need to meet, and then he walks them across the room to make the introduction.
“The goal now is to be a connector, not a networker,” Jon says. The approach has paid off. Today nearly all of Artisan’s marketing spend goes to networking memberships and events, with only a small amount on Facebook ads. Their ribbon cutting drew a huge turnout because, in Jon’s words, he shows up for people and they show up for him.
Jon credits the partnership. Most tradespeople can’t step away from job sites to build a network, which is why the trades are underrepresented in these groups. Splitting roles gave Artisan an edge.
Mike ties it back to the work itself: you don’t just want the first paint job, you want the next one. Relationships keep giving.
Takeaways for business owners
- Your service is not your product. The product is how customers feel about working with you.
- Build for the next job. Repeat clients and referrals are worth more than a quick sale.
- Play to your strengths. A partnership that frees one person to build relationships can change a business.
- Double down on what works. Artisan stopped guessing at marketing and committed to the channel that delivered.
- Give before you ask. Leading with introductions builds a reputation that sells for you.
Watch or listen to the full episode
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Episode chapters
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | Intro |
| 00:14 | Meet Mike & Jon of Artisan Painting |
| 00:59 | Bringing hospitality into home services |
| 01:27 | Jon’s story: from the restaurant industry back to the trades |
| 02:34 | Mike leaves an 18-year restaurant career to launch Artisan |
| 03:47 | Choosing entrepreneurship for work-life balance |
| 05:20 | The real risks and rewards of working for yourself |
| 07:04 | What sets Artisan apart: a relationship business |
| 08:15 | The hospitality difference: communication, transparency, experience |
| 10:02 | Earning trust inside clients’ homes |
| 12:00 | What’s trending: wallpaper, kitchen facelifts, epoxy floors |
| 12:57 | Protecting the home you already own |
| 13:58 | The wallpaper comeback and working with designers |
| 14:59 | Being a resource for clients |
| 15:38 | How Artisan grew: from marketing guesswork to networking |
| 17:50 | Becoming a connector, and the partnership behind it |
| 19:49 | Putting the marketing budget into networking |
| 21:13 | Where to find Artisan Painting |
Connect with Artisan Painting
Visit artisanpaintingllc.com or find them on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. You can also stop by their shop on Painter Street in Media, PA, where the epoxy floor is worth seeing in person.
About the Shoemaker Podcast
The Shoemaker Podcast features business owners in the Greater Philadelphia area sharing their stories, lessons, and what makes their businesses different. It is produced by Shoemaker Films, offering video production, podcasting, social media, and advertising services.