My name is Jordan and I have run a student works painting franchise for 3 years. I go to Simon Fraser University and prior to this job, I had no clue about painting, running a business or what this job would entail. The opportunity sold itself to me in the sense that there was the potential to make enough money for me to go to school which was very important. I jumped at the opportunity and was luckily hired to run a franchise in my hometown of Richmond.

As soon as I got hired, I received well written books that went in to depth about all the aspects of the job. I also had a district manager that I trusted and could call if I had any questions. I felt very confident after reading the material that I could actually do this, and do well at it. After the hands on training weekend in January, I couldn’t wait to get started.

Once getting started in February, I found out how tough it was going to be. Marketing in the early months can be hard because people don’t necessarily think that far in advance but the few that did definitely gave me the boost of confidence that I needed. After securing some work during the preseason, school ended and the real job was about to begin.

This job was unbelievable. I was able to hire my friends from high school, source leads through my friends and family and their friends and families, decide how to market my business, as well as make more than enough money for school and then some. After running the franchise for my first year I learned so much about myself and others in terms of managing people, setting goals and budgets, time management, stress levels, teamwork, customer satisfaction and it really gives you that hands on approach to all the aspects of running a real life business that you only learn about in school.

I then signed back for a second, third and now a fourth year because this job has changed me just as much as going to school has. I have not only learned more about life and business through this job (probably more than in school) but I have accomplished something. Not many people can say that they have run a summer business that has generated over $80,000 in sales. Not many people can say that in the last 3 summers they have collected over $325,000 in cheques for jobs that they went out and found, along with made sure that they were completed efficiently.

This job however is not a walk in the park. It is definitely challenging with late nights, stressful situations, miscommunications, unruly clients, and the odd paint spill. But that is part of the definition of life (minus the paint spills). Everyone needs to overcome hardships to succeed and the only way to succeed is to work hard and put effort in to whatever task is at hand. So I encourage you to take a chance, try to accomplish something great this year, work hard at it, make a lot of money, and succeed.

Best of luck,

Jordan Kipnes