Consortiums, Associations, & High Society Blah, Blah

If you've been in the world of faux finish for long you might have figured out that some in the industry look at it and themselves as elitists. In a tough economy pomp and arrogance take a back seat to value, innovation, and quality. All that matters to people trying to sell their home that's taken a hit on value, or those who are trying to ride out the abyssmal housing market is that they get something that differentiates their house from others, but in a good and economical way. In terms of the faux finish business, the things to focus on now are not stroking each others' egos as much as it is coming up with sensible, client-oriented solutions. If I were a faux finisher short on business here are some things I would recommend doing.

1) Offer savings-based solutions such as cabinet refinishing, finishes on fireplaces, and altneratives for backplashes. You can still satisfy your clients' needs for something new and fresh. These can be really profitable for you as well.

2) Develop as many deep referral partners as you can. The nose in the air needs to come back down to earth. Some of your greatest business associates can be folks like cabinet makers, countertop companies, and carpenters.

3) Keep your organization lean. Spend any extra dollars on marketing. Again, don't let your ego get in the way of good sense. Deciding on renting a space for $3,000 a month or pocketing the profits should be a no-brainer. We are small business owners and one of our motivations (including great work, having fun, etc.) is to make a decent pay check. You and I are not General Motors. Our bail out plan is called elbow grease and some genuine low-budget creativity.

As always thanks for taking some time to check out our blog. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any other questions.

Ande the Faux Pro at it again!

Here are some pics from the latest job Ande finished in downtown Nashville. You gotta love this stuff.

More Private Lessons This Week

Ande the Faux Pro is at it again. She is about to wrap up the amazing faux finish project in downtown Nashville. Today is all about private cabinet refinishing lessons. Ben from Alabama is here learning how to do the really cool and marketable finishes that has won Ande the great reputation she has in Middle Tennessee and beyond. Anyone interested in private faux finishing lessons should call or email me, The Faux Guy, at thefauxguy@gmail.com. As always check us out online at www.mojofaux.com.

Private Lessons Take Faux Training To A New Intimate Level

When you try to learn anything there are tons of options. You can check out a book from the library. That's convenient, but impersonal. Videos and audio books are the same. You could also sit in a classroom. While this is great for hands-on and collaborative benefits you will also be in a class with other people. That can be a good or bad thing. Another option is to have someone train you one-on-one how to do something. That's what we are doing. My lovely and beautiful wife has been doing private lessons. Even though the investment is a little more than a live class you have the full attention of an expert. For more information on our faux finish services, training, and decorative painting products check us out at www.mojofaux.com.

New blood, new perspective

Like most people in our industry, we are always looking for the new angle on business. I am a firm believer in leveraging referral partner relationships to get leads. The fact is that over time if you keep dipping into the same well it can become dry. Becaus of all the information we get calling or emailing people too much can start to look a little too much like stalking. Today I got out of the box and went around to several businesses to meet new people and mix it up. With samples in hand the folks I met were warm and welcoming. I love meeting new people being a people collector. A few of them said that they have clients asking for our types of services. Now it's just time to nurture these relationships. This is just confirmation that when things get slow it's time to start marketing. As always check out our faux finish site when you get a moment.

A price comparison of new cabinets, refacing, refinishing, and training

There is so much information out there about everything. Finding good credible, reliable, and honest insight is tough. With regards to the options for kitchen cabinets it is high time that somebody cleared the air. Here's the deal.

New Cabinets
-Creates a huge mess
-Installation can take a long time
-Good only if your existing cabinets are way, way too far gone
-Costs $25,000 on the low end and goes much higher from there

Cabinet Refacing
-Provides a "cheap" alternative to getting new cabinets
-Can take a while to get installed
-Cost is usually between $12,000 and $20,000, but can go up from there

Cabinet Refinishing
-Little mess
-Projects are usually finished in 4 to 6 days
-Uses existing cabinet base
-Investment of only $3,000 to $5,000 for most kitchens

Cabinet Refinishing Class
-Same benefits as cabinet refinishing
-Can use finishes you learn to also transform kitchen vanities and furniture
-With Mojo Faux Finishes, total cost for class + supplies is only between $600 and $800!

As you can tell I am a fan of cabinet refinishing. For more info call or email us!

Faux finish dictionary. Funny stuff

So we live in the Nashville, Tennessee area. I thought it might be appropriate in the spirit of songwriting and punnyness to do a short series of terms that we have come up with that have the word "faux" in them. With the industry having such a stuffy reputation (not everyone, just some) this will give us permission to let our hair down and have some fun with this. The first word is:

Fauxcuss (fow-cuss): The obscenities one blurts out when one falls short of the desired finish one wishes to achieve. Example: I tried and tried to mimick the 48-layered look that my client said she wanted on her 54 vaulted ceiling. Despite my efforts everything I did fell short of it. In fact I was so angry that I began to fauxcuss, and just let it fly. Now I feel much better.

If you have any puns you'd like to share it would be great! Feel free to send them to me and we'll get them posted.