By: Patricia Seaton
I was introduced to College Pro Painters in a first year chemistry lecture. I remember a student came into the lecture hall advertising a job that offered the opportunity to “work outdoors, make lots of money and be your own boss”… at least those are the highlights of the 30 second announcement that I remember. I had worked at a golf course during my summers throughout high school earning minimum wage and had made nowhere near enough money to pay for university. Throughout the College Pro interview process, I was forewarned of the challenging road that lay ahead—by the general managers that interviewed me and by senior franchise managers that I contacted to gain insight into their experiences. I never thought twice about how “hard” this summer job might be, with plans to pursue professional school and the opportunity to become financially independent for the next school year, I had already made up my mind.
Perhaps that was a bit of a naive oversight on my part, because that first summer with College Pro Painters was definitely the hardest thing I had ever done. There were so many “firsts” for me that summer—the first employee I interviewed, the first 40 foot ladder I climbed, my first 70 hour work week, my first production vehicle that died, etc. It was a challenging summer physically, mentally and emotionally, but the magnitude of the challenges corresponded to the magnitude of the rewards. In that first summer I learned some invaluable life skills such as how to communicate with customers, lead a team of painters and effectively manage my time, just to name a few. I made good money and having had overcome so many challenges over the course of the summer I felt better equipped to graciously accept future challenges and apply what I’d learned to improve my performance in the future. After one summer, I knew I had only uncovered the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the College Pro Painters experience had to offer me, so I returned the next summer…and the summer after that…and ended up running a College Pro franchise for five summers.
I would definitely recommend the unique College Pro Painters opportunity to any student looking to work hard and put in the effort in order to reap the rewards that this challenging experience has to offer.
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