Painting & Staining

Wallpapering

Wallcovering

Wallpaper Removal

It's 7 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, and all the employees at Fitzgerald Painting, Inc., in Old Saybrook, CT,are gathered for a 'Super Tuesday' brainstorming and planning session. Displayed on the office wall are the bold letters TGIT Thank God It's Today'reminding each of them to enjoy and optimize this day in all aspects of their work. President Charles (Chuck) Fitzgerald Jr. uses these weekly 40-minute meetings to encourage and energize his 'team.' He reminds them that running a successful painting and decorating business is about a lot more than knowing how to achieve results with a paintbrush. It's about careful planning, enthusiastic service and the desire to 'do whatever it takes' to ensure that each job is done to the client's complete satisfaction. While he was a college student in New Hampshire, Chuck painted his way through the summers in Old Saybrook. He remembers the advice from his father, an accomplished salesman, during those years: 'If you want to be successful, study the people who are successful. You'll find a lot of common denominators there.' What Chuck also found were the common pitfalls that derail many small businesses: lack of understanding of the needs of others and poor planning. Later, armed with accounting and management skills, he developed a business strategy for the company he founded in 1987. Chuck firmly believes that success in the service sector of the market is dependent upon a good basic knowledge of people's needs and expectations. 'In this business,' he says, 'you succeed by helping others both employees and clients'get what they want.'