Today we’d like to introduce you to Gary and Rachel Baker.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
(Gary) Have you ever found yourself walking down a path that you never envisioned possible, but everything about it feels like it was exactly where you were destined? That’s what Blessed Transformations feels like to us. Our company was born out of our passions colliding together in the most unorthodox but perfect way. I worked in contract painting for over 20 years as a secondary job, and my wife, Rachel had been designing rooms and decorating as a hobby for about ten years before we married. Little did either of us know that those experiences than would be the catalyst for our business now.
By the time we married in 2016, I had turned to quality assurance work full-time and my wife was working in finance. We bought our first house over two years ago and my wife literally re-designed our home the minute our key turned in the lock! She wanted to hire a company to come in and paint the house, but unbeknownst to her, I already knew I would handle the task. As I was painting the house, my wife was amazed at the quality and detail of my painting and encouraged me to get back into the painting business for myself this time, instead of working for someone else.
I had always dreamed of being an entrepreneur but never fully grasped what kind of business it would be, or when the time would be right to launch into the deep, so the idea of finally pursuing my dream was a daunting experience. However, I knew that the time was right when we landed our first customer without any advertising or even officially launching the business. Over the next few weeks, we wrestled to come up with a company name and business model that encompassed our love for color, creativity, and innovation and that is where Blessed Transformations was born. We have been fully operational since February 2018 and consistently growing ever since!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This journey has not always been smooth, especially being first-time business owners. We’ve faced many challenges as we began the business, but God has literally carried us every step of the way. Once we decided on our industry, the next step was to research our market and figure out the most effective way to promote our vision and draw customers. In a city where there are a million painting companies, we were the unknown, and in the beginning, we struggled to distinguish our company and our brand. We had to build up our business capital using the bootstrap method while navigating the costs of operational expenses. Who knew Purdy brushes weren’t cheap? LOL
Running this business forced us to confront our strengths and weaknesses, individually and as a couple. It also challenged us to work together as a husband and wife team, pushing past our comfort zones and personal limits. It’s all fun and games until someone forgets to send an invoice! (smile). Both of us work differently and we had to learn how to appreciate each other’s differences while coming together to get the job done!
Blessed Transformations – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Blessed Transformations is a family-owned painting company whose mission is to deliver quality, integrity & excellence in every job. We offer interior and exterior residential and commercial painting, faux finishing, interior decorating, and color and design consulting services.
We believe in the transformative power of color and the influence it has. Color has a way of being emotional and practical- color can affect how you feel when you enter a room, or it can help you recognize a brand or a company. Color has the ability to calm, invoke feelings of nostalgia, motivate you to action, or even bring healing energy when needed. In this journey we have met clients from all walks of life: needing a fresh start or a life reset, clients buying homes for the first time, or even businesses wanting to rebrand and spruce up their office space. With every client interaction, we want to harness those intentions and leave our clients with not just a finished project, but a blessed experience. We are best known for being able to capture the essence of our client’s wishes and bring them to life on the walls (and sometimes ceilings) LOL This is more than a job or a business to us, this is our ministry and we take that charge very seriously. Our faith influences our business and you’d be surprised the number of conversations that have started with a painting estimate, and ended with us being able to encourage and/or pray over a customer.
We are most proud of our craftsmanship and the reputation that we have built up among our clients. To date, we have operated largely on word of mouth and client referrals, and we are so blessed that people have given us their trust and their business. No job is too small and we believe our passion and attention to detail set us apart.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
(Gary) I personally measure success in the time spent doing things that I’m called to by God, as well as having time to spend with my family while pursuing my dreams. A few of the criteria that I feel is necessary for success include being able to consistently meet the needs of your clients, adapting to changes in the market or industry, being willing to constantly perfect your craft, learning new skills, not being afraid to ask for help or mentorship when needed, being able to manage the business finances to ensure a profit, and networking with other business owners to engage in the community, and expand your network of professional partnerships. It is so important to be fully knowledgeable about the products in your industry as well, for it allows you to offer more customized recommendations and stand out from other competitors.
(Rachel) For me, success is first defined by having the courage to step out on faith and start a business, especially when there are so many challenges to entrepreneurship. So many people are limited by their fear that they spend their life wishing and hoping, but never quite able to place action behind their dreams. Secondly, success is being able to hit the goals we set for our company, without feeling the need to measure up to or compare ourselves to other businesses who may be moving faster or slower than us.
It is also key to be able to formulate and articulate the vision and mission of your business (keeping it in the forefront of everything you do), identify who your client is and who it is not, be flexible and teachable to change procedures or processes if they are no longer working, be humble to understand that any business can thrive or be destroyed depending on its character and integrity and work ethic, always doing the right thing and staying prayed up for without God, none of this would be possible!
Contact Info:
- Address: 829 Gold Court
Acworth, GA 30102 - Phone: 470-553-0477
- Email: blsdtransformations@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Sheronica Barcliff
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