Zach Dennis started with UFCP in 2020 as a Franchise Manager in Moncton, New Brunswick. He’s headed into his fourth year as a Franchise Manager with UFCP. Zach is in his fourth year of a Business Administration degree with a major in Accounting at the University of New Brunswick. Once he finishes at UNB, he hopes to own his own business that he can grow to a seven-figure revenue across multiple cities. After three successful years with UFCP, Zach plans to be one of the leading managers nationally for UFCP in 2024.
Q: How does a typical day start?
“My day will usually start with a 6:00am wake up. I have breakfast and get to the paint store around 7:00am. I’ll pick up any paint or materials my team needs for the day and get those dropped off as soon as possible. I’ll get my guys set up for the day, and if they’re good to go, I’ll get away to get some estimates done, follow up with clients, or finish up any other admin work that might have to be done. Depending on the day, my marketers might be going out so it’s important that I touch base with them and confirm their times and routes.”
Q: What happens when the day/job is done?
“Once my painters wrap up a site, they’d do a walk around the site themselves, then with the customer. If things look good, they’d let me know. I’ll then come over to do my final walk around with the customer. Once we get the customer’s approval, the gear gets loaded into the van and moved to the next site.”
Q: What do you like to do after work? (Hobbies, school, etc.)
“I like to get outside when I can; hiking, camping, kayaking, going to the beach, things like that. I like to get out for any exercise when I have the time. If I can find an hour or two in the middle of the work day that isn’t extra busy, I’ll get away for a walk with the girlfriend. I’ll try to stay away from video games; I’m a really competitive guy and I find my energy is best spent working towards the revenue leaderboard instead!”
Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of running your own painting business?
“Self-improvement, by far. Every year I look back on the improvements I’ve made in my life and there’s always areas I’ve seen a huge difference. At UNB, we do this test called the Iliad Assessment; it measures our business skills and compares them to the rest of the business school students. In my first year, my scores were pretty average. I joined UFCP in my second year, and since then, my scores have gotten way better… My biggest change was in communication, I scored 99th percentile this year. I’ve started every summer with UFCP with a new set of goals and skills to work on…”
Q: What was your biggest learning curve in running your painting business?
“Organizational skills have been a huge one… in high school I was a stuff my papers in the school bag kind of guy. Getting into running a business whose success was dictated so much by being organized and on top of stuff meant I had to get on top of my organization skills quickly. Speaking more confidently when I was interviewing and training my employees was another big curve. You’re going into a completely new industry that you might not have much experience in… we have to work really hard to be super knowledgeable about every part of the business so our guys are confident about their choice to come work for us. On that topic, I guess it’s also important to realize that you’re going into an industry that you might not have much experience in and you don’t know everything. You’re constantly going to be learning new things as you’re run into obstacles and building a better business… that’s really a big thing to realize early on.”
Q: What was your favorite experience/moment/story with UFCP/running your business?
“Getting a five star review always feels good, any good customer feedback feels good really. You know you’re offering a good service to your customers. I’m really particular about my work, and sometimes I’d finish up a job and not feel like it was my best work, or we spend a bit longer on site than expected, but then you see how happy the customer is and it turns all of that around. Getting feedback from customers or employees about how you can do better is great because you need to hear that kind of stuff to make your whole operation run better…”
Q: What advice would you give to yourself if you were starting your first summer with UFCP again?
“It can be really intimidating starting this job. I’d tell myself to not be scared that the work won’t be there when you go out to find it… don’t be worried that you won’t have employees in time for producing the work… You’re responsible for both of those things, but don’t be intimidated by that fact. You need to put in the work for both of those things to work together. It takes some time but you’ll find the work, you’ll find those great employees, you’ll finish those jobs…”
Q: Has anything you’ve learned with UFCP benefited you outside of work?
“I’m a lot more confident and outgoing in general. I feel like I can walk down the street and pick up a conversation with anyone. I never was a huge extrovert, but I can be a lot more interactive with people, speaking with people I don’t know or public speaking has become a lot easier. That’s something that a lot of people in our generation don’t get much of… We’re all really good at written communication because of the nature of how we spend our time on social media and online, we’re not out interacting with each other as much, but I feel like UFCP has definitely bridged that gap between written and verbal skills for me.”
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