Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Turry.
Hi Ryan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started Headwaters Painting while still working behind a desk in the corporate world. I didnt grow up in or around the trades, but I have always had a deep desire to own and operate a business. I initially thought flipping houses would lead me to a path of entrepreneurship, so I graduated from the University of MN with a degree in Housing Studies and a concentration in finance and management. After dipping my toes in, I simply found that it wasn’t a good fit for me. So to “hold me over”, I worked as a financial advisor and investment consultant for a couple of years and, to no surprise of my own, I found that working behind a desk along with a deep desire to work with my hands, wasn’t compatible.
After many months of contemplation and research, it all kind of hit me that I should start a painting business. I had always enjoyed it and remember a variety of frustrations of working with contractors while flipping houses. I thought, “you know, I think I could really deliver a quality service at no expense of a quality experience.”
I was extremely fortunate, and to this day, still grateful, to have a boss at U.S. Bank that truly supported my vision and allowed me to take unpaid days off as needed in order to nourish the growth of my new business venture. Having that transparency and support was leverage in getting it off the ground…the support of my wife, Danie, was also pretty critical!
So I dove into this new passion – taking any job I could, learning a lot through YouTube, and connecting with some seasoned leaders in the industry. I worked “on the brush” by myself at first, then moved to having a couple of other employees painting alongside me, and have eventually been able to now “drop the brush” and actually work on the business in ways I really love. One of my favorite parts of operating Headwaters Painting is doing it alongside my Wife, Danie, who joined in 2018 after working almost 10 years in Special Education.
As all small business owners know, starting and continuing to operate a business comes with a lot of hard work, sacrifice, and setbacks, but I am truly eager to keep learning and growing through every good and bad experience on this journey.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not. It still isn’t. I started out thinking I knew exactly how my business was going to look and operate, where I would be in “X” amount of years, and mistakes I would never make. But, as in life, things change – we live and we learn through the highs and lows. Some of our struggles were business model related, some were financial, some of it was choosing to grow our family and have kids, some of it was inexperience.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a residential and small commercial painting company, offering interior and exterior painting services, as well as cabinet painting.
Our goal is to deliver a quality service, while providing a great experience from the beginning to the end. We strive to do this through strong communication, professionalism, transparency, and ease.
Headwaters Painting is family owned & operated, licensed & insured, we offer a warranty, and provide complementary color consultations.
Brand wise, we are proud of our reputation with both our clients and our team members. Many of our clients seem to know us via word of mouth/someone they know – which sets us up with a good foundation of trust. Or maybe they found us through social media and feel comfortable having seen us and our work there for a bit first. Are we the perfect packaged painting company? Nope!…But overall, we feel we convey pretty good transparency, vulnerability, and relatability through our brand – we are professional, but imperfect human beings trying to sustain and grow a business – why not convey that when we can?! We really love sustaining and growing our team through this same ideology.
We usually aren’t the cheapest company you will find for a project, and maybe we just aren’t a good fit for who or what you are looking for – we are ok with that! But our pricing is a reflection of our business, services, your peace of mind, and our team members. We try our best to make sure that both the client, and us, are comfortable and a good fit for every project to ensure a good experience.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Danie: it is probably spending many summers and weekends up at her family cabin with her siblings fishing, swimming, and exploring.
For Ryan, it is pretty straightforward – growing up playing with kids outside and being active in sports!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.headwaterspainting.com
- Instagram: headwaters_painting_llc
- Facebook: Headwaters Painting, LLC
