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If you’ve ever felt trapped between the brush and the books, this conversation will feel like a map out of the maze. We sit down with Cui of Paramo Painting in San Antonio to trace his path from chaotic early days to a focused, people-first business powered by servant leadership, job costing, and simple, repeatable processes. The turning point wasn’t a hack—it was humility. Honest feedback pushed him to stop muscling through and start building a company that serves both customers and the crew.

We dig into the guts of operations: how job costing exposes hidden leaks in labor and materials, why clear work orders reduce rework, and how a tight sales-to-production handoff sets crews up to win. Cui shares how he defined core values, set standards for behavior and appearance on site, and used those standards to hire and part ways—because culture is what you tolerate. Delegation emerges as the hardest skill for a craftsman-founder to learn. Handing “the baby” to someone else is scary, but Cui shows how to give trust early, offer a roadmap, and coach through feedback loops so the team can handle repeat clients without founder dependency.

Education and community accelerated the climb. From PCA events and PCA Español to audiobooks and frameworks like StoryBrand, Cui built a learning habit that shifted instincts from reaction to design. We explore when it’s right to stay small by choice, and what it takes to scale with intention: consistent job costing, clear scopes, values-driven hiring, and scheduled time to mentor your leaders. Problems don’t go away; they move upstream as you solve them—so treat each one as a chance to make the business stronger and more profitable.

Ready to run a company, not just a crew? Press play, grab a notebook, and pick one system to build this week. If this helped, follow the show, share it with a contractor friend, and leave a quick review so more painters can profit from their work.