Here’s what we’ll cover:
Table of Contents
For Youth Organizations Considering a Professional, Turnkey Lining Partner
Are you tired of…
- volunteering days or weekends of personal time struggling to paint your fields, only for it to be not quite straight, square or exactly where you wanted it?
- the distress caused from arriving at your field only to realize the volunteers never showed up to paint the lines, and now your corners are gone?
- the aggravation of recruiting, scheduling and training parent volunteers who never seem to paint straight lines, or show up when they said they would?
- the cost and management of buying paint, which has a limited supply, and the daily maintenance and cleaning of your equipment?
- anxiety caused by your coaches and parents complaining about poorly painted or fading lines at your next home game or tournament?
- If any of the above situations immediately cause PTSD, it’s time to consider outsourcing your lines to a turnkey, third party professional painting service like ours.
Many club directors think, “Man, that sounds expensive.” The truth is, it’s probably more economical than you think. Think about the stress, anxiety and liability our service can save, coupled with the additional value of professional, bright, straight lines every time. You’ll be surprised to find you’re usually coming out ahead… with a good night’s sleep too 🙂
To be fully transparent, can we compete with free or volunteer labor? The short answer is no. If you have a great volunteer crew, you’re lucky! But if you struggle with volunteers, non-committal parents, machine’s breaking down, low paint supply, and the other aforementioned issues, keep reading.
There are numerous factors that impact the price for a seasonal line painting service. They include: the number of fields, the sizes of each field (i.e. regulation vs. small-sided, think 9v9, 7v7 or 4v4), painting cadence, length of the season, paint colors, etc. Knowing these numbers will help us provide you with an accurate estimate.
But for budgeting next season, a generally safe number to budget with is $20 per player for the season. If your soccer club has 300 players next season, a very rough budget number would be $6,000 (300 x $20), which covers a fully professional, turnkey, painting service for the entire season. And in many instances, we can beat this number.
If you have time, take five minutes to complete the below budgeting exercise. It will clarify not only your organization’s actual costs, but also the additional hidden costs of which you may not be aware.
For an accurate quote next season, request a free quote on our website and our team will be happy to help right away.
Budgeting Exercise:
Part 1: Real Costs
To better understand where you’re at today, in the DIY scenario, first, let’s assess your real costs – your annual paint expenses. Write these down:
Taking a look at last year’s budget, what did you pay for paint last year? Spring Season $___________ (1)
Fall Season $___________ (2)
Total Paint Expense: $___________ (3) = 1+2
What, if anything, did you pay for labor? Total Labor Expense $___________ (4)
Did you replace a painting machine or will you need any new equipment in the near future? Equipment Expense $___________ (5)
Total Painting Expenses: $___________ (6) = 3+4+5
Part 2: Hidden Costs
Now, let’s consider some of your non-monetary, or hidden costs. These costs are the actual cost of lost time, aggravation, or time that could be spent doing something else – write these down:
“Free” Labor Cost:
Cadence – how often are you painting? Are you painting weekly, every 10-days or every other week? _________
How many hours does it take to paint your field(s) each time?
# of people: ____ x # of hours _____ = Total Labor Hours: ______
What is a fair hourly rate for your time if you were getting paid? $______/hr
Multiply these two for a projected Labor Expense per painting: $_________
Multiply this by the # of paintings a season: $_________
Scheduling/Management:
How many hours do you spend each month recruiting, training, coordinating and scheduling volunteers: _______ x 12 months = _______
Other Hidden Costs to Consider
How many trips to Home Depot, Lowe’s or other hardware stores to buy paint? What would you pay to not have to search or find paint anymore?
How many complaints did you receive about your lines this season from coaches or parents?
How many times has a machine broken down, needed a new carburetor, new hose, or spray nozzle?
What would your organization pay to make all this aggravation go away? $____________
Part 3: Benefits of a Painting Partnership
Lastly, add the totals from Parts 1 and 2. What does it equal? $_________
Now, consider you have a painting partner. Your only responsibility is signing a preseason contract for a regular cadence of paintings. We automatically schedule around the weather, and follow your mowing schedule.
Week in and week out, we use professional grade contractor paint – the same stuff used by the NFL and NCAA, and the latest machine technology (GPS Robots and Graco LineLazers) to deliver bright, straight, crisp lines. We communicate as needed with the client, but otherwise the partnership is seamless and stress free and you never have to paint another line again. All your scheduled visits, invoices and payments live in one easy to use client portal. Your coaches, parents and competitors compliment you that your fields look beautiful.
What is that worth to you? $________
Add Sections 1, 2 and 3 and what’s the total? $________
Consider including this number in next season’s budget and see what your board says. We’re happy to help provide real numbers for your organization anytime by requesting a quote. Good luck with your budgeting!