SUMMER JOB YIELDS FULL-TIME BUSINESS.

BUSINESS NAME: Elizabeth Street Painters

BUSINESS ADDRESS: 11456 Erwin St., North Hollywood, CA 91606

PHONE: [phone]

WEB SITE: www.elizabethstpainters.com

OWNER: Bill Moser

ESTABLISHED: 2003

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: Four

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS: We're a residential painting company that specializes in exterior wood restoration. We rebuild, restore and refinish wood decks.

IS THIS YOUR FIRST BUSINESS? Yes

WHY DID YOU START THIS BUSINESS? To work for myself. To control my own future and to succeed or fail based on my own efforts, and not be dictated by technology or market changes. The world will always need painting.

WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA? Based on what I liked to do in my spare time -- build and fix things around the house. I also used to paint in my summers during college. I never thought I could actually make a business out of it.

HOW LONG WAS IT FROM CONCEPT TO OPENING? One year.

WHAT DID YOU DO DURING THAT TIME? Remodeled some property, studied for my test and managed my accounts from my previous job.

WHAT WERE YOUR STARTUP COSTS AND HOW DID YOU FINANCE THE BUSINESS? About $10,000. I borrowed against the equity of my house.

WHO DID YOU RELY ON FOR ADVICE? The PDCA (Painting, Decorating Contractor's Association) and the VEDC (Valley Economic Development Center). Also anybody who had something of value to share. The manufacturer of wood-care products helped a lot.

WHAT HADN'T YOU CONSIDERED BEFORE OPENING? How much time would be consumed by production. Also that my wife might not understand the level of commitment that's involved in starting a business.

WHAT IS YOUR EXPECTED REVENUE THIS YEAR? $275,000.

WHAT GOALS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE COMPANY? To have my business work more on system and process, and build value as a company. To be worth something to someone else. Also, I'd like to involve real estate in our production -- buy and sell.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

(color) Bill Moser runs a sanding machine over a deck he is restoring as part of his business, Elizabeth Street Painters, an exterior wood-restoration company he began in 2003.