At just 25 years old, Ricardo Herrera has already experienced the highs, mistakes, uncertainty, and responsibility that come with building a painting company from the ground up.

On Episode 136 of Workforce Skills with John Morris, Ricardo joins John for a candid conversation about entrepreneurship, leadership, hiring, knowing your numbers, social media, and what it actually takes to turn a trade into a business.

Ricardo started painting when he was 12, formed his LLC after graduating high school, and by 20 decided to stop working for other people and go all-in on his own company. But his perspective on entrepreneurship has changed dramatically since those early days.

Five years ago, Ricardo would have told almost anyone to start a business. Today, his advice is very different: if you’re doing it just for the money, don’t do it.

John and Ricardo compare two very different sides of the painting industry—Ricardo’s residential business and John’s commercial operation—and discover that many of the challenges are exactly the same.

They discuss underbidding jobs, job costing, hiring friends and family, building a company culture, pre-qualifying customers, dealing with cash flow, getting licensed and insured, using social media to generate work, and learning how to lead employees who depend on you for their livelihood.

Ricardo also shares what his first year in business really felt like: having employees to pay while sometimes having no idea where the next project would come from.

John shares his own journey from doing side jobs as “John the Painter” to building PHP Commercial Painting, along with the lessons learned from mistakes, growth, technology, training, and scaling a company.

This isn’t a conversation about getting rich quick. It’s about what happens after you decide to bet on yourself—and the responsibility that comes with building something bigger than you.

In this episode: • Ricardo’s journey from painting at 12 to owning a company at 25 • Why entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone • The fear of not knowing where the next job will come from • Residential vs. commercial painting • Why underbidding can destroy a growing contractor • Knowing your real labor, material, vehicle, and job costs • Hiring employees—and hiring friends and family • Using social media to attract customers and employees • Pre-qualifying customers before wasting time on estimates • Cash flow and the realities of waiting to get paid • Learning from failure instead of hiding from it • Why being a great painter doesn’t automatically make you a great business owner • John’s goal of taking PHP Commercial Painting to another level

If you’re thinking about starting a business—or you’re already in the middle of building one—this episode offers a realistic look at what entrepreneurship actually demands.

Stay hungry.

At just 16 years old, Ty Wade was sentenced to 30 years in prison with no possibility of early release. For the first decade of his sentence, he had little hope of ever coming home.

Then a letter from his mother changed the direction of his life.

In Episode 135 of Workforce Skills, John Morris sits down with Ty to talk about the decisions, discipline, education, and small victories that transformed his life. Ty shares how he went from repeated trouble and 23-hour lockdown to earning a college degree with honors, teaching programs inside prison, helping others through his artwork, and ultimately earning his release five and a half years early.

Today, Ty works at New Freedom, where he teaches framing, carpentry, workforce development, and—more importantly—helps men and women learn to believe in themselves and build a different future.

John and Ty discuss what real rehabilitation looks like, why people sometimes sabotage their own success, the importance of accountability, replacing destructive survival skills with productive ones, and why changing someone’s life takes more than simply teaching them a trade.

They also discuss the power of small victories, becoming 1% better every day, and one simple rule Ty gives his students: decide what you will not do when life gets difficult.

Ty’s final message is equally simple:

Ask for help.

There are people willing to help—but you have to be willing to ask.

🎙️ Workforce Skills with John Morris Episode 135 | Featuring Ty Wade

PHP Commercial Painting is landing jobs at a pace John Morris has never seen before—and he says it isn’t because of one big change. It’s the result of two years of rebuilding systems, embracing technology, implementing AI, developing people, and refusing to accept “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

In Episode 134 of Workforce Skills, John talks about why he believes the painting industry—and business in general—has become stagnant. Too many companies keep doing the same things, chasing the same leads, using the same processes, and expecting different results.

John wants something different.

PHP has built its own CRM, developed its own estimating and takeoff technology, integrated AI into its workflow, created sales and follow-up systems, established KPIs and incentive structures, and is preparing to expand beyond Arizona. The goal isn’t simply to become a bigger painting contractor. John wants to help change the way the industry operates.

But technology and systems only solve part of the problem.

As the work pours in, the next challenge is finding people in the field who take pride in what they do—painters who can produce, work efficiently, deliver quality, and want to become better every day.

John also challenges employees and leaders to stop thinking only about hourly wages and start thinking about value. If you want the next position, train someone to replace you. If you want to make more money, become more valuable. If you want your company to grow, stop repeating what worked yesterday and start experimenting with what could work tomorrow.

And something much bigger is coming.

John says PHP is preparing to “throw a grenade in the middle of Phoenix” with an announcement coming next week involving two new team members and the next stage of the company’s growth.

In this episode:

• Why PHP is currently landing multiple contracts a day • How AI and technology are changing commercial painting • Why John believes the painting industry has become stagnant • Building systems that can scale into multiple states • Why PHP isn’t pursuing a franchise model • The importance of sales follow-up, KPIs, and incentives • Why great employees should train their replacements • Taking pride in your work regardless of your position • Becoming 1% better every day • Why change requires experimentation—and failure • Finding painters who combine quality with productivity • Creating a culture where employees bring ideas to the table • Why loving what you do eventually becomes bigger than the paycheck • A preview of the major PHP announcement coming next week

Stop waiting for the industry to change.

Be the change.

Stay hungry.