The greatest lesson that I have learned by far has to be from Darren, my District Manager from Student Works Painting. As a full-time franchisee of SWP this summer, I had to do numerous estimates on exterior and interior paintjobs. As a first year rookie franchisee, there was much for me to learn. I had to learn from how to properly do a precise estimate to building rapports with various clients. Of course, learning is a long process and I had alot of questions for my DM and my veteran peers. I still remember on my very first estimate, I did not know what kind of paint should be applied onto an interior stipple ceiling. At the time, I knew it was either a interior flat paint or an interior semi-gloss finish. However, I wasn’t 100% sure with which type of finish I should write down on the contract. Then, I tried calling my district manager to confirm with my decision but he did not pick up so I left a message. Because time was running short, I put down a sem-gloss finish on the client’s clients but I was still unsure. After the estimate, I called Darren again and found out that a flat finish should be applied to interior stipple ceiling in order to hide the inperfection of stipples. At first, I did not realize the magnitude of the issue. The estimate of the paintjob was around two thousand dollars and it would be extremely improfessional if I contact the client to tell him that a different type of paint should be applied to his stipple ceiling than the one listed on the agreement. Darren told me that it is mandatory for me to inform my client that a different paint will be used on his ceiling despite it will lower my chances of booking the job. I did what I was told and called my client right away. I did not book the job in the end but I knew I did the right thing. Afterall, the first step to run a successful business is to run a honest business.