When you’re absorbed in the day-to-day work of running a painting business, it can be difficult to justify stepping away. Conferences and networking events in particular can easily start to feel like “nice-to-haves” compared with the estimates, customer requests, and job site issues demanding your attention right now.

But when you talk to contractors who have attended PCA events in the past, a different framework starts to emerge.

With several PCA events coming up this fall, including PCA Craftsmanship and Painting and PCA Residential in Nashville, PCA En Español and PCA Women in Paint in San Diego, and PCA Commercial in Asheville, we asked past attendees what they took home with them and whether the experience was worth the effort and expense of attending.

For some, the value of attending conferences and networking events comes from having a chance to step outside the business and look at it differently.

“PCA Commercial is one of the best conferences that I’ve ever been to,” said Dave Scaturro, vice president and director of people and marketing at Alpine Painting in Paterson, New Jersey. “As a commercial contractor, I really value sharing best practices, learning cutting-edge technology, and being able to step away from my business to think deeply about the challenges so that I come back re-engaged and apply the things that I learn to help our team.”

“I always leave the PCA conference with some gold nuggets,” said Australian contractor and entrepreneur Theo Vairaktaris. “Half the time they don’t even know that they’ve actually given me tips. It’s just in general discussion. I think, ‘Oh man, that’s a great idea.’ And I take it back home to Australia and implement it.”

Conversations like these can be particularly valuable for contractors confronting a new challenge or trying to take their business in a new direction.

Luis Rodriguez, CFO of Lifetime Custom Painting in Chula Vista, California, attended with a specific goal: learning how to expand his residential painting business into commercial work. “I’ve had a few buddies tell me how to do it,” he said. “But I feel like the best way to learn is from people who are actually doing it full-time.”

For Anna Mudd, owner of Anna Mudd Painting in St. Louis, joining PCA and attending events helped enable a broader transformation of her business. 

“I joined the PCA in early 2024 before the Orlando Expo, and I was already running a small business, but I tripled my revenue that year just from the professionalization – getting systems, getting a professional CRM in place,” she said. “And it made me feel connected to people in the industry by making friends and professional contacts with other painting contractors.”

And sometimes the biggest value is simply finding people who understand what you’re going through.

“If I had found the PCA Women in Paint event earlier in my life, it would have made a lot of things so much easier,” said Nicki Ramian, owner of Ramian Painting in Dover, New Hampshire. “Everything is in that one room – the support, the knowledge, and the connection. All of those I had to form over many years by myself, with a lot of trial and a lot of error. If you’re on the fence about attending, remember that there are ways to get scholarships. Reach out to paint stores, reach out to your paint reps, reach out to spray companies if you need any financial help getting here.”

If you’re thinking about attending your first PCA event, the question may not simply be whether you can afford the time away from your business. It may also be worth asking what ideas, relationships, and opportunities you could be missing by staying home.

Upcoming PCA Events

• PCA Craftsmanship and Painting | Nashville, Sept. 14–15
• PCA Residential | Nashville, Sept. 15–18
• PCA En Español | San Diego, Oct. 25–28
• PCA Women in Paint | San Diego, Oct. 25–28
• PCA Commercial | Asheville, Nov. 10–13