Meet Sara Anderson | Founder, The Paintress

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Anderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, we’d love to hear about a book that’s had an impact on you.
Never Broken by Jewel. I love how she creates her own opportunities. Like having a fundraiser to get herself into college. Most people wouldn’t do that. She’s also very into mindset shift. Like when she was homeless and started literally opening doors for people. They were grateful and it reminded her that she has something to give, even when she was broke. Now, she’s figuratively got nearly any door open to her.

She opened doors for others. I’m painting doors (& walls, ceilings, trim, & brick) for others until I open the front door to my own off grid sustainable home.

What should our readers know about your business?
For my first business, I wanted to already know the work by heart so I could focus on learning to have a business rather than learning the work itself. I asked myself what I could do well right now that people will pay me for. The answer didn’t come right away.

Shortly after, my friend asked if I would paint their kitchen. I did, and when I was done, she said, “Those lines are perfect. You’re really good at this.”

“I know,” I said.

I’d forgotten.

I started moonlighting as an interior painter. Two months later, 190 employees were laid off from my minimum wage cubicle job, including me. The Paintress was born.

What I’d forgotten:

When I was a kid, my mom was a realtor and had the idea for my parents to flip houses. She has a knack for visualizing the potential in a fixer-upper and knowing what to do financially and construction-wise to make it a functional cozy home. You can thank my mom for the clean lines I paint in your project space. She’s the one who taught me.

My dad retired as a certified welder & quality assurance inspector after 40 years at the 2nd largest worldwide manufacturer of digger derricks and aerial devices. As a kid, his dad would holler up the stairs at him and his brothers at 6am saying, “Get up! Those cows aren’t going to milk themselves.” Five to six days a week during my childhood, his dad’s voice was now replaced by a buzzing alarm clock which would go off down the hall from my room. 4am was the new 6am. He’d get up and go to work for 8-12 hours a day. I respect and admire my dad’s work ethic, but I just wanted that alarm clock to croak. It was trying to interfere with me being late for school.

Had the man whose voice was replaced by an annoying buzzing alarm clock have his own rendition of the alarm clock or was it something else that motivated him to get up in the morning? Turns out, he’d owned his own roofing company. And his dad and uncle were partners in a blacksmithing business.

I wonder if he’d had a 9-5 instead of a roofing business, if he’d have slept in until the last minute like I did at my cubicle job. All I know is I get up much easier since I started The Paintress, no alarm necessary.

I had to remember and value what my mom taught me to start The Paintress. Realizing that I’m the descendent of multigenerational skilled trade work entrepreneurs made sense. After I help enough people turn their house into a home through painting, I’ll be able to create my own home. So, by remembering my roots, I’m creating my home.

Little known fact:
I chose deep red as The Paintress’ main brand color because red is associated with the root chakra.

I’m pretty frugal these days. I don’t eat out, and I live with my head-butting tree climbing bus kitty extraordinaire, Echo in a bus I transformed into an RV. My goals are to pay off my student loans, save up for and buy land to build my off-grid sustainable home, and help other women become financially stable as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d take her to Desert Reef hot springs and stop at Dad’s Donuts on the way. And the way back!

I’d cook her breakfast with food from Nude Foods. Then, we’d eat at Onefold, Wonderyard Garden + Table, Zeal, Kalita Grill Greek Cafe, True Food Kitchen, Aloy Thai Cuisine, China Gourmet, Pasta Press, Rush Bowls, Piece, Love & Chocolate, and High Point Creamery every day!

Then we’d go tour any historic haunted building possible and hang out at Verb Coffee Roasters. Obviously, Taylor Tomlinson would have added Boulder to her tour schedule the same week my friend came to visit. So, we’d check her out at [insert Boulder venue Taylor Tomlinson likes here].

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
-The SBDC & SCORE for their mentorship and free classes
-Jess, for asking me to paint her kitchen and showing me how to be a good friend
-My mom for encouraging me through the grueling bus build
-My dad for cheering me on when I hit a grand slam as a kid
-Ferdy.com for teaching me how to make my website

Website: https://www.thepaintress.net

Instagram: @thepaintress

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepaintress