Julius Zsikla arrived in the United States in 1957 at the age of 19, too poor to have even a suitcase in hand. Little did the immigrant realize he would one day be a millionaire living in a palatial home in Port Washington with his wife and college graduate son.
Having only farming experience, Zsikla nevertheless took a job in 1957 as a house painter earning the less than enriching sum of $1 per hour. As astute as much as he was a hard worker, Zsikla was able to gain skill at the craft of painting and soon recognized the fact that few individuals get rich by working for others. It was 1960 when he decided to open his own painting company, Zsikla Painting & Wall Covering, Inc.
Zsikla Painting & Wall Covering, Inc., now employs between 6-16 employees per job and generates a gross income of between $450,000-$800,000 annually depending on consumer demand. The company boasts a variety of well-known clients like Dustin Hoffman, Saul Steinberg, and Tony Randall among other celebrities and public figures. Zsikla paints no more as the working CEO of the firm, but instead focuses on building good communication skills and rapport with clients. “It is very hard and stressful to make good connections and maintain them in order to get jobs in a highly competitive industry,” says the owner who underbid the competition to win contracts that helped build the company into a success.
Painting the homes of high profile clients is not always as glamorous as one might figure. Decorators, designers, and an array of sensitive and conflicting personalities often complicate the painting of a high-profile client’s home. From choosing just the right color to numerous last-minute changes, hysterics, impatience, and downright meanness often are included in the equation. While these high-profile jobs are good for company reputation and often quite lucrative, they are not often as profitable as one might expect. As Zsikla rel
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