Mark Brookner worked at the Lynchburg Foundry for eighteen years before finding work as a material handler at Mar-Bal in Dublin.  Mar-Bal is a manufacturer of electric insulators, and Mark worked there till he was laid off from his third shift job in 2007.  As it turns out, getting laid off was one of the best things to happen to Mark Brookner.
Over the years, Mark’s brother had taught him a great deal about painting.  So, with plenty of time on his hands, Mark started painting for relatives and friends.  Word spread.  His aunt told a couple of her friends, and soon the requests began pouring in.  “Hey, can you paint my house?”
It wasn’t long before Mark found he had regular work as a painter.  The painting, however, led to other odd jobs.  Folks would hire him to paint, then ask if he could also take care of other things.  Through this process, Mark became a general handyman as well as a sometimes landscaper, doing mowing and various lawn maintenance.  The main work, though, was painting.
The layoff wound up lasting three months.  Even after returning to his third shift schedule at Mar-Bal, Mark tried to continue painting during the day.  But it was just too much.  He told Mar-Bal “I appreciate the opportunity, but I’m going to see if I can make it on my own.”

Though he started out working from his shed, he still needed to call himself something.  Amy Adams, Mark’s cousin, suggested Painting Consultants.  The name stuck.
After working for somebody else for so many years, Mark felt it was great to be self-employed.  Being self-employed, however, came with its own set of challenges.  Doing the work was one thing.  Getting the work to come in consistently was another, and managing people was yet another.  There was also bookkeeping, insurance, estimates, and payroll that had to be earned before paying his staff.  Mark had never dreamed there would be so much paperwork!
As soon as he established Painting Consultants, Mark knew he would need help doing work.  To this end, he first hired Joey Farlow from Pulaski.  “I didn’t know him from Adam,” says Mark.  “He called me and said he heard I was looking for help.  I don’t know how he even knew.”
Joey’s insight, however, paid off for him.  He worked five years for Painting Consultants, and according to Mark, was a great help.
Eventually Mark’s crew grew to include as many as five to seven employees at any one time, and the one thing he is really proud of is that he never had to lay anyone off.  Steven Hutchens, for example, has been providing Mark with excellent help for over twelve years.  Mark’s wife, Heather even helps out when an extra hand is needed for the job.  “Heather has been a big help,” he says, “and not just with assorted paperwork.  She’s a good painter!”
Heather is Mark’s second wife.  The two met when both would stop into the same Wilco convenience store for coffee on their way to work.  Heather was working for Thermasteel, and her day started just as early as Mark’s.  With such frequent meeting, they naturally began talking.  Mark didn’t think he would ever remarry, having been single for a long time, but the couple were married in September of 2017.  Both Heather and Mark have two children each from previous marriages, and Mark is very proud of his two grandkids.
A good crew, however, wasn’t the only thing Mark needed to operate his business and grow.  In the beginning, he used his personal, blue Ford Ranger pickup to get around.  Though it already had a ladder rack, Mark had to borrow a thirty-foot ladder to get started.  A little over a year later, he was able to afford his first work van.  With a growing crew, however, Mark needed more than just one vehicle.
Today, Painting Consultants has a great selection of vehicles to haul materials: five vans, a pickup truck, a cherry picker, and a bucket truck – enough to do whatever work comes their way.
As it turns out, Mark’s fleet of vehicles hasn’t been the only sign of growth and success.  Another milestone came after three years when he was able to move Painting Consultants from his shed to a rented space at 1002 West Main Street in Radford.  In 2016, Mark’s success allowed him to purchase the property!
Over the years, it has been Mark’s pleasure to work on a variety of different places.  In addition to many residential homes, Painting Consultants have also painted such business locations as the Tied Dyed Pig and Garrett’s & Meg’s Clothing in Radford.  They also painted Phoenix Packaging and Martin’s Pharmacy in Dublin, as well as Haley Toyota in Roanoke.
“In a small town like this,” says Mark, “reputation is everything.  If you do a bad job, it zooms out there!”  But that also works in reverse.  If you do a good job, folks will be knocking down your door!
Painting Consultants have such a great reputation that word of mouth brings in a lot of their business.  For instance, Mark ended up painting the interiors for a lot of the coaching staff at Virginia Tech.  It began with just the one coach hiring him for the job.  However, the coaches all live close to one another.  After their wives began discussing it, one turned into two, which turned into three, and more.  Pretty soon, Mark had painted the interiors for quite a few of them.
Painting Consultants have several regular customers.  “Scott Hill,” says Mark, “keeps his properties very well maintained, pressure washing the outsides on a regular basis and keeping up with the painting on the inside.”
They also do a lot of work for churches, rental units, realtors, and property managers.  Mark considers himself very fortunate to have this staple of regular customers.  It comes as a great help, especially in the wintertime when business can be slow.  During the peak season, however, Mark can do forty hours by Wednesday.  Seventy to eighty hours for the week is not uncommon.
Today, Painting Consultants does interior and exterior painting for both residential and commercial properties.  They also do pressure washing and deck restoration, as well as staining of log home exteriors.  The latter is not a job many would want to do on their own, since the outer walls are not flat.
Mark and his team also do work on the docks at Claytor Lake.  In fact, Mark wants to get a little john boat for working around the docks since so much of that kind of work has come his way.
It has been fifteen years since Mark set out on his own as an independent businessman.  “It has been a struggle,” he says.  “There have been good times and bad times, but I’m really happy and really proud of what I’ve done about the past fifteen years, especially when my parents were alive.  They saw what I accomplished, and they were really proud.  I’m glad for that.  I did it the right way.”
Over the years, Mark’s business has grown so tremendously that there are days when it seems like he has more than he can keep up with, but not a day goes by that he is not grateful or regret his decision to stay with this work.  He has worked hard and succeeded. 

 Painting Consultants • Mark Brookner • 540-391-8837
 www.paintingconsultantsnrv.com
 PaintingConsultants@yahoo.com