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Juan Torres produces short- and long-form movies and on-line guides that assist householders paint partitions, stain flooring, repair plumbing, and extra.
Juan Torres
There is a group on TikTok and different common social media platforms that present the typical house owner easy methods to do all the pieces from repair a leaky faucet to color a two-story lobby.
Juan Torres of Schenectady, higher often known as the DIY Dwelling Enchancment Man on his social media channels, is one such content material creator. By TikTok, YouTube, Clapper and different platforms, Torres presents residence renovation tutorials, racks up tens of 1000’s of views, and conjures up confidence in DIYers.
In his lengthy and quick movies, Torres, 42, touches on all the pieces from exterior portray (his bread and butter within the area after beginning 518 Painters years in the past) and refinishing hardwood flooring to cleansing picket desks and eradicating mildew from bathe partitions. He options earlier than, throughout, and after images of his initiatives, shares product data, offers viewers a behind-the-scenes peek at his initiatives, and masters DIY challenges. Though he will get sponsorship presents, he would not say he is an influencer.
I contemplate myself extra of an issue solver, somebody you possibly can flip to should you’re unsure which product or course of would work finest for you, she mentioned.
In only a few years, his viewers had grown to 58,000 followers on TikTok and 16,000 on YouTube. Step-by-step guides to portray kitchen cupboards are his hottest posts, amassing a whole lot of 1000’s of views. The variety of followers does not excite him as a lot as constructing rapport. The content material has allowed him to create a group anchored within the Capital Area however extending throughout the globe, which is kind of becoming.
Torres was born in Frankfurt, Germany, the son of a army service member stationed abroad. He was raised by his mom and attended commerce faculty, the place he studied plumbing and industrial portray. Plumbing was one thing that simply did not stick, Torres mentioned, however portray afforded him the. As an worker, he felt he had no management over gross sales, advertising and marketing, analysis or solicitation of shoppers. He had a household, together with three kids. To strike out on his personal, he took a unique method to beginning his enterprise: Torres produced portray tutorials on YouTube, linked them to his web site, and researched relentlessly easy methods to enhance site visitors to his channel to achieve clients.
By making content material movies and placing them on my web site, I used to be getting traction, which then Google was exhibiting to individuals regionally, saying hey, boy is he watching this quite a bit, perhaps that is what you are in search of, Torres mentioned.
The calls began coming in and that is when Torres opened 518 Painters. Now, the solo entrepreneur serves residential householders throughout the Capital Area. On a typical day, he exhibits up at a shopper’s residence early within the morning, units up his relaxation space, covers up surfaces, masks off any areas for crisp, clear strains, and systematically strikes from room to room. The common job takes 5 to seven days. When Torres wants a hand, he calls on some associates or household to subcontractor.
I like to color as a result of once I’m on my own, I’ve my headphones on and I can focus, he mentioned. I am very choosy with issues. I’m very organized and have my very own routine.
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@diyhomeimprovementguy
YouTube: @DIYhomeimprovementguy
Web site/Weblog: https://www.518painters.com/
Portray is transformative. It will also be tedious and time consuming. It’s in these subdued strokes that Torres can paint on autopilot and mirror on his viewers.
As I work, I take into consideration what content material I can write, she mentioned.
Like 518 Painters, creating content material is a solo effort for Torres, although he typically collaborates on movies along with his 7-year-old son and sidekick, Edin. If one thing strikes him whereas he is on a building web site, like easy methods to correctly take away wallpaper or higher kitchen cupboards, he’ll whip out his digicam and make a brief video for TikTok. He then he’ll publish that video on YouTube and publish it on his web site.
Torres is as snug behind a keyboard as in entrance of a digicam. Along with his social media content material, Torres additionally blogs on his firm web site, providing extra in-depth, easy-to-follow guides than a one-minute video can supply.
As the worldwide pandemic has pressured individuals to remain at residence, many content material creators who give attention to residence enchancment, together with Torres, have seen their audiences improve.
My following has almost doubled in the course of the pandemic, as have my requests for the paint enterprise.
Torres spent numerous time studying easy methods to handle, monetize and promote his model on-line. He realized all about search engine marketing, analytics cracking and extra principally by way of different content material creators and YouTube College, he laughed.
It’s extremely complicated should you’re entering into it once more. However as soon as you realize you get it, you are like oh wow, this is smart and it turns into like a puzzle that you simply put collectively.
It paid off, however the rising variety of followers did not excite Torres as a lot because the abundance of feedback and questions he acquired.
I take the time to reply all questions and construct a relationship with my group. Torres lately teamed up along with his spouse to launch a second enterprise, Celebration Leases of Albany, a full service firm.
This newest feat has supplied Torres with much more fodder for her social media. Torres presents followers recommendation on easy methods to begin a profitable enterprise. Certainly one of his high suggestions: preserve investing in what’s vital. For Torres, that is household. He travels to Germany a number of instances a 12 months to care for his mom. She has tried to steer her to maneuver to america, however at 60 she is rooted and glad overseas.
All I do is help my household financially, she mentioned. Additionally, I need to give them choices.
His son Edin could be very busy creating content material. He arranges deliveries, units the scene, acts as videographer, and delivers his skills on digicam with the arrogance of an skilled speak present host. Torres sees it as a doable profession path for the youthful one.
In the meantime, Torres continues to construct a basis and focuses on increasing the celebration portray and rental companies. He hopes to go the paint curler to workers so he can give attention to managing efforts and rising his on-line presence. That is what drives it.
I do not see myself stopping, he mentioned. I simply see myself go. My final purpose is to proceed creating content material whereas supervising different actions.
