“I started painting when I was 15 years old,” says Ty Brown, founder of Mountain West Painting in Evergreen. Ty, who grew up back East, found his way into the workforce through painting. “I started working for a painter who was afraid of heights, so I did everything up high,” he says. This funny entrance into the home service and construction world led him right into project management and other executive level jobs, which Ty worked for many years and was the classic picture of a success story. He never forgot his roots, and, planted in Evergreen, he started painting again. “It was a side hustle,” he explains.
Then 2020 hit, that infamous year that turned the tide for many, Ty included. But he had more than the pandemic to contend with, and an unexpected medical diagnosis had him quickly searching to adjust his perspective and improve his quality of life. “All I wanted was to spend more time with my family,” he explains. “At that moment in time, money didn’t matter. I just wanted the freedom to take my two young children to school, to pick them up from school, to have more time to see them than just a quick breakfast in the morning and sending them to bed at night.”
Ty’s recovery period allowed him time to ruminate on this. In 2020, he launched Mountain West Painting, realizing that his first job experience, his “side hustle,” could be exactly the career change he needed to make other lifestyle changes as well. “So many people had had bad experiences with painting contractors—with my experience in painting, I knew I could change that.” Mountain West Painting was born to improve Ty’s quality of life, but he quickly realized that he could improve the lives of his customers too.
When Ty got healthy, he had a serious business plan underway, and Mountain West Painting became fully operational, starting with an office in Littleton. “There are just a lot of homes down there, a lot of HOA communities,” he says, and explains how this starting point was the best opportunity to establish, perfect and grow his business. “I’m an Evergreen local, though, and we started down the hill to work our way up. In fact, Evergreen [and the mountain area] is our leading source of revenue, and it’s where we prefer to do our business.” For Ty, it’s important that his now thriving painting business is a part of the tight-knit business community in Evergreen and the surrounding mountain towns.
For the 2023 season, Mountain West Painting is booked out three to four weeks. Offering both interior and exterior painting services, Mountain West Painting adheres to the highest standard in the industry. “I came into this to improve my quality of life—and to improve the stigma of the industry,” Ty says. “We have a dedicated project manager who communicates with the homeowner day in and day out. We have thorough checklists to ensure we’re delivering consistent results and that everything runs according to our standards and meets the homeowner’s expectations.” Mountain West Painting is a member of the Painting Contractors Association (PCA), and is fully up-to-date on trainings and trends. “We’re not just going job to job. We’re looking at the bigger picture and we’re building a brand.”
Mountain area homeowners looking for full-service painters, including color consultation, should reach out to Mountain West Painting at mountainwestpainting.com.
