Tadashi Painting: Launching a New Business Online – Case Study

Background: When Kevin Ahlert started Tadashi Painting in the Naperville/Aurora, IL area, he needed more than just a basic website. As a brand-new entrepreneur, Kevin had no existing logo, no website, and zero online presence – yet he was entering a competitive local market for painting services. He needed to establish credibility, generate leads, and showcase services quickly to kickstart his business. I came on board as his web designer, developer to build his brand from the ground up.

Challenges for a New Business

Starting from scratch, Tadashi Painting’s challenges included:

• Brand Identity: The business needed a professional logo and visual identity to appear trustworthy to potential customers. Nothing existed yet – we had to create a brand that would stand out and be memorable.

• Online Presence & Credibility: With no prior website or online reviews, we had to build immediate trust. The site needed to highlight quality, customer service, and professionalism to reassure visitors that Tadashi Painting could deliver great results.

• Lead Generation: Converting visitors into leads was critical. We needed clear calls-to-action (like Free Estimate requests and contact options) and even promotional offers to encourage prospects to get in touch.

• Local SEO: As a local service business, Tadashi Painting had to appear in searches for painters in dozens of suburbs. Competing against established contractors meant our site had to be optimized for local search terms and cover a wide service area.

• Limited Resources: Being a new entrepreneur, Kevin didn’t have an in-house tech or marketing team. The solution had to be cost-effective and manageable for him long-term, including easy tools for him to update content and a reliable hosting setup.

Solutions Delivered

I provided a comprehensive solution, essentially acting as a one-stop digital agency for Tadashi Painting. Key deliverables included:

• Custom Logo & Branding: Designed a unique logo and cohesive visual style from scratch to give Tadashi Painting a professional identity. This branding was used across the website and marketing materials, establishing consistency and trust.

• Responsive Web Design & Development: Built a modern, mobile-friendly website that showcases Tadashi Painting’s services and quality. The homepage immediately communicates the value proposition (“take your home to the next level”) and emphasizes the company’s professionalism and experience. The design includes clear navigation for About, Services, Reviews, Special Offer, and Contact pages, making it easy for visitors to find information.

• Service Pages for Every Core Offering: We created dedicated landing pages for each major service Tadashi provides – e.g. Exterior Painting, Interior Painting, Carpentry, Drywall Repair, Power Washing, and more – each with informative content and photos of work. All service pages follow a consistent layout featuring aligned headlines, benefits, complete service lists, transparent pricing info, FAQs, and a strong call-to-action (CTA) for a quote. This uniform structure not only gives the site a professional look but also makes it easy to maintain and expand in the future.

• Local Service-Area Landing Pages: To tackle local SEO, we built out pages for over 20 individual suburbs in the client’s service area (Aurora, Naperville, Batavia, etc.). Each city page highlights “Residential Painting Services” available in that town and links directly to the relevant service pages. These localized pages help the site show up when someone searches for a painter in a specific town and let visitors instantly find painters “near me” for their area.

• SEO & Content Strategy: Every page was written and structured with search engines in mind. I conducted keyword research to find out what homeowners search for (for example, identifying phrases related to exterior house painting, soffit/fascia painting, cedar siding, etc.) and incorporated these terms into the site content. By using real-world search phrases and long-tail keywords, the site began ranking for queries that our target customers were actually using.

• Lead Capture & Calls-to-Action: The website is built to convert interest into action. We added prominent “Free Estimate” buttons and contact links on every page, making it easy for visitors to request a quote. We also created a Special Offer page featuring a promotional coupon to attract customers looking for a deal. Initially, this offer page included a signup form (to capture leads in exchange for the coupon), but when the client decided to make the coupon available to everyone, we promptly adjusted the page to remove the form requirement and display the offer openly.

• Technical Setup & Hosting: I handled all the behind-the-scenes setup – from domain configuration to hosting. I deployed the site on a reliable hosting platform and ensured it runs fast and securely. When an issue arose with GoDaddy (the host) blocking outgoing emails (which prevented the contact form submissions from emailing Kevin), I identified the problem and implemented a workaround so that form inquiries would be delivered successfully. In short, I made sure no lead would ever slip through the cracks due to technical glitches.

• Training & Ongoing Support: Understanding that Kevin might want to edit or add content himself, I empowered him with tools and guidance. I provided an easy-to-use content management system (WordPress, customized for his needs) and even recorded a custom tutorial video demonstrating how to update text and images on the site. This means the client can tweak his gallery photos or edit a typo without needing to call a developer for every small change. Beyond that, I have been just an email or call away for support. Over time, I offered strategic advice on digital marketing – for example, suggesting integrated postcard mailers and text-message follow-ups for website leads to boost engagement. My role wasn’t just to launch the website and walk away, but to remain a marketing partner helping Tadashi Painting continually leverage the web to grow the business.

Results & Impact

Launching a strong website and online presence has paid off greatly for Tadashi Painting. In just a few years, the company grew from an unknown startup into a thriving local business – and the website was a critical catalyst in that success:

• Immediate Credibility: The professional branding and informative website gave Tadashi Painting instant legitimacy. New customers frequently cite the website and online reviews as reasons they trusted the company. The site prominently features testimonials and a stellar 5.0-star rating from clients, which has now grown to 40+ five-star Google reviews – a powerful social proof that the business delivers quality. This positive feedback loop (good service → good reviews on the site → more new customers) has been instrumental in building trust with future clients.

• Significant SEO Gains: By covering a broad service area with individual pages and optimizing content for relevant keywords, the website achieved strong visibility in local searches. Tadashi Painting now appears in search results across dozens of Illinois suburbs for queries like “exterior house painter” or “interior painting in Naperville.” This organic traffic means free, high-quality leads coming to the business without expensive advertising. The client can trace many of his painting job inquiries directly to people finding the website via Google search. The investment in SEO-focused content continues to pay dividends with sustained traffic growth.

• Growth in Services & Team: As the business took off, Kevin was able to expand his services and crew, and the website easily expanded with them. For example, when Tadashi Painting started offering new services like carpentry and drywall repair, we added those pages to the site seamlessly. Likewise, the extensive workload generated through the website led Kevin to hire and train a full team of painters. What began as a one-person operation now has a skilled crew (at one point six team members working efficiently on a job) to meet the demand. The scalable website allowed the business to market these new capabilities instantly, helping turn a small operation into a company capable of handling large projects.

• Ongoing Enhancements: Rather than being a static brochure, the Tadashi Painting site continues to evolve as a living marketing tool. Recently, about two years after the initial launch, Kevin reinvested in a major update to the site: we built out a comprehensive Services section listing all offerings and created fresh, content-rich pages for each service (with FAQs, galleries, and more) to further boost conversion and SEO. We also integrated those service pages into all the local city pages for cross-linking. These upgrades ensure the site stays up-to-date and competitive, and they signal to search engines and users alike that Tadashi Painting is active and thriving. As I advised in my communications with the client, regular updates and additions to the site are a worthwhile investment in ongoing business growth – keeping the site high-performing and aligned with the company’s current offerings.

The Tadashi Painting project showcases how a well-crafted website and proactive digital strategy can propel a new local business to success. By providing end-to-end support – from initial brand design and website development to SEO, maintenance, and marketing advice – I helped an entrepreneur establish a new credible brand and a steady pipeline of customers in a short time. The website became the foundation of Tadashi Painting’s marketing, enabling Kevin to focus on delivering great service while his online presence consistently brings in new leads.