The Work Series | How ACP Painting Made the Hybrid Model Their Competitive Edge

About the Episode

For most painting companies, the organizational model question eventually becomes binary: W2 employees or subcontractors. ACP Painting in Maricopa, Arizona has spent over twenty years proving there’s a third option and that it might be the most powerful of all.

In this episode of Out of the Hourglass, co-owner Russ Byers and Inside Operations Manager Shell Abbott walk us through how ACP built and refined a hybrid workforce model that keeps hourly employees and independent contractor crews working side by side. Their story is part accident, part strategic clarity, and entirely worth hearing.

How ACP Stumbled Into Hybrid and Chose to Stay

ACP Painting didn’t design a hybrid model from the start. When Russ and his brother Rob founded the company in 2005, it was just the two of them on the brush. Over time they brought on helpers, and eventually one of those helpers was skilled and independent enough to run a job on his own. That, it turns out, was the beginning of the hybrid model, before they even had language for it.

When ACP connected with Nolan Consulting Group and began working with coach Colin, they started paying closer attention to other successful painting companies, many running full W2 models with large in-house teams. For a period, Russ and Shell genuinely questioned whether their hybrid approach was limiting them. That question came to a head for Shell during an annual planning meeting.

“Why do we try to get rid of these great guys that are running their own great independent teams as independent contractors taking care of their fantastic families with all the ownership?” she asked.

Working backwards from their revenue goals, the answer became clear: the hybrid model wasn’t something to move away from. It was the clearest path to where they wanted to go. The conversation shifted from “should we be doing this?” to “how do we do this with intention?”

Two Teams, Four Criteria

One of the most practical sections of this conversation is how Shell breaks down the decision-making process for deploying each type of team. She uses four criteria: customer preference, salesperson recommendation, specialty products, and new construction work.

“Dollar wise, about eighty percent of our work is done by independent contractors. Jobs wise, it’s only about fifty fifty.” Sub crews produce significantly more volume per team, making them the backbone of ACP’s output, while hourly employees handle work requiring more training, closer oversight, or a customer who has specifically requested an in-house crew.

Russ adds an important dimension: the hybrid model also functions as a parachute. When a deadline is approaching and an hourly crew needs backup, sub crews can step in. “Having the hybrid model has allowed us to have that sort of parachute every once in a while,” he says. “It’s a nice resource to have to make sure that you can just kind of stay on track.”

The Financial Picture

Perhaps the most illuminating exchange in this episode is when Shell breaks down the gross profit difference between the two team types. Hourly teams are variable. She’s seen the same crew land one job at 67% GP and another at 32%. Sub crews are a different story entirely.

“With a subcontractor though, I’m hitting forty-eight, fifty-six, somewhere within that, pretty much all the time.”

The reason is straightforward: sub crews are running their own businesses. Their efficiency is self-motivated, they’re not just producing for ACP, they’re protecting their own margins. At year end, both teams average out to roughly 48-50% GP, but the journey looks very different. The hourly path requires consistent coaching and intervention. The sub path is reliable from job to job.

Building Culture Across Both Teams

One of the more nuanced challenges of running a hybrid model is creating a unified culture across two groups of workers with fundamentally different relationships with the company. ACP has found thoughtful ways to navigate this.

With hourly employees, regular team meetings and structured training are relatively straightforward. With subcontractors, mandating attendance at company meetings crosses a legal and relational line. ACP’s approach is simple: create events worth showing up to. Top Golf nights, family-friendly gatherings, casual events that bring both sides together without an agenda.

The results speak for themselves. At ACP’s annual Christmas party, held at Russ’s home, the dynamic is striking. “Each subcontractor crew, it’s like, you know, eight to ten people showing up to the Christmas party and they’re all on board for team ACP,” Russ says. Hourly employees bring individual pride. Sub crews arrive as a team, families included, and buy in collectively.

“You have to be intentional about creating that feeling,” Russ says. At minimum quarterly, something needs to bring people together and remind everyone they’re working toward the same goal.

The Growth Engine

The most compelling reason ACP has stayed hybrid is what the sub model unlocks when large opportunities arrive.

ACP is targeting $5 million in revenue this year, a goal they’re on track to hit. A major project has recently surfaced that could add significant volume on top of that target. Under a purely hourly model, the answer to that kind of opportunity would likely be to walk away. With a network of sub crews available to absorb the demand, ACP can pursue it.

“We constantly have this elasticity at the end of our schedule that allows us to continue to grow,” Russ explains. For a business with real growth ambitions, that kind of flexibility is a structural advantage that’s very difficult to replicate any other way.

What They’d Tell Another Owner

For painting businesses weighing whether to add either hourly employees or subcontractors to their current model, Russ and Shell offer grounded, practical advice.

Shell frames it through a framework she attributes to Colin: change requires being coachable, committed, and aware. And you don’t need to go all in. “You only have to have one team,” she says. Try one crew. See how it goes. You can step back if it doesn’t work.

Russ addresses the common fears directly: regulations, quality concerns, culture friction, the worry that subs will steal customers. “They’re all legitimate fears,” he says. “They all potentially can happen.” They’re also all manageable. The answer isn’t avoidance, it’s preparation. “Just try one crew.”

Shell offers the most clarifying perspective of the entire conversation: “Your subs don’t want to be hourlies and your hourlies don’t want to be subs. You get two different groups of people that you wouldn’t get without being open to both.”

The hybrid model isn’t for every painting company. For ACP, it’s the reason they can pursue opportunities that others have to turn down, and the reason their growth story is still being written.