INTERVIEW | Make Money Building a Business That Creates Freedom with Clayton Tomasino
Clayton Tomasino is the CEO of Scorpion Protective Coatings, a family-founded Indiana manufacturer that has grown into a five-time Inc. 5000 company with a dealer network of roughly 2,000 shops nationwide. Clayton has helped expand the company from protective coatings into window film, paint protection film, cutting software, and emerging smart film technologies. In this episode, he shares how he helped transform a small family business into a growing company, why low barriers to entry can create powerful entrepreneurial opportunities, and how entrepreneurs can find ways to pursue their passions while building profitable businesses.
On this episode we talk about:
Growing up working in his family's businesses and learning the value of hard work
How Clayton helped transform a small truck-bedliner business into a diversified manufacturing company
Finding passion and purpose within traditional or "unsexy" businesses
Using marketing, free channels, and outside experts to grow a business without becoming dependent on them
How window tinting can be a low-cost side hustle with the potential to become a full-time business
Top 3 Takeaways
Build a bridge between what you're good at and what you're passionate about. You don't necessarily need to turn your favorite hobby into a career. Finding something you enjoy within a business—like solving problems, creating products, or innovating—can make traditional businesses much more fulfilling.
Don't outsource your learning. Clayton recommends using experts to help get a new initiative off the ground, but then taking what you learn and bringing that knowledge back into the business. Think of outsourcing as education rather than permanent dependency.
Start small and prove the concept before taking on major risk. Whether it's window tinting or another service business, entrepreneurs can test an idea from a garage or as a side hustle before committing to an expensive location, equipment, or full-time business.
Notable Quotes
"If I could show them anything, it would be kind of how to do that in their own lives."
"The product isn't gonna promote itself."
"A dream is not going to come to you by wishing it's going to happen. The dream is that you're putting it in your head and you're taking the steps to get there."
Connect with Clayton Tomasino:
Website: Scorpion Protective Coatings
LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claytontomasino/
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