jeffreydesign wrote:

My work is as close to perfection as it can be and clients are willing
to pay for it. I currently have a three-year waiting list for existing
[mostly commercial] clients and a five+ year waiting list for new
clients. My work speaks for itself.

Sorry. You lost me with that last bit. I know of no client, no
person, commercial or otherwise, that would be willing to wait years
three to five years for a paint job. "Oh, hi, sorry about the lobby
and the peeling paint. The painter is due here sometime in late 2009."
Yeah, right. Those silly business owners are well known for their
patience.

Even if you plan far in advance, complete a job and immediately
schedule the repainting several years down the road, what about clients
that do improvements? What do you say? "Sorry, can't be done. I know
you just built an addition for the new baby, but we have to stick to
the schedule."

Second nail in that coffin - if you have that long of a waiting list,
and some rubes willing to wait that long, you don't know how to price
your work. Are you hanging on to a 1992 Means book to do your
estimating? Hell, give the work away for free. I'm sure you can get
the waiting list up to well beyond your lifetime.

R