ORANGE — Pedro Mattos has entrepreneurship in his heart.
He has wanted to run his own business for as long as he can remember and he heard opportunity knocking when an executive from the Young Entrepreneurs Across America visited his chemistry class at the University of Massachusetts Amherst last year.
“And that really just got to me,” Mattos, now 19, recalled. “I didn’t even necessarily care what kind of business it was, at that time. But, it’s just something that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.”
The Young Entrepreneurs Across America is a Michigan-based training company that develops young entrepreneurs through a program called Student Painters. Mattos was accepted to the program and started his own painting firm in February.
He has closed 32 sales as of June 7 and is the top earner in the program nationwide, with more than $97,000, he said, adding that he will run the business until he returns to UMass, where he studies civil engineering, on Sept. 1.
“The whole thing is pretty much the American Dream. My mom was actually a doctor in Brazil. We had a really comfortable life, actually. And then she just wanted something better for myself,” he said. “And then she met my stepfather and then we eventually, through a lot of struggles, we were able to make the move over to America and start a new life.”
Mattos also said he plans to use 10 percent of his profits to create a scholarship fund for graduating seniors at Ralph C. Mahar Regional School, his alma mater. He explained applicants would have to read Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” — which Mattos referred to as “like (his) personal Bible” — and write an essay about it.
Mattos explained once he closes a sale, he picks up from the homeowner a refundable deposit check for 20 percent of the project’s cost. This, he said, pays for all supplies and payroll. After a job is competed, he walks around the house with the homeowners, who sign off on the project if they are satisfied. All money goes to the corporate office in Michigan.
“I plan to make about 25 percent of all … the sales,” he said taking a break from painting the trim at 115 South Main St. in Orange. “That all has to do with the quality of my painters — how long it takes to complete each job, how much paint we use, everything like that.”
Mattos said he has eight full-time employees on two four-man teams and he is interested in adding an additional worker to each. He said all painters are paid $12 an hour to start and will receive regular raises throughout the summer.
Mattos and his crews have worked jobs as far away as Leominster. He manages a Facebook page, named Painting Our Future, which includes posts about his aspirations to build a six-figure company.
Mattos is available at 978-577-7885 for information about estimates.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 258.
On Twitter: @DomenicPoli