Katy Castillo grew up in Sussex County, the oldest of three children born to immigrants. As a child, Katy wanted to be a teacher, because of the impact that teachers had on her. But before graduating from high school in 2020, Katy decided she no longer wanted to teach. Not sure what she wanted to do with her life, she began working at a restaurant. Her father had his own painting business, and he convinced Katy to come work for him. He recognized he needed someone to help run the administrative side and get it better organized. It turned out to be a perfect fit for Katy. 

Now the majority owner, Katy focuses her attention on customer relations and developing processes to ensure the business not only runs more smoothly but also can be more responsive to customers. She believes that by focusing on the customer and their needs, she can have a significant impact on the reputation of the business. “Just because something has always been a certain way, doesn’t mean it’s the best way,” she said. She has also seen how additional education will be important to her and the business, and she is graduating from Delaware Technical Community College this year, having focused on marketing and business classes, with plans to get an advanced degree in the future. Her dad appreciates Katy’s approach to business, and the fact that it allows him to focus on the painting and the crews who do the work.

Katy’s interest in marketing is a natural for her as she has really taken to social media and how it can help build the brand awareness of Castillos Painting. “People want to do business with people they trust,” Katy said. “I enjoy posting stories about the employees who do the painting, because they are the ones who will be working in people’s homes. It is important that people have trust in our employees.” Katy also understands the discipline to post regularly in order to have an effective social media presence. She recognizes that social media is the portal for people to learn about the business. Katy is also a marketing consultant for La Plaza and helps other business owners with their marketing.

The growth in the area obviously represents opportunities for Castillos Painting. The business has focused on custom painting rather than production painting associated with new homes, which is a perfect alignment with the quality brand that she and her father are trying to build. As the business grows and demands that more people be hired, Katy is particular about the kind of workers the company recruits. She looks for people who show an attention to detail. She and her father make sure to spend time with employees, training them and helping them understand other aspects of the business, so they can think like an owner. The Castillo family treats employees like family, and invites them to many of the family’s special events and occasions. They also make sure the roughly 20 employees share in the financial success of the business, paying bonuses and rewarding them for their hard work and effort.

Katy has a great vision for the future of her company. She has learned to love the construction business, and while they are focused on painting today, they have started to do some remodeling work and are looking to add more commercial work to their home painting business. The business just received its Minority Based Enterprise Certification, which will help it seek more government jobs. Katy also has plans to become a full-service construction business. “My father dreams very big, and he has taught me to do the same,” she said.

Growing up, Katy saw how hard her parents worked to create a successful business from nothing, and she feels a responsibility to carry on that legacy. As a young woman, Katy also feels this is the time in her life where she can really expend the time and the energy to push forward and grow the business. She likens her role to that of a runner in a relay race who has taken the baton from the previous runner. And now it’s her turn to run the best race she can. 

Katy’s most rewarding moments in the business come from satisfied customers. She recalls the first time a happy customer gave her a gift card and wrote her a personalized thank-you note because they were so pleased with the painting of their home.

She says her biggest challenge stems from her young age and the fact that she doesn’t have answers to all the questions. She recognizes the importance of learning from trial and error. She also knows her curiosity will always be an asset as she seeks to continually improve the service her company provides to their customers.