When Aaron and I moved to this neighborhood, one of the things we loved was our own little backyard. It’s not huge, or especially fancy. (Okay, it’s basically a dirt patch.) But we’ve grilled with visiting family, played with our rescue Mara (and previously, our cat Sam), and done our best to grow green things. We spent basically all of last summer in our two muskoka chairs, reading and talking and listening to music. It’s our happy place. And in the last year, we’ve needed a happy place.
As the stay at home orders keep rolling in, we’re heading into year two of being in our living spaces all. the. time. (That is, those of us who can stay home.) Like most people, we are a combination of stir crazy and mildly anxious about ever having to re-enter the world. So we were delighted when we found out two friends had moved in just a few backyards down, within shouting distance over our back fence.
Jeff McLeod and his partner Kirstyn are new neighbors here at Coxwell and Gerrard, although Kirstyn grew up just nearby – a little ways up Kingston Road. So when Jeff wanted to launch a residential painting business, Kirstyn suggested they start marketing JDavis Painting on the street where she grew up. Very humbly, and pre-pandemic, they started knocking on doors.
“She was totally right,” says Jeff. Kirstyn noted there was a lot of neighborhood pride, where people loved their homes. Based on referrals from their work, it quickly became their hub to grow the business. They loved the area. So, they decided to live here, too, following their business to make the community their own.
It’s that same love of home that has helped the business grown during difficult times. Jeff says many of their customers are folks who say “If we can’t go have a beer on a patio, let’s make our backyard a place we really really really like being.” In that respect, it’s been a banner year for home improvement. And Jeff’s animating belief is that the home improvement process itself should be a happy adventure. He ruefully chuckles that a trade contract can be a real nightmare, but notes that his aim is to make it a “fun and exciting experience” for his customers. Jeff previously ran a painting business in B.C. and builds from those years, following professional project management over a major Heritage project in Toronto. Speaking of his customers, Jeff says “We want you to be excited about us being there.”
But, like all industries, they’ve still had to roll with the punches through unpredictable lock downs of varying severity. The first round of restrictions in March 2020 were the worst. It was the most restrictive, and the biggest shock to the system. “Being new to everything, we didn’t know how to navigate,” Jeff shares. “We shut our doors, just after launching. It was very discouraging.”
Since then, they’ve gotten into a better groove, evolving their practices over time and responding as we understand the pandemic better. They have formal safety protocols, can delivery confidently and convey that confidence to their customers. In the last few months, they’ve still had some challenges, particularly during the most recent spike. And Jeff cares deeply about providing full-time work for this team as a foundation of the business.
Especially under the circumstances, Jeff is very proud that they’ve been able to build a business that employs people. He notes that his team largely consists of skilled people whose industries have been hurt, “The pandemic has pushed them out of work.” His employees include a professional musician, a former restaurant owner, highly competent recent grads, and professionals from the TV and movie industry. He even has some professional set builders.
With of all the ups and downs, hard work, and change, Jeff says one of the things that makes him the most proud is how he and Kirstyn have grown together. Early in the pandemic, he’d already used a significant amount of savings launching the business, Kirstyn was laid-off from her job working on travel and events. “It was a scary time. I love that we were able to solve the problem,” Jeff says. “We were able to generate business, create meaningful employment for good people. I’m proud that as a couple, we could be stronger.”
The Backyard Projects 