Invest in technology

With technology changing all the time, it's important we keep an eye out for to the latest gadgets and gizmos that can help us do the best job for customers as efficiently as possible. Many advances can change the way we decorate for the better.

A few weeks ago, a customer asked me to help her out with some new wallpaper she wanted hanging in her living room. The paper she'd chosen had a custom-made, complicated pattern that couldn't be matched up properly by eye. Even with my traditional spirit level the job would have been very tricky and time-consuming, as it would have had to be moved along the wall every time I hung another section of paper.

However, on the recommendation of a fellow painter a couple of months before, I had invested in a laser level - a handy little tool that shines a laser beam across the wall to help keep everything straight - which was ideal for this kind of challenge. Using it, I was able to match up the wallpaper pattern throughout the room perfectly and much more quickly.

It just goes to show the importance of keeping up to date with technology, and seeing what new gadgets your friends and colleagues are using, as you never know when one will come in handy.