Leading With a Servant Heart: Meet Top Guns Honoree Jeff Grasty

Jeff Grasty

President | Florida Paints

“We didn’t get back in the business for the accolades; we missed interacting with our customers and friends in the industry. The Top Guns award is validation for the work we’ve put in. It took a lot of work, pain, suff ering, agony and worrying to get where we are now, so to get recognized is a great honor and we’re super thankful.”

Far from a glamorous start, Jeff Grasty began his career in the independent home improvement industry as a van driver for Color Wheel Paint in Melbourne, Florida. Just a few months later, he and his wife moved back to Orlando, where Grasty took a job with a Color Wheel Paint store in that area. Orlando was also home to Color Wheel’s manufacturing plant, distribution operations and corporate office.

“I realized that it was a pretty cool business with manufacturing and a lab—so much activity from bringing in raw materials all the way to the end user,” Grasty says. “I moved my way up and basically held every position you can in the paint industry, except for manufacturing.”

Color Wheel Paint sold to Consorcio Comex in 2006, and Grasty stayed on with them for
five years until the non-compete ran out and Grasty and three others—brothers Rick Strube and Don Strube Jr., whose family founded Color Wheel, and Mike Davis—started Florida Paints in 2012, which has boomed since then.

Grasty, who now serves as president, says the team did not intend to become a manufacturer when they started Florida Paints in 2012, but were approached by several former customers who were interested in that side of the business.

“Color Wheel had 50-plus years of history and people were familiar with the Strube family, so when they saw us come back into the market, it exploded,” Grasty says.

Florida Paints started with three locations in 2012 and opened a manufacturing plant in 2013. By the end of those first three years, retail stores had increased to 10 locations, and in 2016 Florida Paints acquired Scott Paint and its 17 locations on the west coast of Florida.

“At the time we were in central Florida with a few east coast locations, so it was a good fit for us to get coverage around the state quickly,” Grasty says. “Over those next two years, we had to consolidate stores and our manufacturing, basically taking two manufacturing plants and moving them into one. It was a pretty crazy two years of just integrating all those stores.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Grasty says the company grew another 40% and the current store count is up to 29 with another two or three stores being added in the coming months.

Through all the incredible growth, Florida Paints has maintained what makes it special. Grasty says the company focuses on three main areas: maintaining a family atmosphere, living out a legacy and making products Florida customers want and need.

“We believe in putting employees, team members and their families first,” Grasty says.

“Being family-owned, that family-first mentality was instilled in us from the very beginning.”

Even though Florida Paints is just over a decade old, it has over 50 years of manufacturing and selling paint behind it thanks to the legacy of Color Wheel and the Stube family’s continued involvement in Florida Paints.

“We’ve learned that our legacy gives us a distinct advantage from somebody trying to get into the paint manufacturing business for the first time,” Grasty says. “We knew the mistakes we had made and we knew the good things we had done, so it allowed us to have a great start to this company and make it the best it could be.”

With a Servant’s Heart

As president of Florida Paints and a leader in the company, Grasty strives to lead with a servant heart, founded in the company’s core values, named F.O.R.C.E. for faith, ownership, respect, communication and excellence.

“My title may say I’m president, but I work for the 200 employees we have. My job is to be a servant to them and make their jobs easier by doing what I can for them,” Grasty says. “As leaders, we have to make decisions and point the company in different directions, but then it’s really up to us to get out of the way and do what we can that allows our employees to make it happen.”

Because the company’s core values are integral to everything Florida Paints does, Grasty references them anytime he coaches, leads, counsels or corrects.

“If you reference one or multiple of our values, it’s pretty clear on what we did right or what we did wrong,” Grasty says. “Everything we do falls into one or multiple ones of those buckets.”

When it comes to inspiring and motivating his team, Grasty turns to the core value of communication.

“I believe that uncertainty can lead to paralysis. If we communicate well to our employees and customers about what’s going on good and bad in the company, it takes that fear out of it,” Grasty says.

Communication is also crucial during good times to provide motivation and share accolades. Florida Paints has a community page where employees can give shoutouts to their peers.

“If we communicate well, we can motivate people and also eliminate the paralysis that comes with people having fear around the unknown,” Grasty says. “We’re not perfect at it and the bigger we get, the more difficult it will be, but everything goes back to our values.”

As the company looks to the future, developing leaders who also embody Florida Paints’ values is crucial to continuing success. Grasty says the leadership team wears a lot of different hats, which requires them to empower their people to get tasks accomplished.

“It’s a natural process with a company of our size that people have to step up and do tasks that may be a little out of their normal scope of work,” Grasty says. “But I think we do a good job of coaching and counseling people.”

Growth as a Leader

As Grasty reflects on those leaders who have built into him, he appreciates the influence of the Stube family.

“I started with them as a van driver and worked my way up, and they have mentored me for 30 years,” Grasty says. “Even in the role I’m in now as president, I interact with them every day. I’ve been blessed to be associated with them and their family, and I am grateful for the opportunities they have given me.”

When it comes to growth as a leader in his career, along with relying on others, Grasty has focused on personal growth and learning how to be more empathetic and vulnerable as a leader.

“I’ve learned a lot about what it is to be a good human being. I didn’t have a lot of those qualities of being empathetic or being vulnerable, but as I’ve stepped into my faith and learned about myself, it’s allowed me to relate better to others,” Grasty says. “That journey of self-improvement has spilled over into my role at Florida Paints, and I think has helped me be a better leader.”

Grasty says he is encouraged to be named a Top Guns honoree, as it recognizes the hard work his team has put in to achieve the growth and success they have had in the last 13 years.

“We didn’t get back in the business for the accolades; we missed interacting with our customers and friends in the industry,” Grasty says. “But the Top Guns award is validation for the work we’ve put in. It took a lot of work, pain, suffering, agony and worrying to get where we are now, so to get recognized is a great honor and we’re super thankful.”