Melissa Neumeyer, Co-Owner and Business Manager of Valley Paint & Coatings, at her office in Phoenix.

A flooring project completed by Valley Paint & Coatings at the George Brazil School of Plumbing Service and Repair in Phoenix.

Growing up, Melissa Neumeyer always knew that she had a passion for working with her hands. Generations of her family had worked in the construction industry, including her uncle who ran a successful tile business. As a young adult, she experimented with making artworks, before eventually becoming a barber in Los Angeles.

Not long into her career, Melissa’s parents both passed away. As an only child, she suddenly found herself living in an expensive city without any immediate family nearby, missing the close family bonds she had deeply valued with her parents.

She decided to make a change that would set her on a completely new path. She packed up her belongings, gave up her job, and moved to Phoenix where she had some extended family. While the change seemed risky, she also knew that she had a chance for a fresh start in life, so she took the leap. Sooner than she could’ve imagined, she found everything she was looking for.

A New Start

“I moved to Phoenix in 2013, and met Christopher before I had even unpacked,” Melissa recalls.

Friends had invited her to join them at a restaurant, where they introduced her to Christopher Neumeyer, the man who would soon become her husband. Her friends thought they would have lots in common. They were right, but no one could have predicted just how quickly the two would bond and form an intensely close partnership, both in work and in life.

As fate would have it, Melissa had been inspired by the success of her uncle’s business and wanted to explore moving into the construction industry, with a dream to own her own business. At the same time, the flooring company that Christopher had built, owned and operated successfully for years was closing. Although Christopher and Melissa had only been dating for short a time, they decided to take a leap and start working together, with Melissa taking ownership of the new company.

In 2014, they launched Valley Paint & Coatings, a concrete flooring business that delivers concrete coatings, polishing, grinding, weatherproofing and finishing to commercial, retail and residential clients. The business is also ARDEX certified, allowing them to administer specialty coatings.

Early Mornings, Long Weeks

A typical day for the team at Valley Paint & Coatings starts at 5 a.m. and a typical workweek lasts six days.

Melissa is the Business Manager, Christopher is the lead Foreman and Cory Neumeyer, Christopher’s younger brother, handles sales. While each lead different parts of the business, all three work together in unison and take a very hands-on approach.

“The three of us communicate all day long if we’re not together, over emails and texts on our smartwatches,” Melissa says. Doing so means they can guarantee that at least one of them can quickly respond to a new opportunity, a client request and or project issues. They hire contract workers to help carry out the sitework, but every project has at least one of them on-site at all times, ensuring that the quality and care of installation is consistent across all of their jobs.

On a typical morning, the team at Valley Paint & Coatings will drive their materials and equipment out to the job site on a trailer, plug their vacuums into a grinding machine and grind down the concrete floor surface. On another day, they’ll mix and apply epoxy, and repeat the process when it’s dried. The start-and-stop process means that they can be on a job day and night if they are working to a strict deadline, as was recently the case for a project at the Scottsdale Fashion Square.

While the grinding and finishing of concrete may sound straightforward, the team excels in difficult jobs for clients with complex challenges. Recently, the company took on a commercial contract for a manufacturer that works with corrosive acid, and which needed a floor coating that could sustain potential spillage without marking the finish of the concrete. Melissa, Christopher and Cory spent two weeks problem-solving to find a solution, creating test samples, experimenting with mixes and conferring with colleagues in the field. Finally, they created an epoxy mix that was strong enough to meet this special challenge.

Melissa credits this dedication to the success of their business along with the referrals that they receive from contractors and former clients.

“We don’t ever tell you, ‘oh well,’ ” Melissa says. “We don’t walk away.”

World of Concrete

Each year, the team at Valley Paint & Coatings joins its competitors and contemporaries from around the world at the World of Concrete industry event and trade show. The event provides an opportunity for people from the construction industry to come together to build relationships with others that work in the same field.

Melissa has brokered the sale of equipment and the purchase of specialized material from their competitors in the business through the connections that she’s made at this annual event. Her team has even collaborated with other flooring contractors she’s met through World of Concrete to tackle large jobs under a tight timeline.

“We cross paths with our competitors all the time; and as small businesses, we all need the same help and we face the same issues. It makes sense to reach out and give a helping hand sometimes,” Melissa says.

The event is also a key moment for the members of Valley Paint & Coatings to bond with their own team. This past year, Melissa and Christopher took their employees’ partners and children to the event, which was held in Las Vegas; even Christopher’s mother came along to join in the fun.

Perfect Harmony

“I don’t know how it’s possible, but the three of us don’t ever clash or disagree,” Melissa says. “It’s just completely harmonious between us, and I’m not exaggerating.”

Despite all of the time that Melissa, Christopher and Cory spend together at work, they are also best friends and family, and as a result, they spend all of their personal time together, too. Melissa and Christopher have one son, and Cory is a father of three. What draws them so closely together is their shared goal of working hard in order to enjoy each other’s company as a family.

For Melissa, her decision to change direction at that pivotal moment years ago has had a profound impact on her life, one she couldn’t have predicted when she was a barber in Los Angeles. In two short years, she found the comfort, stability and love of close family that she had lost, in a way that also allowed her to live out her passion through her career.