How to start a painting business

To start a painting business, you need to determine what type of painting business you want to create, do market research on your local area, and create a business plan. Here are more details on these steps and others you can take to start a painting business:

• Determine what type of painting business you want to create. There are a lot of different types of painting businesses, so it's important for you to have a firm idea of the kind you want to create before taking any other steps.

  There are painting businesses that service residential homes, that paint only interiors, only exteriors, or paint both interiors and exteriors. You also have the option to service commercial businesses and properties.

  Eventually, you might want to expand into a painting business that covers all markets, and that's a great goal to have, however, initially you should try to start your business in a niche area of painting. Perhaps one that is underserviced in your community.

  Determining what type of painting business you want to start is also important in terms of figuring out what equipment you are going to need, and how many people you should hire, either as full-time employees or independent contractors.

  If you are working on a tight budget, you can start a smaller-scale painting business that services small and moderately-sized residential homes or maybe even some businesses. If you are going to be a "one-man-band" just make sure you don't take on jobs or services that you can't handle by yourself.

• Conduct market research on painting businesses in your area. It is critical to do a lot of research on your local painting market, this means finding the consumer base in your area, as well as any competing painting contractors, businesses, or companies.

  It's best to do this research before you start to do anything else in preparation for your painting business. You might also find that this makes you pivot from your initial painting business idea if there are already a lot of competitors in that niche of painting.

  You need to look into all types of painting businesses, those that service residential homes, ones that service commercial buildings, and those that do both.

  Understanding your competition, who they serve, the price quotes they have, and their clientele, will help you determine how you can make a successful painting business that will stand out.

  When looking at other local painting companies, try to get a sense of the types of homes or buildings they service, whether they specialize in certain homes or buildings or their services more broad, and what services they offer in addition to painting.

  If they don't list approximate prices on their website, a call to them for a price quote is a good idea.

  Another great way to learn about competitors is to talk with their customers. Here you can get information on what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong, and at the same time you'll be doing customer research. This will be of great value later when you plan your business and decide on marketing strategies.

• Create a painting business plan. Your business plan should cover customer research, competitors, a startup budget, and financial projections for your painting business.

  Other things you should add include the problems you will be solving for clients and customers, what sets your business apart from the competition, the resources your business will depend upon, and your businesses' mission statement and vision for the future of the company.

  Your business plan is a critical document for yourself, especially if you are looking to get a small business loan or investors in your company.

  You also need to figure out exactly what services you are going to offer. Are you only going to offer only one type of painting service, or service one kind of painting, such as interior or exterior paint jobs, or are there other painting-related services you want to offer with your business?

  Providing more services can help you stand out from competitors and create multiple revenue streams within the business, however, it is also most likely going to increase your operating costs. Just be sure to think all of these important issues through when starting to develop your business plan.

  At this stage you should also choose a name for your business. Pick something concise, catchy, and memorable.

• Determine your business' location. Depending on the services you are going to offer, you can choose from a variety of locations.

  If you don't have much startup capital you can also choose to start a mobile painting business that comes to clients' homes or commercial business locations.

  You can also choose a fixed location or temporary location for your painting business, if your painting services involve a niche area, like furniture painting or custom car painting.

  If you have the ability to store all of your painting equipment at home or in your garage, that's a good start.

  However, if your business expands, that means you have to hire more employees, and more employees means more equipment.

  So, eventually you may have to find a space to rent or purchase to run your painting business out of. You can also consider just renting a space for the storage of your equipment and vehicles, this sometimes can be cheaper than renting traditional commercial space.

  Depending on your startup budget, some of these decisions might seem like they are going to be far in the future for your business, but it's important to do proper planning for the future, in the event your painting business really takes off.

  Most of all you need to think about how your business location makes sense based on your market research, for the consumer-base you will serve, and the costs you can afford.

• Obtain the necessary startup capital. The money needed to start a painting business can vary widely.

  Depending on what type of services you are going to offer and the overall structure of your business, it may cost you as little as a few hundred dollars or as much as a few thousand dollars to start your painting business.

  Determine if you can self fund the starting of your business or if you are going to need a small business loan or get startup capital from investors.

• Find out what permits, licenses, and insurances you may need to obtain. Some painting businesses' require you to apply for a combination of licenses and permits from your state and federal government.

  Consider applying to become a limited liability company (LLC). If you operate as an LLC, your personal and company information is entirely separate. While this changes your tax status, it does protect you from personal losses based on the company's performance.

  Once you have this determined you'll also want to get a Federal Tax ID number. This helps you get a license to run your business. This is also referred to as an EIN or Employer Identification Number.

  Requirements will vary from state to state, so it's important to do your own research into your specific state's requirements. Business insurance is necessary to protect your LLC from liabilities, and other possible claims. You also obviously need auto insurance for all of your business-related vehicles, if your painting business is going to be a mobile one.

  It is highly recommended that you seek the counsel of an experienced insurance agent to determine all the necessary insurance policies you should get for your painting business.

  Depending on your state you might also have to meet specific environmental requirements to legally operate your painting business. Call your local city hall to find out about any environmental regulations that may apply to your business or to any insurance policies you must obtain to legally operate.

• Market your painting business. Utilize the internet to market your new business.

  In the modern world, social media is a critical marketing tool. You should create social media accounts for your painting business and try to gain friends and followers. On your business social media accounts, you can post about your painting services and pricing, as well as show actual pictures of your completed projects.

  Another crucial form of digital marketing is the development of a website for your painting business. This is relatively inexpensive, and if you have some extra cash, you can hire a professional to do a professional website for your business.

  Your website should include your pricing and contact information, as well as things like customer testimonies about your services. Make sure your social media business accounts link to your website and vice versa.

  One of the best forms of marketing for a painting business is word of mouth. Here you don't actually have to do much of the marketing at all, just simply provide stellar painting services to your customers and ask your clients to recommend you to other possible clients and customers.

• Hire qualified and motivated employees. Depending on the scale of your business plan, you may not need many employees initially or perhaps you do need a large team.

  To provide painting services to many homes, commercial buildings, or a combination of the two, at the same time, you are going to need a considerable staff.

  There are also going to be administrative duties that you are likely going to need assistance with. You may not need staff for administrative functions at first, however it is always a good idea to plan for the future if your painting business grows.

  If you are planning on keeping your painting business on the small side, you can get away with wearing many hats in the business, and hiring only a few employees, or even no employees, but if you want your business to grow in scale, you are going to need a workforce.

• Invest in equipment and supplies. There are many instruments and products that go into painting, you should make a list of everything you think your business will need.

  Some items for exterior painting and interior painting include:

  • Paint brushes

  • Rollers

  • Ladders

  • Sponges

  • Drop cloths

  • Overalls

  • Many different kinds of paint and finishes

  • A truck for transporting all of your gear