Some people would prefer to do anything else rather than paint a house. However, you’re not one of those people. If you love working with rollers, brushes, and painter’s tape, it only makes sense to start your own company. So, today we’ll talk about how to start a painting business in 2021.
The best of all is that you don’t need much to do it. All it takes is a little bit of money, dedication, and some tools. No matter if you’re an experienced painter or just starting to learn all the tricks of the craft, opening a painting business can be an excellent investment. But before you start dealing with effective ways to get the word out there, let’s see what you need to begin.
Learn how the work is done
According to experts, you should spend some time working with the pros before taking the plunge and starting your own business. There are lots of little tricks that you need to know and many possible mistakes you could make. If you don’t know how to avoid them, it can cost you both money and clients.
The Internet is also a great place for gathering information and knowledge. However, make sure to get hands-on experience as well. Basically, you want to know what clientele you’re going after wants, how to make money in the niche, and how to do business with people you don’t know.
Pick a name, location, and register your business
You can’t start a business without a name. Here, you want to choose something timeless and professional. This is a name that will be on your website, uniforms, and vehicles. So, it’s essential to make a wise decision. Pick something short, sweet, and simple.
Technically, your office can be in your home. However, that’s not the wisest decision you could make. If you get a business address with its own P.O. box, your business will look more professional and prominent. So, forget about making an office from your spare bedroom. Still, if you have no other options for a start, think about office relocation once your business takes off and transfer to a bigger, more suitable space instead.
And the final step is registering your business with your local government. Do research, and find out how to do it in your town. It can take up to two months to complete your registration, so jump into it as soon as possible.
Choose the clientele and services you’ll offer
If you want to learn how to start a painting business in 2021, you need to learn about the market. After that, you’ll be able to understand who you want for your clients. You’ll need to make a choice and decide if you’re going to go for residential or commercial jobs. These two are very different, and you can only pick right if you know what you want to achieve.
In residential painting, the work always comes from new clients. However, getting contracts is a tricky part. You see, residential clients don’t need painting services at all times. They’ll only call you every couple of years. You have to build a substantial volume of clients to have constant work. Getting online reviews is very important for this part of the process, so make sure to encourage it among your clients.
Commercial work is pretty much the opposite of residential. Cash flow is slower, and you’ll have to wait for as long as 90 days to get the money for the work you did. Getting jobs is a lot easier, but the scopes of work are always a lot bigger. You’ll have a lot more things to think about, but you’ll be able to make more money.
Buy the materials and tools
As we have already mentioned, you don’t need lots of equipment to start a painting business. Here’s a list of necessities:
- A truck
- Rollers
- Brushes with poles
- Trays
- Drop sheets
- Ladder
If you’ve got skill, you won’t need anything fancy to make your work stand out. Don’t waste your money on expensive things like sprayers, as you can always rent them if a need occurs. Instead, concentrate on the basics and try to get the most out of them.
Start with some marketing activities
Now you’ve got all in place. You have a business name, location, website, and knowledge on how to do the job. The only thing you’re missing is the customers. Luckily, you can get to them with the help of powerful digital marketing techniques.
However, it’s not enough to know how to start a painting business in 2021 if you don’t know how to maintain it. Try out all means of advertising and find what works the best for you. On top of that, don’t be afraid to talk to the people you know in the niche. Networking can get you very far.
As founder of Base Coat Marketing and a digital marketer with over a decade of lead generation experience, Austin is widely known as the foremost marketing expert within the professional painting industry.
I could talk about this subject all day. I can only discuss it from my perspective which has been 40 years of a two-man residential painting business. Yes you don’t need a million tools but you do need more than you think. The main things are good communication and showing up on time, good communication and showing up on time, good communication and showing up on time. Texting is a big help. Then at the end your job has to look good, caulking is one of the keys. Be neat and clean, look like a painter, don’t play a loud radio. Every happy customer is your sales agent so stay in touch with them and thank them if they get you a new customer. Hand out flyers to at least 20 houses nearby when you are starting out. Don’t wait till the winter to line up interior work, that starts as soon as Exterior season starts. I still learn something new all the time. It’s really all common sense and applies to just life in general
You have to take into account that many of your tools, think brushes and rollers, will have to be replaced frequently. It is so important to uses quality tools in order to get professional results. A lot of the painting companies I have seen struggle with the marketing component as well.