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Written by: Carolyn Young
Carolyn Young is a business writer who focuses on entrepreneurial concepts and the business formation. She has over 25 years of experience in business roles, and has authored several entrepreneurship textbooks.
Edited by: David Lepeska
David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.
Published on November 18, 2021
Updated on July 19, 2024
Investment range
$2,000 - $5,970
Revenue potential
$500,000 - $1 million p.a.
Time to build
0 - 3 Months
Profit potential
$65,000 - $130,000 p.a.
Industry trend
Growing
Commitment
Full-time
These are the critical aspects you should evaluate when launching your painting business:
You May Also Wonder:
Can I start a painting business with no experience?
Sure! You can start a painting business with no experience. The painting industry has low barriers to entry and typically no educational requirements. However, you may need a license to operate in some states. Building painting skills and providing high-quality services are crucial for success. You can start with training and simple jobs to gain experience.
How do I find contracts for painting?
An online marketing presence for your business, especially with platforms like Google My Business (GMB), will allow you to reach online searchers for painting work. Call realtors and property managers to see which locals may soon need painting work done.
Is being a painter bad for your health?
Painters do face exposure to potential health and safety risks, notably toxic fumes, as well as dust and physical injury. However, using eco-friendly paint products, wearing masks, and protecting against injury with secure equipment considerably mitigate the risks associated with being a professional painter.
Where do painters make the most money?
The income potential for painters can vary based on factors such as location, market demand, competition, and experience. Generally, painters in urban areas or regions with high construction and real estate activity may have more opportunities to command higher rates. Metropolitan areas with a high cost of living and strong economic growth often offer higher earning potential for painters.
Is painting business a good side hustle?
The painting business can be a viable side hustle for individuals with the necessary skills and flexibility. It allows you to work on your own schedule and take on projects as your availability permits.
Every operation has its pros and cons, including a painting business.
Market researcher Fortune Business Insights expects the global paints and coating industry to grow further through 2028 as demand surpasses pre-pandemic levels((https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/paints-and-coatings-market-101947)) while market analyst Grand View Research says the US paints and coatings market is also expected to grow steadily through 2027.((https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/us-paints-coatings-market))
Growth in paints and coatings generally leads to a similar expansion in the painting industry.
The latest trends and customer demands in the painting industry((https://craftjack.com/toolbox/painting-industry-trends/)),according to the home service pros at contractor advisor Craft Jack, include:
Challenges in painting include:
Painting business startup costs range from $2,000 to almost $6,000, according to Step by Step Research, with the average cost being about $4,000. The startup cost is largely determined by your painting equipment, which in turn depends on the type of jobs you plan to tackle. Will you just use rollers and brushes, or employ heavy-duty spraying equipment?
Here’s a list of the items you need to successfully launch your painting business:
| Startup Costs | Ballpark Range | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Tools | $100 - $220 | $160 |
| Paint sprayer | $250 - $1,000 | $625 |
| Ladder | $150 - $450 | $300 |
| Licenses | $200 - $300 | $250 |
| Insurance | $100 - $500 | $300 |
| Website setup | $1,000 - $3,000 | $2,000 |
| Initial marketing budget | $200 - $500 | $350 |
| Total | $2,000 - $5,970 | $3,985 |
Your income will be dictated by the number and size of jobs you take on, which will determine the materials and equipment you need and the size of your staff.
The average price of a one-day residential paint job ranges from $500 to $2,000, while big commercial jobs can run up to $20,000 or more. Labor and materials generally swallow 60-70% of a painting business’ revenue, with overhead and marketing taking another 20%, leaving you a profit margin of around 10-15%.
At an average of $2,800 each, 15 painting jobs per month would give you annual revenue of $500,000 and a tidy profit of $65,000, assuming a 13% margin. As you gain experience and build your reputation, you could do 30 jobs per month, bringing you annual revenue of about $1 million and a cool $130,000 in profit.
Barriers to excelling in the painting business center on your ability to stand out from the competition and eventually expand your operation:
Now that you know what’s involved in starting a painting business, it’s a good idea to hone your concept in preparation to enter a competitive market.
Market research will give you the upper hand, even if you’re already positive that you have a perfect product or service. Conducting market research is important, because it can help you understand your customers better, who your competitors are, and your business landscape.
To stand out in the field of residential and commercial painting, you’ll need to showcase your talent. In order to develop your skills, before officially starting your business it may be worth investing in industry-relevant training. Though it may be easy to get into, painting still requires knowledge and skill, including mastery over the tools. Prepping and sealing surfaces prior to painting often requires expertise, for instance — and one big screw-up could mean a bad Yelp or Google review that potentially dooms your business
As you start your business, it would be wise to perform market research on interior design trends and the colors most in demand. Understanding in advance what your target market wants will also help shape your training, services, and marketing.
Your service offerings might focus on residential homes or commercial businesses, or interior or exterior jobs. Or you could choose to do it all. Of course, that would require more equipment and training, at a much greater expense.
Ideas for more specialized painter roles might include:
The prices you charge will vary depending on the work and materials involved. For smaller jobs, like a bedroom, you might change $500 or as much as $2,000. Project resource Home Advisor puts the average cost of an interior residential paint job at $900 to nearly $3,000. For larger projects, including exteriors or multi-day affairs, you might charge $10,000 or more.
Providing accurate estimates for your work is crucial, and will depend on worker hours, material costs, and more. You should structure your jobs to net your desired profit margin.
Once you know your costs, you can use this Step By Step profit margin calculator to determine your mark-up and final price points. Remember, the prices you use at launch should be subject to change if warranted by the market.
A painting business can target its services toward residential homes or commercial properties, such as storefronts or offices.
For residential painting, your clientele will be less consistent and will require more legwork to gather the necessary leads. Homeowners may only need painting services near move-in or in certain seasons. Your marketing will need to have a large reach in order to consistently supply you with homes to paint throughout the year. Like many modern service providers, online reviews will be a large part of your business’ success in the long run.
For commercial painting, the square-footage for scopes of work will be bigger and the work may be more consistent. Cash flow will be slower as businesses are more likely to pay in slower terms, with 30 days or more of lag time. Additionally, painting for businesses may have additional requirements, legal challenges, or special regulatory requests for the sake of the active business operation you are painting for.
In the early stages, you may want to operate your business from home to keep expenses relatively low. But as your business grows and operations intensify, you will likely need to hire workers for various roles and maybe rent out an office or storage facility. You can find commercial space to rent in your area on Craigslist, Crexi, and Commercial Cafe.
When choosing a commercial space, you may want to follow these rules of thumb:
Here are some ideas for brainstorming your business name:
Once you’ve got a list of potential names, visit the website of the US Patent and Trademark Office to make sure they are available for registration and check the availability of related domain names using our Domain Name Search tool. Using “.com” or “.org” sharply increases credibility, so it’s best to focus on these.
Finally, make your choice among the names that pass this screening and go ahead with domain registration and social media account creation. Your business name is one of the key differentiators that set your business apart. Once you pick your company name, and start with the branding, it is hard to change the business name. Therefore, it’s important to carefully consider your choice before you start a business entity.
Here are the key components of a business plan:
If you’ve never created a business plan, it can be an intimidating task. You might consider hiring a business plan specialist to create a top-notch business plan for you.
Registering your business is an absolutely crucial step — it’s the prerequisite to paying taxes, raising capital, opening a bank account, and other guideposts on the road to getting a business up and running.
Plus, registration is exciting because it makes the entire process official. Once it’s complete, you’ll have your own business!
Your business location is important because it can affect taxes, legal requirements, and revenue. Most people will register their business in the state where they live, but if you are planning to expand, you might consider looking elsewhere, as some states could offer real advantages when it comes to painting services.
If you’re willing to move, you could really maximize your business! Keep in mind, it’s relatively easy to transfer your business to another state.
Business entities come in several varieties, each with its pros and cons. The legal structure you choose for your painting business will shape your taxes, personal liability, and business registration requirements, so choose wisely.
Here are the main options:
We recommend that new business owners choose LLC as it offers liability protection and pass-through taxation while being simpler to form than a corporation. You can form an LLC in as little as five minutes using an online LLC formation service. They will check that your business name is available before filing, submit your articles of organization, and answer any questions you might have.
Choose Your State
The final step before you’re able to pay taxes is getting an Employer Identification Number, or EIN. You can file for your EIN online or by mail or fax: visit the IRS website to learn more. Keep in mind, if you’ve chosen to be a sole proprietorship you can simply use your social security number as your EIN.
Once you have your EIN, you’ll need to choose your tax year. Financially speaking, your business will operate in a calendar year (January–December) or a fiscal year, a 12-month period that can start in any month. This will determine your tax cycle, while your business structure will determine which taxes you’ll pay.
The IRS website also offers a tax-payers checklist, and taxes can be filed online.
It is important to consult an accountant or other professional to help you with your taxes to ensure you are completing them correctly.
Securing financing is your next step and there are plenty of ways to raise capital:
Bank and SBA loans are probably the best options, other than friends and family, for funding a painting business.
Starting a painting business requires obtaining a number of licenses and permits from local, state, and federal governments.
Federal regulations, licenses, and permits associated with starting your business include doing business as (DBA), health licenses and permits from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual properties, as well as industry-specific licenses and permits.
You may also need state-level and local county or city-based licenses and permits. The license requirements and how to obtain them vary, so check the websites of your state, city, and county governments or contact the appropriate person to learn more.
You could also check this SBA guide for your state’s requirements, but we recommend using MyCorporation’s Business License Compliance Package. They will research the exact forms you need for your business and state and provide them to ensure you’re fully compliant.
This is not a step to be taken lightly, as failing to comply with legal requirements can result in hefty penalties.
If you feel overwhelmed by this step or don’t know how to begin, it might be a good idea to hire a professional to help you check all the legal boxes.
Before you start making money, you will need a place to keep it, and that requires opening a bank account.
Keeping your business finances separate from your personal account makes it easy to file taxes and track your company’s income, so it’s worth doing even if you’re running your painting business as a sole proprietorship. Opening a business bank account is quite simple, and similar to opening a personal one. Most major banks offer accounts tailored for businesses — just inquire at your preferred bank to learn about their rates and features.
Banks vary in terms of offerings, so it’s a good idea to consider your options to choose the best plan that works for you. Once you choose your bank, you’ll need to bring your EIN (or Social Security Number if you decide on a sole proprietorship), articles of incorporation, and any other legal documentation that proves your business is registered.
Business insurance is an area that often gets overlooked yet it could be vital to your success as an entrepreneur. Insurance protects you from unexpected events that can have a devastating impact on your business.
Here are some types of insurance to consider:
As opening day nears, prepare for launch by reviewing and improving some key elements of your business.
Being an entrepreneur often means wearing many hats, from marketing to sales to accounting, which can be overwhelming. Fortunately, many websites and digital tools are available to help simplify many business tasks.
You might check out The Paint Estimator to help you estimate costs and schedule jobs or Craft Jack for useful guidance for every type of contractor.
Website development is crucial because your site is your online presence and needs to convince prospective clients of your expertise and professionalism.
You can create your own website using services like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace. This route is very affordable, but figuring out how to build a website can be time-consuming. If you lack tech-savvy, you can hire a web designer or developer to create a custom website for your business.
They are unlikely to find your website, however, unless you follow Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices. These are steps that help pages rank higher in the results of top search engines like Google.
Here are some powerful marketing strategies for your future business:
Unique selling propositions, or USPs, are the unique characteristics of a product or service that sets it apart from the competition. Customers today are inundated with buying options, so you’ll have a real advantage if they are able to quickly grasp how your painting service meets their needs or wishes. It’s wise to do all you can to ensure your USPs stand out on your website and in your marketing and promotional materials, stimulating buyer desire.
Global pizza chain Domino’s is renowned for its USP: “Hot pizza in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed.” Signature USPs for your painting business could be:
You may not like to network or use personal connections for business gain. But your personal and professional networks likely offer considerable untapped business potential. Maybe that Facebook friend you met in college is now running a painting business, or a LinkedIn contact of yours is connected to dozens of potential clients. Maybe your cousin or neighbor has been working as a painter for years and can offer invaluable insight and industry connections.
The possibilities are endless, so it’s a good idea to review your personal and professional networks and reach out to those with possible links to or interest in painting. You’ll probably generate new customers or find companies with which you could establish a partnership. Online businesses might also consider affiliate marketing as a way to build relationships with potential partners and boost business.
If you’re starting out small from a home-based office, you may not need any employees. But as your business grows, you will likely need workers to fill various roles. Potential positions for a painting business would include:
At some point, you may need to hire all of these positions or simply a few, depending on the size and needs of your business. You might also hire multiple workers for a single role or a single worker for multiple roles, again depending on need.
Free-of-charge methods to recruit employees include posting ads on popular platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook. You can also use free classified sites like Jobs and AngelList. You might also consider a premium recruitment option, such as advertising on Indeed, Glassdoor, or ZipRecruiter. Further, if you have the resources, you could consider hiring a recruitment agency to help you find talent.
You’re now ready to start your entrepreneurial journey with your painting business. Now’s a good time to launch your services and position yourself for the projected market rebound. You should be ready to grab the opportunities that will be created by more housing starts and non-residential construction activities.
A painting business is hard but satisfying work. Filling out the walls of homes and businesses with your creative designs allows you to provide color and character to the community around you. On top of that, you’ll be working on your own time while building your brand. Good luck!
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