Do you have skills in painting and suddenly think about starting your own house painting business? Starting a painting business can be very productive if you planned it right. So, before you start painting and brushing houses, you need to learn the basics of starting your own business. From drafting business plans to hiring the right and proper number of staff, there are a lot of important things you need to set up to ensure that your business is legit and will help you earn income, with that said let’s take a look at how you can start painting and earning!
Skills needed
If you're planning to start a painting business, you should have the knowledge and skills to make sure that you're painting to earn and not waste a lot of money and resources. Painting houses needs to be precise and you will be offering your skills, having the basic understanding and skills at painting houses will be your key to success if you're going to venture on this path. You might even consider enrolling in some workshop classes on house painting skills and having credentials and skills under your belt will help you in the long run, so consider it as a long-term investment in yourself.
These skills are key for great service but are not limited to:
- Proper scraping, patching, and sanding techniques to prep a room for painting
- Basic painting techniques to get an even coat and avoid touch-ups
- How to use brushes and rollers
- How to cut in paint
- How to use different kinds of paints
- When to use primer
- The best way to paint rooms
What Services will Your Company Offer
Painting households is a monumental task and can be separated depending on what rooms need to be painted, if you’re going to start small, you can nitpick on what your services can cover. Here are some of the services you can choose from:
- Repaints
- Staining
- Drywall repairs
- Interior painting
- Exterior painting
- Construction painting
- Wallpaper removal
- Metal door painting
- Deck reconditioning
Now these services can be offered alone or if your business is growing and you get your hands on some additional manpower, you can expand and add more to your services, and then maybe one day you’re painting a whole household!
Equipment
The equipment you use will be a huge factor in how well you are going to do your job. You must consider that your equipment is the tool that can make or break your success in this field. You can try and skimp out on the type of equipment and paint but that may even gauge you more money and time if the outcome of the paint is not up to your standards. So, investing in good, reliable equipment is key to your success.
With that in mind here are some of the basic tools needed to start painting houses:
- 8’-12’ ladder
- Rollers, trays, and high-quality brushes of various sizes
- Drop cloths to protect carpets and furniture
- Caulking gun for replacing cracked or missing window caulking
- Masking gun to tape windows quickly
- Scraper for removing cracked or peeling paint
- Wire brush for creating an even surface
- Sheets grit sandpaper to smooth out rough surfaces
For the pain and primer, it is better to stick to trusted brands rather than trying to save money by buying unknown and untested paints which may give bad results requiring you to spend more to rectify them.
Licenses
Licenses and permits will solidify your business’s legitimacy, not only does your company gets acknowledged by the government, but by having these can save you money. These are some but not limited to of the important papers you’ll need for your company:
- General liability insurance
- Health insurance
- Vehicle insurance
- Workers’ compensation
- Business owners’ policy
- Employment practices liability
Marketing
Marketing your business is an important part of the process for your business to be known and get you your first customers and more. Marketing comes in many shapes and forms and here are some examples but are not limited to:
- Newspaper Advertisements
- Flyers
- Internet Advertisements
These are some of the tools that you can use and promote your company and your first contact to your potential customers so planning your marketing strategy is important for your business growth. Internet is always a great place to put your focus on marketing, for instance, Facebook is a great platform to utilize for its easy access and it can penetrate more places.
Invoices and Transactions
An integral part of any business is how you can do your invoices and transactions, it might be a small feat, but a good and professional-looking invoice can go a long way for your business. In this day and age, you can avail of these invoice services online and it can help you manage your transactions to give your company a good look and at the same time organize your transaction history, take a look at Blinksale, they are an online invoice service provider that has many tools that you can utilize for your upstart. Check out Blinksale and find more on how you can make your invoice and transactions hassle-free.
As always, taking the first step on everything is the hardest part but hopefully, these pieces of information can help you take that first giant step toward starting your own House Painting business.
