How to Start a Painting Business in 2022

Opening your own painting business can allow you to live your dreams, act as your own boss, set your hours, and work in a satisfying career field. Setting up a successful painting business requires forethought and planning.

Here we will review the steps required to open a new, successful painting business in 2022.

Opening your own business represents a huge step in your career. The painting industry offers a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs. However, before you begin making your business plan, we recommend that you understand the basic technical skills necessary to handle your own painting projects.

Make sure that you know:

So what if you plan on hiring your own painters or subcontractors to take care of the actual painting project work?

Well, we still recommend that you understand the best methods for taking care of a painting job. Understanding the ins and outs of painting can help you avoid costly mistakes, maintain a higher quality of service, and have a good reputation with your clients.

You must take several legal steps to begin operating a painting business. First of all, make sure you come up with a name for your business. Once you have a name, follow the steps below.

Registering your company requires you to decide on the kind of company you want to run. Your business structure often impacts the rules you have to follow when starting a new enterprise. You can operate your business as a:

New business owners should register with their state secretary. Often, you can handle the registration process on your own with little effort. If you’re looking for an automated solution we recommend using an online service like Incorporate Fast which can have you up and running within 30 days for as little as $99.00.

Depending upon the kind of business you open, you might need to get an EIN. For example, LLCs require an EIN to file taxes or open up a bank account. You can sign up for an EIN through the IRS website or by using a service such as Incorporate Fast.

You need a business license to legally operate as a small business in the US. Different states have specific licensing requirements. The Small Business Administration (SBA) can provide you with information about your state’s requirements.

We strongly recommend acquiring insurance before taking on your own residential or commercial painting projects. Depending upon the requirements in your state and your business requirements you may require:

Most painting businesses carry multiple insurance policies for protection. Your insurance policies serve as safety nets, protecting you from financial liability in the event of injuries or property damage on a job site.

Before you start offering interior or exterior painting services, it’s essential to get your finances in order. So many painters miss this critical step and end up scrambling to appropriately file taxes or report their earnings.

The best way to accomplish this is to set up a business bank account to handle cash flow as a business entity. Do not mix your business expenses and assets with your personal assets. Use the cash flow into your business bank account to pay for:

Some painting companies hire an accountant, but that may prove too expensive if you’re just getting started. Consider accounting software like QuickBooks to handle the numbers for your new painting company.

Part of opening a profitable painting business involves establishing your brand. You should include branding guidelines in your business plan. Think about:

As a professional painter, you should also design and print some business cards. Include information about your business like your email address, website, and phone number.

A website allows you to reach your target audience online, which is where over 90% of your customers begin searching for your services. Make sure you have your business plan in order before purchasing a domain. Start by ensuring the domain you want and the social media profiles you’ll need to create are all available. The last thing you want is to purchase a business name that is already registered in another state and has claimed all the online profiles.

While we already wrote an in-depth article detailing the essential elements of a painting business website, a few highlights include:

Be sure to include details about the painting services you offer in your local market. Clarify whether you offer both interior and exterior painting services, commercial and residential, in addition to “specialty” services such as cabinet painting.

Before you can begin painting, you need the right equipment. Your customers will expect you to have your own equipment if you operate your own company. Residential and commercial painters may require:

When starting a new painting business, you may not have the funds to purchase all your equipment right away. We recommend requiring a downpayment to build up your supplies before you get started. Otherwise many successful painting businesses take out a business loan to cover their upfront expenses.

It’s critical that any painting business owner learns how to estimate jobs and write contracts. Before you accept your first job, make sure you visit the job site to look over the conditions and evaluate the scale of your project. Here are a few tips to help with estimating your first job:

When a client accepts your estimate, it’s time to draw up a contract for the project. The contract should at a minimum include:

Keep in mind, there are several services and apps that can help generate estimates and manage contracts for you. We recommend looking into DripJobs for their extensive estimating capabilities and text message + email automations.

Once you have your business logistics setup it’s time to begin marketing. We already wrote a definitive guide for marketing your painting business so be sure to take a look at that article (link below).

When considering how to start a painting business, it’s essential to consider the costs. You can expect to pay between $500-$1000 for your first year in business.

The costs for insurance vary based on the policies you select. You may also expect to pay for your website and marketing, along with costs to pay your own employees or subcontractors. These costs vary greatly based on your location, the kinds of jobs you take, and the number of people you employ as a business owner.

Self-isolation and social distancing greatly impacted the construction industry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, many people put their painting projects on hold, especially if they had interior work scheduled.

Additionally, the pandemic disrupted, and continues to disrupt supply chains, making it harder to get reliable sources of paint and other products necessary to complete most interior or exterior painting projects.

However, the experts believe that the painting industry will see positive growth as pandemic restrictions begin to lift. So expect to see more painting contracts in the coming year as clients schedule projects they put on hold during the lockdown.

Interested in getting a jumpstart on your competition? We have over 14 years of marketing experience in the professional painting industry. Reach out to discuss marketing strategies to grow your painting business.