For those wishing to start their very own custom house painter business, I will attempt to provide you with enough information here to help you decide if painting homes is made for you.
Being the best in business, no matter the business you choose to make your own is always a wise idea, given that most business gain new customers through word of mouth.
For those of you who have no skills at painting homes, you could volunteer your services by telling Habitat for Humanity that you want to paint, and that you are willing to learn.
If you prefer to only learn custom house painting interiors of homes, then be sure to let Habitat for Humanity know that you only want to do painting inside the homes.
However, if you want a successful painting business, you really should be willing to paint the exteriors and interiors of homes so that you will be more apt to be able to fill your work schedule, once you do start your business.
Oh, and before I continue here, men and women can be successful custom house painters. Many painters working today gets anywhere from $20 to $40 an hour for painting, depending on the quality of their work and their experience.
For workshop training, you could take a 4 hour course that is meant for beginners, and offered by Home Depot.
Though their training is limited to interior walls only.
This workshop might be best to take BEFORE speaking with Habitat for Humanity.
This way, you will know for certain that painting really is your “thing”.
Or… you could take Home Depot’s archived digital workshop instructions, by selecting “Paint” from the left-hand sidebar and reviewing the many different videos provided on interior and exterior painting.
How to Paint a Room
Lowe’s also provides digital workshops on painting that may interest you.
Work at what you love doing and you will never have to work again.
Painting Equipment Needed
- Dry Wall Patching Compound – used for repairing holes in wall surfaces before painting can begin.
- Putty Knives – you will want to have 2 different sizes to use whenever necessary. You need one for patching holes in dry wall when using the dry wall patching compound.
- Fine Grit Sandpaper – used to even up any rough surfaces needing a smooth finish to paint on.
- Environmentally-Friendly Mild Soap – for cleaning up any surfaces needing cleaning before beginning to paint.
- Painters Tape – and there are different types, so you will need all of these different types if you are ready to start painting homes.
- Drop Cloths – whether you choose to use a canvas drop cloth that will easily absorb paint dropped, or plastic sheeting that could track paint that cannot be absorbed, is up to you.
Though you may find that the canvas drop cloths turn out to be cheaper in the long run. - Paint Rollers and Refills – the rollers are disposable, so you need to have plenty of refills ready for the next job… or colour.
There are many different types of rollers, so you will need to make yourself familiar with what they are used for, and have them ready when you need them. - Paint Trays – to pour the paint into when rolling walls with paint, and maybe even have a spare if something should happen to your primary tray.
They are cheap enough so you may want more than 1 spare. - Paint Brushes – these you will need for cutting in a wall and or painting trim. You may find that you only need 2 different sizes of brushes.
Angled brushes are preferred for painting corners because they help you gain a clean edge without making the paint bleed.
And, some painters prefer a 3” paint brush for cutting in a wall. - Step Ladder – to use whenever necessary.
- Reliable Vehicle – one that will get you to and from your jobs, as well as contain your necessary equipment.
Once you know how to paint and you are confident enough to start your custom house painting business, then the next step is that you need to know how to get customers for your painting business.
Proven Methods of Marketing Your Painting Business
- Word of Mouth – Once you provide excellent service to your customers, you can start asking for referrals. Referrals truly are the best form of leads for any local business.
- Print out Flyers – Going out into your neighbourhood and canvas by knocking on doors and providing printed flyers (detailing your services and your contact information) isn’t being done much these days.
This leaves this option wide open to you as a means of gaining new customers providing you are a willing and venturous entrepreneur.
It has been said that for every hour you spend going knocking on doors, you could gain upwards of 2 painting leads for your brand-new business.
Be prepared to schedule a time for you to come back and provide your leads with a written estimate.
For those who insist on your doing their estimate right then and there, do it rather than lose the lead.
Just know that having all of the household decision makers present at the time of your estimate will provide you with a better rate of getting their business. - Get Referrals from Lead Providers – Some painters claim they’ve paid $40 for a lead that led to three other FREE referrals for them. In those cases, paying for painting leads makes total sense.
For Americans, here are some examples of Lead Providers: PainterChoice, 99calls, CraftJack, and some say HomeAdvisor too.
Personally, I would be tempted to offer to pay a set fee for leads from my happy customers.
Though lead providers are mainly meant for the beginners, those who are not getting enough leads necessary in creating steady work could use them too. - Free Lead Generators – set up a Google MyBusiness account.
You need to be sure to set your account up properly, and you can even use the free website Google now provides.
And, be sure to ask your paying customers to provide you with a referral on your Google account, as this will help your business rank best in Google’s local pack.
All of which is detailed in local search ranking factors.
Setup a Facebook fan page for your new painting business. See video below…
How to Create a Facebook Business Page
- Create Your Own Website – By creating a website you could gain customers from cities near your business, as only your Facebook business page would do that for you, and not your Google MyBusiness account.
- Provide Business Cards – These you can hand out. VistaPrint can provide you with the proper, easy to use tools that you will need in creating your own personal business cards and pamphlets at a reasonable price.
Be sure to leave your business cards at paint stores that will accept them. Some stores may even provide a bulletin board for you to attach your cards to. - Lawn Sign – Create an attractive and simple (easy on the eyes) lawn sign to use at a residence whenever you are working at a client’s home.
VistaPrint offers this service too, if you want a quality sign.
Again, they provide the necessary tools you will need to design your personal business lawn sign.
You could also check into using an inexpensive plastic bag type of lawn sign that gets placed over top of a very light-weight, metal frame.
Once you have completed your client’s job, do be sure to remove your lawn sign and take it with you so that you will have it use again on the next job.
This way too, you won’t be cluttering up your client’s lawn.
Lawn signs are meant to gain the attention of passersby.
When they see the sign, you could gain another lead by having them come to your client’s door to speak with you.
Be sure to keep lots of business cards to hand out to those who do drop by.
Hope this article has provided you with enough information to help you decide whether to start your very own custom house painter business.
The wages sure are generous when compared with other jobs that are available now (given the many good paying jobs now lost to North Americans).
Should you have any questions regarding starting your own painting business, please feel free to leave those questions in a comment below.
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