Some people start painting on the side, and then realize that they are making more money than they do at their primary job. Others pick it up as a high school or college job, and see potential for growing it into a business. Still others are looking to change careers, and see painting as a business opportunity with a low cost of entry.
No matter how people get to the point where they consider starting a painting business, they will reach a point when they wonder: is this really a good idea? Here are a few questions that will help you answer that question.
Do you enjoy sales and marketing? The odds are high that your ability to pay the bills didn’t depend on sales and marketing work when you started out painting for friends and family and it led to referrals, or when you were painting for a summer job. When you start a painting business, that will change.
A large percentage of your time will be spent managing your workload. When work is light, that might mean dropping flyers off door-to-door or networking with people in your community who can send jobs your way. When work is heavy, that means answering the phone again and again only to tell people you have no availability for months. While this work doesn’t directly generate money, it’s necessary to fill up the calendar with future jobs!
Can you be very organized? A real business requires more than a paint brush and a ladder. It requires bookkeeping. It requires meeting commitments to customers, which requires careful scheduling and can sometimes mean long weeks. It also requires being able to switch quickly from painting to sales to customer service on the fly. If you’re starting a painting business so you can paint all day, you’re likely to be disappointed.
Are you an optimistic person? There’s always plenty to stress about when running a business. One star reviews. Taxes. Lawsuits. Slow season. Truck payments. If you’re able to put all of that stress aside and focus on hard work, customer satisfaction, and business growth, there’s also plenty of opportunity. But if you feel like these worries might bring you down, it’s going to be tough to own and run a business – because while stressful situations can be managed, they can’t be eliminated.
If after answering those three questions you still feel like running a business sounds like a great idea, congratulations! You might be a great candidate for starting a painting business.
Call us at 855-385-1134 or email us at Team_PPW@ProPainterWebsites.com to learn how we can make it easier to get painting leads coming into your new business!