How To Start A Painting Business

Starting a professional painting business can be exciting, challenging, and risky. As a new business owner, you’ve chosen to embark on a journey that has no guaranteed success or income. Still, like all entrepreneurs, you’ve decided the risk is worth the earning potential. You’ve got the skills and experience required to operate a house painting service, you just need some help in the other areas of running a small business. 

Long-term, your painting company’s success will rely on attracting customers and earning enough business to build a strong reputation, online or through word of mouth. That sounds more like a job for a marketing specialist than a professional painter, but just like painting, some basic prep work will help to make your job a lot easier down the line. You can get started right away, without a complicated marketing strategy, and that’s where Bidmii comes in.

Bidmii helps connect independent contractors with homeowners who need projects completed professionally and quickly. We’re here to help get small businesses like yours off the ground. The good news is, it’s easier than you think. 

Below, we outline everything you need to do to launch and grow your business, from your business plan and cash flow to getting your first customers and getting paid. We’ll help provide the knowledge and resources you need to start a successful house painting business, so you can focus on what you do best.

Table of contents

• Business Plan
• Selecting a Business Structure
• Register Your Business
• Create a Website
• Get Insurance
• Municipal Licensing
• Get Your First Customers
• How to Bid on a Project
• Complete the Project and Get Paid
• Build your Profile

Creating a Business Plan

So you’ve decided to start a painting business — congratulations! On top of your job painting houses, you’ll also need to be a CEO, CFO, business leader, salesperson, and take on several other responsibilities. If you’re serious about your business, you’ll need to have a basic business plan and cash flow. You should know the services you’ll offer, such as colour consultations or aluminum siding painting, and how much you’ll charge for each. It doesn’t have to be pretty or complicated, but it should lay out your path forward.

One of the biggest reasons your business should have a plan and initial cash flow is to apply for a small business loan. This will be crucial for you if you need subcontractors, vehicles, or equipment like brushes and drop cloths. Your business plan should include a description of your business, the services you will offer, a summary of who is involved and their responsibilities, how you plan to market your services, operate and manage the business, and how much funding you’ll need, if any.

Selecting a Business Structure

A business structure is one of the first decisions you’ll need to make for your professional painting business. There are four standard types of business structures:

• Sole proprietorship
• Partnership
• Corporation
• Cooperative

Each structure has different pros, cons, and implications, so you’ll need to choose the one that works best for your business. When selecting your business structure, consider your liability. Businesses with higher liability will want to choose a more protective structure, such as a corporation, which costs more than a sole proprietorship but offers benefits such as limited personal liability. Learn more about choosing your business structure.

 Register Your Business

Now that you’ve selected your business structure, you’ll want to get your painting business registered. Registering your business protects your business name and proves that your company is a legitimate entity — meaning that you can hire employees and complete real jobs, among other benefits. To register for a business license, you’ll need to provide your business name and structure type, along with information including your address and other details. You’ll also need to pay for your business registration. Register your business in Ontario.

Create a Website

In the digital age; if you’re not online, you’re behind. Most small business owners rely on word of mouth and social media to get customers, but a website is a big checkmark that helps to show potential customers that you’re a legitimate painting company. Your website can be a simple contact page to prove that you’re a real company. Many website builders offer a free trial, so you can get a basic website up and running on your own fairly quickly. 

Pro Tip: Your Google business profile will be the largest entry point for your business. Start your website there, and you’ll have an online storefront created quickly for less than $20/year.

Don’t get overwhelmed - just get it launched!

Many business owners will put off launching a website for months because it’s not perfect. You won’t get much traffic in the beginning, so just make a basic website with relevant information and get it online. You don’t need to spend money on a custom-designed website, either. Once you’ve got money coming in consistently, then you can invest more in your website. 

Get Business Insurance

Your painting business will probably need three different types of insurance. It is worth reaching out to several different insurance agents for quotes and advice. The types of insurance you may need include:

General Liability insurance: potential damage you may unintentionally create at a client’s property.

Workers' Compensation: potential injuries to you or others while on the job.

Equipment insurance: theft or damage to your tools and equipment.

Additional Licensing

This section mainly applies to general contractors and specific trades, but it’s still worth looking into to ensure that your business is operating within the laws and regulations of the municipality where you’re operating. If a contractor or subcontractor doesn’t have the required permits, it can lead to an entire project being halted, which can damage  relationships with your customers, and other contractors

As an example, according to bylaws in the City of Toronto, additional licensing applies to anyone who advertises or solicits for work as a building renovator or building contractor doing renovation work (including altering, repairing, or renovating buildings or structures). This means that if you’re planning to operate a painting business within the City of Toronto, you may need a work permit from the city. If you’re subcontracting for a general contractor, they should know if you’ll need a city permit. You can also contact the municipality if you’re unsure.

Get Your First Customers

This is one of the biggest struggles for many new business owners. Of course, your goal as a business owner is to fill up that shiny new business bank account. Unless you’ve got a team of house painters, you’ll need to divide your limited time between lining up new projects and completing those you’ve already agreed to. 

To ensure you have new house painting projects coming in, you’ll need to spend time on marketing and sales activities, in addition to managing your job sites. Traditional advertising can cost up to $100 per lead for lawn signs, flyers, and more, which is unrealistic when you’re starting your own painting business. That’s why we created Bidmii. It’s the cheapest, easiest, and fastest way to get your first customers. 

How Bidmii Helps You Earn Your First Customers:

With Bidmii, you’ll lower your business expenses and increase your profitability with one simple tool. You’ll never have to pay for marketing expenses and materials because we’ll provide a direct link to your customers. Just create a free profile, select the types of projects you’re interested in, and receive daily notifications for new projects through SMS and email that will connect you with homeowners in your area. You can immediately start bidding on the projects you want, send offers to potential customers, and engage in direct conversations with customers in your area. 

How to Bid on a Project

Bidding on a project is easy, and it helps provide upfront insight into your profitability on each project. If you’re just starting out, you may want to seek advice from other professional painters on how to price projects but, in general, you should always make sure that you can account for your costs. 

Example Project Bid: Painting Job

Jean from Sauble Beach wants her home painted, so she posts a project on Bidmii. You see the email notification on your phone and decide to place a bid. You post additional questions to dive into the details, then check in with your subcontractors and learn that they can help you for $1,000. You estimate that you will incur around $500 in equipment costs, transportation, and expenses. With this in mind, you decide to quote the job at $3,500. Jean accepts the bid, and you’re left with at least $1,500 profit on your first job — and you only spent money out-of-pocket on your painting business registration, expenses, and subcontractors.

Your Proposed Price: $3,500

Subcontractor Fee: $1,000

Equipment & Expenses: $500

Total Profit: 1,500 

Complete the Project and Get Paid

This is why you started your painting business in the first place. With Bidmii, you won’t have to spend your valuable time chasing payments from your customers. You’ll receive payment directly into your account as soon as a project (or project stage) is marked as complete by both parties. 

Build your Profile

Congrats, you’ve completed your first project! You’ll receive honest, verified ratings and reviews from your customers about your completed projects directly on Bidmii. As you grow your business with Bidmii, homeowners will feel more and more confident about using your services, and this will help you compete for more (and bigger) projects. 

Want To Build Your Business Using Bidmii?

Bidmii is the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to earn new customers for your painting business. We’ll help you find new clients and make lasting relationships with homeowners in your area. By completing projects you’ll earn a strong reputation through ratings and reviews based solely on your skillset and communication.

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