Start A Painting Business - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Start A Painting Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

If you are looking for a self-employment opportunity that gives you a chance to define your working schedule, consider starting a painting business. Painting is one of the low startup costs craft businesses with a high-profit margin. However, only some have the patience or the skill to do painting tasks.

To start a painting business, craft a business plan and register your business. Then, get insurance cover for your business and apply for licenses. Finally, get the right painting equipment and focus on marketing your business.

Starting a painting business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell paintings, or selling paintings online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

starting costs
$10.9K
gross margin
30%
time to build
240 days
growth
SEO
business model
Subscriptions
time investment
Full time

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Office Space Expenses

$0

$7,000

Equipment & Supply Expenses

$66

$700

Inventory Expenses

$50

$9,750

Software Expenses

$12

$575

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$0

$3,000

Website Costs

$13

$215

Specific Industry Expenses

$0

$500

Total Startup Costs

$141

$21,740

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

Van Woof

vanwoof.com/

73

asianpaints

asianpaints.com

14,099

The Flooring Girl

theflooringgirl.com

103,089

CertaPro Painters

certapro.com

158,361

Paint and Sip Wine Painting Parties

paintingwithatwist.com

192,681

Five Star Painting

fivestarpainting.com

210,654

WOW 1 DAY PAINTING

wow1day.com

253,647

Arizona Painting Company

arizonapaintingcompany.com

259,803

Sharper Impressions Painting

sharperimpressionspainting.com

311,258

PaintTalk

painttalk.com

314,179

National Gallery of Ireland

nationalgallery.ie

403,047

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

Rewarding work

Starting a painting business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a painting business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

Quick build time

The average time it takes to build your product is quick - typically around 8 months. This will allow you to bring your product to market faster.

Cons Description

Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your painting business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

Low margins

The gross margins for your painting business are typically around 30%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.

Work can be inconsistent

As a painting business, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.

Lack of benefits

With a painting business, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.

Taxes

As a painting business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

No safety net

Typically, as a painting business, you do not receive a consistent pay-check and instead earn money based on your transactions each month. During the slow periods, you typically take away less since the job is based on commission. It's important to budget accordingly for the slow times.

Marketing Ideas

  • 1

    Affiliate Program

    Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.

    Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.

    The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.

    Learn more about affiliate program ➜

  • 2

    Direct Sales

    Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.

    For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

    Learn more about direct sales ➜

  • 3

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

    Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

    According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

    Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

    Learn more about word of mouth ➜