Professional Painting Contractors Forum banner

For new members and visitors: So you think you want to be a painting contractor?

217K views 177 replies 135 participants last post by  TKbrush 
#1 · (Edited)
So you think you want to own a painting company…


So for whatever reason, you have decided you want to start a business. More specifically, you want to be a painting contractor. You’ve come to the right place for information pertaining to this choice of careers. But before we get too deep into it, let’s get this out of the way. Buy this book, and read it. Seriously, for your own good, do it. It’s a short, fast, and easy read, and it will set you straight right from the start. It will help you determine if you truly want to own a business, or if you are just a technician who is having an entrepreneurial seizure. I can tell you from experience, and think that most of the professionals on this site that have been in business for 10 years or more will agree that running a painting company isn’t near as easy as most people think it is. In fact it is damn hard. So you painted your buddy’s house, and think you can make a living at it? Read on.


Next, determine if you have enough experience in the industry to successfully run a painting business.* You will need to have more than just the basic knowledge of using a brush and roller. If you have only painted a couple rooms or such for friends or family, you don’t have enough experience to run a successful and profitable company. I would say a minimum of 5 years of actually painting for living would be a decent start. If you’re only 22, and claim to have been painting for 10 years, guess what. Being 12 years old and helping your cousin/uncle/dad/whoever after school and on weekends doesn’t count as experience. Experience starts when you are painting to pay your bills, feed your family, keep your utilities on, etc. If you have less than 5 years experience of actually painting for a living, I highly recommend finding a job with another contractor and gaining some time on the wall and in the trenches.



*If you want to run only the business end of the business, and plan on subcontracting out the labor, then I can’t help you here as that isn’t my experience. Maybe, if you ask really, really nicely, Brian might give you some good input on that business model.



There are a couple books on the market that could also help a newbie paint contractor. These will give you only basic information (nothing beats hands-on experience):


by William McElroy
Paint Contractor’s Manual by Dave Matis & Jobe H. Toole


The PDCA puts out several good books on the subject. They are fairly pricey, but well worth the money. All the PDCA books can be found at the PDCA Store.


The Business of Painting – a basic business management manual for paint contractors
Marketing for Paint Contractors
Effective Business Planning for Painting and Wallcovering Contractors


While knowing the hands-on technical know-how to be able to paint for money, just as important is the ability to be a businessman to run the business. To do this you need to know accounting, bookkeeping, estimating, and have managerial skills. No one is born with these traits, they must be learned somewhere, somehow. If you have no experience, in any of these, I highly recommend looking into some night classes at your local community college. Bookkeeping I & II, Accounting I & II, Taxes for Small Businesses, etc. Most of these classes are cheap, and can be done at night. If school ain’t for you, then start reading. Some basics to start off with:


On the numbers:


How Much Should I Charge? By Ellen Rohr
By Ellen Rohr
Keeping the Books by Linda Pinson
Markup & Profit by Michael Stone


On estimating:


2008 National Painting Cost Estimator
PDCA Estimating Guide Volume I – Professional Estimating Procedures
PDCA Estimating Guide Volume II – Rates and Tables
Defensive Estimating by William Asdal


Be aware, I see many new contractors come to these forums looking for pricing information. While it is possible that another contractor might be able to help you understand how to price something, it really isn’t feasible for them to tell you an actual price for that task or job. Why? Read this.


And estimating is all about production rates. You need to keep careful track of how long everything you do takes. I also often see contractors asking what a good choice of software is to help them estimate jobs. Here is a news flash for ya: If you don’t know your own production rates, there isn’t a piece of software in the world that can help you. Every piece of estimating software I have ever seen requires you to punch in your own production rates and material usage rates to be able to accurately spit out a final price. Learn to figure out production rates, materials, and pricing on your own before you look for a software shortcut.


Some more books that might help out in the long run:


Run Your Business So It Doesn’t Run You by Linda Leigh Francis
System Buster by Phillip Paul Beyer
The One-Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard


One last tip: Read every thread started by PressurePros.


That is about all I can stand to type right now. I welcome all the veteran contractors here to please add to this post with comments, advice, or whatever they can offer to help out the newbies.
Please keep it respectful, and on topic.
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Excellent post
Good to have those link/sources posted all in one spot and stickied


I would add to the comment
ProWallGuy said:
...just as important is the ability to be a businessman to run the business. To do this you need to know accounting, bookkeeping, estimating, and have managerial skills. No one is born with these traits, they must be learned somewhere, somehow. If you have no experience, in any of these, I highly recommend looking into some night classes at your local community college....
"...or figure the expense of hiring out those specifics to someone who does have the skills"
Just as you don't necessarily have to know painting application to run a painting business, you don't need to know accounting, bookkeeping, estimating or managing either.
But somebody at your company is going to have to do it
If you don't hire someone, or sub it out, it will be you
And even if you do hire someone for the numbers stuff, it will help if you take some courses anyway
 
#168 ·
Excellent post
Good to have those link/sources posted all in one spot and stickied


I would add to the comment

"...or figure the expense of hiring out those specifics to someone who does have the skills"
Just as you don't necessarily have to know painting application to run a painting business, you don't need to know accounting, bookkeeping, estimating or managing either.
But somebody at your company is going to have to do it
If you don't hire someone, or sub it out, it will be you
And even if you do hire someone for the numbers stuff, it will help if you take some courses anyway
Yep...found a good bookkeeper and my stress levels are way down. I am so, so glad to give them some of my money every month. And I learn a lot from her in the process.
 
#9 ·
So you think you want to own a painting company…

In fact it is damn hard. So you painted your buddy’s house, and think you can make a living at it? Read on.

I would say a minimum of 5 years of actually painting for living would be a decent start. If you’re only 22, and claim to have been painting for 10 years, guess what. Being 12 years old and helping your cousin/uncle/dad/whoever after school and on weekends doesn’t count as experience. Experience starts when you are painting to pay your bills, feed your family, keep your utilities on, etc. If you have less than 5 years experience of actually painting for a living, I highly recommend finding a job with another contractor and gaining some time on the wall and in the trenches.
OK, this nearly brought me to tears because this is what painting was for me. SURVIVAL this is what brought me to painting, by fate some would say. But this is why I have passion about it because it took care of me and my family. I have learned so much in the last 8 yrs. If I told you 10 yrs ago that I was starting my own painting business and you said to me what so many have told others here I hope I would have listen. not to mention any names. (sev)

Great post :clap:
 
#10 ·
PWG

Great resource. Thanks for posting this, it should be very helpful to people just starting out. As many here have said, if there were resources like this available and so easily accessible when I started out, it would have trimmed some years off the learning curve and school of hardknocks. Hopefully new people will read all of the info you have posted.
 
#14 ·
I would retitle the post "for visitors or new members" instead of "newbies". I think it would get read more.

Also, I would repost your original post and close it for comment for a "read only" thread. Instead of opening it up for comment that will water down the original intent, I would paste selective posts of advice that you think is relevent and helpful to add to the topic.

This could be a great way to have a "best of" thread that would be a tremendous resource. You could also have different threads on diffrent topics. Maybe, if it was possible, instead of having these as "stickies", have them contained in their own section with one sticky posted across all the other areas referring visitors to the "Resource Center"
 
#15 ·
More business reading:

Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless by Jeffrey Gitomer
How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie
The Paper Trail: Systems and Forms for a well run remodeling company by William Asdal and Peter Rolfe Monks
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Profitable Sales by Michael Stone

A couple on sales:

How to sell anything to anybody by Joe Girard
How to close every sale by Joe Girard
How to sell yourself by Joe Girard
Mastering your way to the top by Joe Girard
How to master the art of selling by Tom Hopkins
The certifiable salesperson by Tom Hopkins
Sales closing for dummies by Tom Hopkins
Secrets of closing the sale by Zig Ziglar
Ziglar on Selling by Zig Ziglar
5 Steps to successful selling by Zig Ziglar
How to get what you want by Zig Ziglar
Sales questions that close the sale by Charles Brennan
Who stole my sale? 23 ways to close the deal by Todd Duncan
High Trust selling by Todd Duncan
Guide to handling sales objections by Barry Farber
Willie's Way by Phillip Van Hooser
The little red book of selling by Jeffery Gitomer
The best damn sales book ever by Warren Greshes
The One minute salesperson by Spencer Johnson
 
#16 ·
When the hell did you learn to write like that??? Been reading that Wm Zinsser book ? :whistling2: :whistling2: :whistling2:

See, cutting down on those butts gives you all sorts of time and energy :thumbup:

I know a dirty little rag that could use some good articles.


Seriously, good post, bro. Good research too.
 
#18 ·
Why do some people insist on capitalizing the first letter of every word? It makes it much more difficult to read because the human mind reads by shape recognition, not looking at every single letter and when you mess up the capitalization, it messes up how the mind processes text and requires much slower reading. Post the question as a new topic and with proper capitalization rules, please.
 
#21 ·
Started this crazy life 27 years ago ...still at it ...read alot of the books you mentioned...all good but the best advice you gave , i think ...is stay on the wall and on the crew..
I still have to check my estimating carefully...it can be exhausting different areas require experience in time and supply estimates...love the talk forum...it has helped over and over again..thanks
 
#29 ·
Great resource. Thanks for new york asian escort posting this, it should be very helpful to people just starting out. As many here have said, if there were resources like this available and so easily accessible when I started out, it would have trimmed new york escort some years off the learning curve and school of hardknocks. Hopefully new people will read all of the info you have posted.
(Links removed in quote) :rolleyes:

What I want to know is, can they handle caulk? If so, what's the going rate?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top