[MaximumPP]

I just started with my paint biz last year with money i bootstrapped and borrowed from family, my very first few clients were from craigslist(honesty) but then i saw how unfair it was since we were putting in so much work for so little and saw that profitability was far away if i kept going like this. Then it was random occurrences like i was talking in the barbershop to my barber about the company and his client said he needed his living room and some other rooms painted, this was really lucky for me, then it was word of mouth and so on. I want to know how you guys started out in your business and what was your most effective marketing tool in the very beginning to getting you clients?

 

[READY TO ROLL]

The way I started back in 1980 in San Diego,ca was to run an ad in the pennysaver, get a ladder, paint brush, and a roller. The first house I painted was for $580.

 

[wje]

I started gradually doing side jobs until I could always have enough side jobs to equate to the amount of money I would earn with a pay check

Once I got to that point I quit my job as an employee and made the same in 2 days as I did with a weeks worth of work on a pay check.

I used the additional free time to work on the business end of things and get a website going etc.

I was lucky enough to have been handed some pretty nice contracts as I was starting out with still earn us $75-100g a year.

After that word of mouth can spread rapidly. It all depends how big you want to get.

 

[MaximumPP]

Wow that's interesting

 

[MaximumPP]

I started gradually doing side jobs until I could always have enough side jobs to equate to the amount of money I would earn with a pay check

Once I got to that point I quit my job as an employee and made the same in 2 days as I did with a weeks worth of work on a pay check.

I used the additional free time to work on the business end of things and get a website going etc.

I was lucky enough to have been handed some pretty nice contracts as I was starting out with still earn us $75-100g a year.

After that word of mouth can spread rapidly. It all depends how big you want to get.

That's amazing man, i'm in that very process right now, i quit my job a week ago and made a week's worth in a day! this happened about 2 days ago.Right now i'm focusing on a website advertising(business cards), contractors license, insurance etc with the free time, just like you said.

I'm currently also setting up a team that i can trust. Also i want to be as big as i can(commercial properties,etc), did you have the same thought in mind?

 

[wje]

That's amazing man, i'm in that very process right now, i quit my job a week ago and made a week's worth in a day! this happened about 2 days ago.Right now i'm focusing on a website advertising(business cards), contractors license, insurance etc. I'm currently also setting up a team that i can trust. Also i want to be as big as i can(commercial properties,etc), did you have the same thought in mind?

No, my dad always worked alone and made a great living.

But once I started getting too many calls I started hiring.

I hired too many people and there were too many mistakes and the quality went down and my stress levels went up. I scaled back to find a relatively stress free life with 2 employees and myself and maybe a helper in the summer. I take as much work as we can handle but for now we are profitable and comfortable. Life is about balance.

My wife and I are about to start another business that we are just setting up now. It will be an online retail type of deal so lots of shipping and receiving and stuff and I really enjoy that kind of stuff so I am excited to spread my time around In a few different ventures

 

[MaximumPP]

No, my dad always worked alone and made a great living.

But once I started getting too many calls I started hiring.

I hired too many people and there were too many mistakes and the quality went down and my stress levels went up. I scaled back to find a relatively stress free life with 2 employees and myself and maybe a helper in the summer. I take as much work as we can handle but for now we are profitable and comfortable. Life is about balance.

My wife and I are about to start another business that we are just setting up now. It will be an online retail type of deal so lots of shipping and receiving and stuff and I really enjoy that kind of stuff so I am excited to spread my time around In a few different ventures

That's true, peace of mind is so important. On the other hand i need more calls haha but i know it will come.

But congrats dude!, good luck on the new venture.

 

[Hines Painting]

I don't think there is anything free that will get a lot of calls, if that is what you are hoping to find.

A lot of it has to do with the area you are in, as to what will be effective.

I would find the companies you want to compete with, and see where they are advertising. Most companies won't continue an advertisement that doesn't generate leads.

But, the copy of the ad is extremely important. You have to have something enticing for people to call you over the more established guy.

If you want to try online advertising, facebook ad's might be cheaper than PPC through google/bing, but I'm not sure how well they work. I'm still looking in to the facebook ad's, but I'm hopeful I can find a way to leverage them, as there should be less competition than PPC.

 

[PatsPainting]

I was slipping the customer my card when I worked for somebody else. Landed a few good customers. Some of them I still paint for.

Pat

 

[Epoxy Pro]

My partner Carly got a side job while we both worked for the same painter, she asked me to give her a hand and It took right off from that one job. For the last 2 months we worked for the other company I used my pay checks to buy the van, ladders, sprayer and every thing we needed to start up.

 

[driftweed]

Same as you. Craigslist. I flip rentals though, so paint was just 1 of many things I do. I no longer even advertise. Cold call gets me all the work I can handle. I also network with paint suppliers for leads.

Just got a referal for yet another complex, but that would require hiring. Something I am hesistant to do.

Network, network, network

 

[ProWallGuy]

I started gradually doing side jobs until I could always have enough side jobs to equate to the amount of money I would earn with a pay check

This. But I should also note that none of my side jobs were customers of my current boss. They mostly started from referrals from friends, family, church, etc.

 

[slinger58]

When I look back over the past nearly 30 years of being self-employed in this business, I sometimes think it's a blue-eyed wonder that I made it this far. I can't really speak to the OP's question of how to find new customers/clients these days. There are many on this forum who can better advise you there.

What I can tell you is that repeat/referral clients are the cream of the crop.
To get those, you have to deliver first class service and workmanship. :thumbup:

 

[PatsPainting]

What I can tell you is that repeat/referral clients are the cream of the crop.
To get those, you have to deliver first class service and workmanship. :thumbup:

To add to this, a good personality. Many of these long time repeats become friends as well, well sorta. Business friends I should say. You will find your self talking with them about stuff that has nothing to do with painting.

Pat

 

[daArch]

Started painting for "a living" in 72. First jobs were contacts through family and friends of my partner and me.

In 76 when I moved to a new town, I (illegally, as it turns out) stuffed a rudimentary flier in mail boxes. Got ONE job out of about 100 mail boxes (I did hand pick which mail boxes)

That one job just blossomed through referrals

Keep talking to everyone you meet. Ask friends and relatives to pass your name around. When you're starting out, you can not get your name out there too much. There is NO reason why they should hire you - you have no reputation and no referrals. You have to play the numbers game. Patience and saturation will prevail. They say it takes three years to become established.

 

[MaximumPP]

Same as you. Craigslist. I flip rentals though, so paint was just 1 of many things I do. I no longer even advertise. Cold call gets me all the work I can handle. I also network with paint suppliers for leads.

Just got a referal for yet another complex, but that would require hiring. Something I am hesistant to do.

Network, network, network

Cool, i didn't think of cold calling. Also that's awesome that you got a complex job man, why are you hesitant?

 

[MaximumPP]

When I look back over the past nearly 30 years of being self-employed in this business, I sometimes think it's a blue-eyed wonder that I made it this far. I can't really speak to the OP's question of how to find new customers/clients these days. There are many on this forum who can better advise you there.

What I can tell you is that repeat/referral clients are the cream of the crop.
To get those, you have to deliver first class service and workmanship. :thumbup:

Thanks for this reply man, i agree completely.

 

[daArch]

Cool, i didn't think of cold calling. Also that's awesome that you got a complex job man, why are you hesitant?

PLEASE, do not cold call. You will call someone (like myself) who is really irritated by telemarketers and will do all they can to sully your name. Telemarketing is the third rail of advertising.

It's gonna be tough building up your reputation. One person you piss off can do more damage than 100 that like you.

 

[slinger58]

To add to this, a good personality. Many of these long time repeats become friends as well, well sorta. Business friends I should say. You will find your self talking with them about stuff that has nothing to do with painting.

Pat

Absolutely true. But I would advise to be cautious talking politics with clients.

And yes, you can ask me how I know this....but not here.:no:

 

[Gough]

When I started out full-time, my bread and butter was repainting Greek houses in the summer. From about May 15 (graduation weekend) until August 1 (Rush), it went like gangbusters. Just like Arch said, it took about three years to fill in the remaining 8 1/2 months. It took a lot of networking. The directors of the houses were all influential members of the community, so that was a good source for early referrals. As I've mentioned here before, one thing I starting telling clients early on,"If you're unhappy with my (later, our) work, tell me. If you're happy with our work, tell your friends."

It's certainly a long game, and requires some patience. OTOH, if I average the total of all the money that we've spent advertising since I started, it comes out $1.43/yr, so there is that.