Starting a house painting business might seem simple on the surface, but there's more to it than just picking up a brush. When I first jumped into this, there were a few key things I had to figure out to make it work, and I want to share what I learned.
Before you even think about painting houses, you need a couple of things in place to build trust with homeowners: insurance and a business license. These aren’t just nice-to-haves; they’re necessary. Having insurance protects you, your team, and the homeowner in case something goes wrong, and the business license establishes that you’re legit.
Here’s the thing: house painting isn’t difficult to master, but it requires one thing that’s often overlooked—care. If you care about the quality of your work, it will show. Homeowners want to feel confident that the job will be done right, so focusing on the details makes a huge difference.
When it comes to getting the word out, I stuck to the basics: door-to-door sales, lawn signs, and mailers/door hangers. It worked. Sure, there are fancy social media strategies out there, but nothing beats the effectiveness of getting out and talking to people in your community. It’s tangible, personal, and direct. People can see the effort, and it pays off.
One of the most important lessons I learned was the value of managing expectations. You can avoid a lot of headaches by doing your homework upfront. Research your materials, tools, and the overall process so that you can speak confidently with clients. When you have a clear understanding of time, costs, and what the final result should look like, pricing becomes much easier. It’s about building a framework for the job, and once you’ve got that, generating a fair price is a piece of cake.
To keep it simple and effective, I always used a multiplier on my time, equipment, and overhead costs to determine the price for a job. It’s an easy method that keeps you consistent and helps you avoid underpricing, which can hurt you in the long run.
Scaling a painting business is tough. It’s not as simple as hiring a bunch of people and expecting everything to run smoothly. The key is working on the business, not just in it. Starting with a small team of 2-3 people is a good way to handle one job at a time. As the team grows, you can take on multiple jobs at once. Once you reach around 4 employees, you can start running two jobs simultaneously, which opens up new opportunities.
As the team grows, so does the complexity. Hiring a field manager becomes crucial at this stage. A field manager allows you to focus on business growth instead of being on job sites every day. To make this transition successful, you have to be great at delegating. Learning to train and trust your employees is essential, and it’s something every business owner must prioritize.
Employees are a lot of responsibility. You’re managing their safety, their work ethic, and the client’s expectations. One of the things I did to reduce risk was to have clear documentation. Ensuring that colors were correctly documented and confirmed in writing helped prevent any mistakes and kept clients happy.
Running a house painting business is a grind. It requires dedication, the right team, and the ability to manage multiple moving pieces at once. But with the right approach, it’s a simple business model that can scale. It’s about building trust, focusing on quality, and being strategic with your time and resources. And if you’re starting out and looking to make your first $100K, house painting can absolutely be the fastest way to get there.
