[tcase27]

I am wanting to start a painting business where I live (Southwestern Iowa and Eastern Nebraska). I have had about 3 years experiance painting and want to go out on my own. I would like to get into residental and new construction, I just have a few questions:

1) what tpye of advertising should I Do?
2) where can i find bids on the internet?
3) Where can I find a good contract & Estimate form to use?


Any other help or ideas would be great.

Thanks in advance
Tim Case

 

[premierpainting]

With your extreme knowledge, and certain know-how you should do fine. Why not stay with the company and learn more prior to falling off the fence. Many years are needed prior to making the jump. I am sorry, but this is the downside to the painting industry as a whole. If you don't know the Business, end of any business you will never make it. You will be working for wages, not profits. Sorry to be so blunt, but it is the truth.
Just my .00002 cents

 

[Teetorbilt]

Premier, Sarcasm doesn't help anything here. I work for some multi-millionaires who had minimal education and a few had zero experiance in the business in which they made their millions. Ambition, hard work and perseverence made them what they are. If I would have had the confidence to open shop when I was in my 20's, I'd be one of them.

 

[NewKidinTown]

Hi Tim,

Glad to meet you,

I am not in the painting end of things but I started with handing out fliers to homes in my targeted area with a few friends, then I put an add in my local paper.. Once you get a few contracts word of mouth will work best but keep motivated and remeber it may take 100 to get 1, but that one will also be your biggest source of advertising when you do good work. Just get out there and do it, dont let anyone effect your ability to make it happen. They will be working for you soon...LOL

As far as the contract, I had my attorney draw one up for 35 bucks....

Good Luck,

Scott

 

[Teetorbilt]

27, NewKid is workin' it.
You can find contract models on this site, one of mine is posted here.
If I didn't think that most of the people here were promoting the industry, I wouldn't be here. IMHO this is one of the best sites on the web and I'm a TOH veteran.
Dig around in the back posts and you will find many answers to your questions, have any new ones, just ask.

 

[tcase27]

thanks alot

Thanks everyone for your advice its very helpful. I started a cleaning business with a friend of mine about 2 years ago and for a while it was going well but then my friend messed it up. So now im trying to start a painting business. I really enjoy painting so I figured it would be a good thing to do. If I have any more questions I will ask from what I have read on other posts this is a very good group.

Thanks again for all your help.
Tim Case

 

[Teetorbilt]

Tim, If you notice, critics and flamers rarely post their addresses.
Start your business! Give it your best! You will learn much along the way, all of us have and anyone who says that they had it pegged from the beginning is lying.
A wise man and former employer once told me that "You will never make much money working for someone else". He has been callng me every day for the last two weeks and I only freelanced to him.
DO IT!

 

[premierpainting]

Teetorbilt- if you are implying that I am a Flamer here is my address- [email protected] I was giving him warning signs to the start of a new business. Not Sarcasm. One piece of advice, which I learned and it sounds like 27 learned...The only partner in life is your wife. I had a Partnership for ten years with a good friend. Needless to say, we are not friends at the moment. Go for it on your own. Teetorbilt- I am a Critic because I am tired of people starting business' with no real time put into the trade prior to their start-up. Now I have learned that 27 had a business prior to this painting biz. Sorry to offend, If I did infact offend.
Teetor- this is a great site and thank god Bill, MM, and Kaller have not ruined it...Yet

 

[Nathan]

this is a great site and thank god Bill, MM, and Kaller have not ruined it...Yet

Anyone who breaks the rules over and over again will be banned forever. So hopefully we will never have the problems that PCR and PWC have.

I'm glad you like the board :Thumbs:

 

[PipeGuy]

What are PCR and PWC? I can't wait to go see!

 

[Teetorbilt]

Premier, sorry. "With your extreme knowledge, and certain know-how you should do fine." sounded like sarcasm to me.
I was not implying that you were a flamer, merely making a statement. I have seen a few try on this board and have been impressed by the way in which they were handled. No one engaged them and their thread simply faded away.
Sorry to hear about your luck with partnerships. I've had 2. I sold out on both of them because they were boring businesses and stayed good friends with both partners. I am currently pondering a real estate venture with another and the only drawback is that the guy is ancient and I have to address the problem of him dying tactfully.
As for being critical, this quote from Charles Swindoll I have framed, it hangs on my wall where I can see it every day. Copy it and put it on yours.
ATTITUDE
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on my life. Attitude to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing that we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes."
Charles Swindoll
I find no offense, my attitude, I don't have the time to dwell on negatives.

 

[premierpainting]

Agree and again Nathan and others this is a great site and if it stays clean, it will grow to what the others can only hope their sites could. Looking forward to learning and inputting good info from time to time
Kevin

 

[tcase27]

preimer
I just want to say Im not at all offended. I agree it is very to run a business if you know nothing about the business or runing it. I thank you for taking the time to answer my reply and help me out. O and sorry for not telling eariler that I had owned a business before. I look forward to more advise from you and others in this group.


Ok got one more question what does everyone thing about working with a general and/or building contractor?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts
Tim Case

 

[NewKidinTown]

I work with many, It will take a bit to get a hold of the good ones... (at least it did for me)...

Scott

 

[Teetorbilt]

I think that this is the best way to work. It takes a little while to get used to their idiosyncrasies but once you've got it down it's a piece of cake. This is one of the companies that I work for http://www.arhomes.com/ Pay is good, timely, they understand their problems and never give me a ration of cr*p.
You're going to have to beat their door down to get in though, I worked on this company for a year and a half, then got in on a referral from another company. Today it's all gravy for me, I know what they want and expect and the reverse is true, delivery is easy.

 

[Floorwizard]

Tcase,

One thing you can do is get ahold of some clients that you worked with at the cleaning company. if you still have records.
It's so much easier to get business from people who have your trust, than trying with people who do not know you from Adam.

Nathan and others this is a great site and if it stays clean, it will grow to what the others can only hope their sites could. Looking forward to learning and inputting good info from time to time

I have been on this site since the beginning, and lately this site has grown big time. And it's well deserved. this site fills a niche that I do not commonly see. A fantastic resource.

 

[PipeGuy]

My $.02 on the idea of having a partner-
I admit that having a partner is bucking the odds when it comes to long term success. I know plenty of people who couldn't make it work - for good reasons or bad.
I believe that partnerships are more prone to success when people with complimentary skills, not just similar skills, come together. My partner and I have some overlapping skill sets but more importantly we have some unique skills that, IMO, make us a viable team. The complimentary nature of our partnership not only contributes to competitive advantages but also brings 'lifestyle' advantages that we wouldn't otherwise recognize.
One last note - like any other relationship, having realistic expectations about responsibilities, benefits, priveleges, roles, etc. is vital to success. Lots of open and honest discussion, BEFORE FORMING THE PARTNERSHIP, is an absolute must. Writing out your thoughts and sharing them with a potential partner can serve to cut through some natural human tendencies that get in the way of an honest diccussion.

 

[blabbott]

New too

Hey,
For advertising i have went to local chamber of commerce meetings and made business cards and signs. Yard signs and word of mouth are excellent sources of business. Also, i have a sales rep. at Sherwin Williams. They can help you in many ways. Good luck. I am jumping into this head first.
Buddy abbott
Abbott's Painting, Charlotte North Carolina

I am wanting to start a painting business where I live (Southwestern Iowa and Eastern Nebraska). I have had about 3 years experiance painting and want to go out on my own. I would like to get into residental and new construction, I just have a few questions:

1) what tpye of advertising should I Do?
2) where can i find bids on the internet?
3) Where can I find a good contract & Estimate form to use?


Any other help or ideas would be great.

Thanks in advance
Tim Case

 

[markshandyman]

Hi Tim,

I know you posted this awhile ago, but I'm in the same boat as you are/were. There are three websites that have helped me -- this one being one of the very best. If you're here, you're in the right place!

One site is American Painting Contractor mag. I subscribed and it's been very helpful to me (website paintmag.com).

I also listened to a very helpful interview about the marketing/business end of starting a painting business. Also very helpful:

startingabiz.com/starting-a-painting-business

My best advice: Don't give up!

Take care,
Mark

 

[MALCO.New.York]

Hey Mark...............This thread is nearly four years dead!!!