I was just eavesdropping in on someone’s conversation this morning who just started their own painting business but complains that it is a bit slow. Someone else remarked saying that “they didn’t want to burst their bubble but painting is …
I was just eavesdropping in on someone’s conversation this morning who just started their own painting business but complains that it is a bit slow. Someone else remarked saying that “they didn’t want to burst their bubble but painting is seasonal”.
Well,
I WOULD like to burst that guy’s bubble and say, “No, painting is not seasonal. Only the type of painting you do can be classified as seasonal”. Yes, EXTERIOR painting is seasonal from spring until fall unless, of course, you live in a warmer climate.
But other types of painting like faux painting, mural painting, and interior painting for residential, commercial, and industrial are year-round markets you can stay busy in.
As a matter of fact, when I first started my painting business, it was in the early fall. I found residential work all the way through the winter – even the toughest part, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not too bad I guess for my first year starting out.
Look at it this way, if running a painting business was seasonal then all painting companies (big, medium-size, and smaller ones) would only be able to work half the year. Paint stores might as well shut down for the winter as well. Even window washing isn’t seasonal no matter how cold it gets.
If you don’t want to do interior painting and just want to be an exterior house painter then yeah, it’s seasonal. You just need to find a winter service like snow plowing or something. But if you want to work all year long there is plenty of it.
If you are serious about operating a successful, painting business that stays busy year-round, you are going to need to know how to run the business end of it successfully as well as the painting end. Having a business partner for this could be an advantage for you.
Two important secrets to running a successful painting business are advertising and accurate estimates. Get these two things right and the rest of it pretty much falls in place.
Some companies focus more on doing commercial and industrial painting and some specialize more in the residential and smaller commercial painting markets.
Once you decide if you are going to want or need a reliable business partner, and employees and which painting markets you want to capture, you can then focus on your marketing better.
I read about one large painting contractor in the Chicago area that decided to focus on the commercial and industrial painting markets. He found out quickly that these two markets have deep pockets.
Of course with this type of painting, you will have to buy some serious painting equipment. And you will need an experienced crew that is used to commercial and industrial painting.
Is this type of painting seasonal? They might slow down a bit during the winter but then again there is plenty of large interior projects all year round. If anything were seasonable about the painting trade it would only be because of exterior painting in colder climates, not staying busy, or the money.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lee Cusano has owned and operated his own residential/commercial painting business since 1991. He has several painting websites that help newer painters make more money.
