I was eavesdropping on someone this morning who just started his own painting business but complains that it’s a little slow. Someone else commented saying that they “didn’t want to burst your bubble, but paint is seasonal.”
Well, I’d 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 paint is seasonal from spring through fall, unless of course you live in a warmer climate.
But other types of paint like faux paint, wall paint, residential, commercial, and industrial interior painting are year-round markets where you can keep yourself busy.
In fact, when I started my painting business, it was in the early fall. I found residential work all winter long, even the hardest part, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not bad I guess for my first year starting out.
Look at it this way, if running a painting business was seasonal, all painting companies (big, medium and small) would only be able to work half the year. Paint stores may also close for the winter. Even window washing is not seasonal, no matter how cold it is.
If you don’t want to paint interiors and just want to be an exterior house painter, then yes, it’s seasonal. You just need to find a winter service like snow removal or something. But if you want to work all year, there is plenty.
If you’re serious about running a successful painting business that stays busy year-round, you’ll need to know how to successfully manage the business side, as well as the painting back end. Having a business partner for this could be to your advantage.
Two important secrets to running a successful painting business are advertising and making accurate estimates. Get these two things right and the rest will fall into 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’re going to want or need a reliable business partner, employees, and which paint markets you want to capture, you can better focus on your marketing.
I read about a large painting contractor in the Chicago area who decided to focus on the commercial and industrial painting markets. He quickly discovered that these two markets have deep pockets.
Of course, with this type of paint you will have to buy some serious painting equipment. And you’ll need an experienced crew that’s used to commercial and industrial painting.
Is this type of paint seasonal? They might slow down a bit during the winter, but then again, there are plenty of great interior projects going on all year long. If anything was expedient in the paint trade, it would be just for exterior painting in colder climates, not being busy, or for the money.
