Painting business
Where are you in your painting journey?
Pre-launch and operating owners need different things. Pick the track that matches you. You can switch any time.
I want to start a painting business
Costs, licensing, the entity, the gear, the order to do it in. Honest guides for the part you have to do yourself. The one thing we'll do for you on day one is your website.
- What it really costs
- License, registration, and insurance
- Gear, branding, and the basics
- A starter website that books calls
I want to grow my painting business
More clients, better pricing, your first hire, Google and Facebook ads, and the systems that take you from solo to a real team.
- Local SEO and Google Business Profile
- Google Ads, Facebook, retargeting
- Pricing that protects margin
- Hiring, training, and scaling teams
What we do for owners, either track
Start here
The guides to read first: what it costs, what it pays and how to get going.
- Startup cost How much do you need to start a painting business
- Profit How much profit can a painting business make
- How to start How to start a painting business step by step
- Get customers How to get clients for a painting business without buying leads
- Google Ads How to run Google Ads for painting business
- Website How to make a website for a painting business
Is a painting business right for you?
A painting business is one of the cheapest skilled trades to start and one of the fastest to turn a profit. Demand is steady through repaints, remodels, and turnovers, and a single crew can run several jobs a week with low fixed overhead. Margins are strong when jobs are bid right.
It suits someone who can bid accurately and run a tidy, reliable crew, not just hold a brush. The hard part is rarely the painting. It's pricing for profit, getting found locally, and hiring dependable painters. The start-here guides cover each step.
- Startup cost $1.5k–$40k Insurance, sprayer, ladders, supplies, up to a van and crew
- Earning potential $50k–$200k Solo take-home vs. a 2 to 4 person crew, salary plus profit
- Licensing Varies Business license, often a contractor license + insurance
- Demand Year-round Repaints, remodels, and property turnovers
The money figures come from our startup cost guide and profit guide, where each range is broken down line by line.
What you can realistically earn from a painting business
Your own billable jobs plus repeat and referral work, with almost no overhead.
Crews run jobs while you bid and sell. Profit shown is your salary plus the 10%–20% net.
Ballpark monthly ranges for a typical US operation, worked through in the profit guide. Your market and pricing move these.
Painting business: common questions
What owners ask before they commit.
How much does it cost to start a painting business?
You can bootstrap to your first job for under $2k by renting the sprayer and starting with brush-and-roller interior repaints. A solo launch with your own sprayer, ladders, a used van, and a year of insurance runs about $5k–$13k, plus a $3k–$6k working-capital reserve. A two-painter crew with a wrapped van runs $15k–$40k.
Read the full guide →How much can a painting business make?
A solo painter who stays booked commonly clears $50k–$90k, because there is almost no overhead. A two-to-four-person crew doing $300k–$600k can pay the owner a $45k–$80k salary plus a 10%–20% net on top, roughly $75k–$200k in a strong year. Accurate bidding and billable hours protect the margin.
Read the full guide →Do I need a license to start a painting business?
It varies by state. You'll generally need a business license and liability insurance, and many states require a contractor license above a dollar threshold. The setup guide walks through it step by step.
Read the full guide →How do I get my first painting clients?
Local visibility wins: a Google Business Profile, reviews, before-and-after photos, and a site that ranks for "painter + your city" beat paid ads for most new painters in the first year.
Read the full guide →How should I price painting jobs?
Most painters bid by the job from a measured estimate, not hourly, which protects margin on fast work. The pricing guide covers estimating, deposits, and billing.
Read the full guide →How do I grow a painting business beyond myself?
Growth comes from accurate bids, repeat and referral work, hiring crews, and building a brand homeowners recall. The growth guide breaks down the sequence.
Read the full guide →