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If you've ever basked in the glow of compliments over your baby's stenciled bedroom, or the new wallpaper in your bathroom and kitchen, you have the potential, and experience, to create a business for yourself.
Do you think interior painters and wallpapers have to belong to unions and work in crews for big companies? Not so. Think about the many painting and wallpapering jobs you've done and that your neighbors, friends and family need done. Maybe just the living room needs painting, or the upstairs hallway could use an update in wallpaper. It's easy to imagine the number of small jobs you can do working for yourself.
Now think about how you'll find the customers you need to bring in a steady income. Use your home computer and some good quality paper to print up flyers and business cards. Invest some time in yourself by posting your new painting business flyers on bulletin boards in grocery stores, library and Laundromats. Stretch your imagination further: post them in the teachers' lounges at your local schools and send them to real estate agents and building contractors who often recommend or use people in your new professional. Give everyone you meet two of your business cards. Why two? One to keep and one to pass on. Tell everyone you know that you are in business and to please spread the word. As your business grows you'll realize that no amount of paid advertising will bring in the same business you'll get from word -of-mouth exposure.
The minimal cost for paper, envelopes and stamps may very well be your only expenses for a while. Most do-it-yourselfers, like you, have the necessary tools - brushes, drop clothes, painters' tape, retractable blades, wallpaper paste - from their own home projects. Your first clients can purchase their own paint and paper, with your guidance on quantity and quality, of course. This minimizes your upfront expenses.
How much can you make working for yourself? You'll want to do a market survey by calling around to painters in your area to find out how much they charge. You will also be expected to provide an estimate to the home or business owner who hires you and they will expect you honor that estimate. Expert painters say trial and error is the way to hone your estimating skills, so it may take a job or two before you consistently estimate the correct number of hours per job. In my area, painters and wallpapers can charge between $15 and $30 an hour including the set up and clean up time. It's better not to have a standard room rate, because one living room might be 15' x 13' and another one twice that size with walls that are ten feet high. Rather, estimate your fees by how quickly you can paint each square foot or hand each roll of paper.
When you're ready to give yourself a raise, buy some decorating and special paint effect books. Add stenciling, stippling, ragging and marbling to the jobs you can do. Faux finishes are a wonderful way to decorate a room and your customers will pay premium prices for such skills.
The disadvantage to owning your own painting and wallpapering business? You'll be up against tough physical work, picky customers and a constant need to promote your business.
The advantages? Money in your pocket, flexible work schedule, great exercise, creative work, happy customers, time off when you want it, and room to grow your business the way you want to.
Whether you are looking for a way to earn money, be there for your family, or exercise your creative muscle, your own painting and wallpapering business may be the opportunity you've been searching for.
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