Are you ready to follow your dreams and start a business? Do you have an eye for décor and design and see yourself opening a professional painting and decorating company? It’s great to feel passionate about your ideas and believe in yourself, but some other tips will help ensure that your new business venture is a huge success. Before you become a painter and decorator, here are a few things worth thinking about and being aware of.
Who Will be Your Target Customer?
While you never want to close yourself off from potential customers, the fact is that you simply can’t be everything for every client. It’s always wise to nail down who your target customer will be so that you can market directly to them, offer the products/services that are relevant, and create a more targeted business approach. The first big question to ask should be whether you want to work with residential or commercial clients. That alone will help to determine the path the business takes.
How Will You Attract Customers to Your Business?
Now that you’ve narrowed down your target customer, how will you attract them? New businesses tend to benefit best from a digital marketing campaign. This is the most cost-effective approach, and it can reach a large segment of people relatively easily. A robust digital marketing plan should include such avenues as:
- The company website
- A Facebook page
- An Instagram profile
- A Twitter profile
Remember that each of these accounts and pages will be in the business name, so they need to be professional at all times. The point is to get the information out to the public, connect with people, and hopefully start to create buzz for the company. Posting relevant and engaging content regularly is the best piece of advice.
Will You Have a Niche?
As you think about who your target customer is and how you will market your company, this is a great time to think about whether you plan to specialize in something. A niche could be a particular style of décor, specific rooms, indoor versus outdoor, and so forth. If you do plan on having a niche, this should be amplified in your digital marketing content and on the company’s website.
Protect Your Business with Insurance
Here’s something that all types of business owners need to be aware of, and that’s the importance of insurance coverage. This is how you protect your business against anything unexpected, such as risks and accidents. Without insurance, these things could mean financial ruin for your business. You don’t want to pick just any old insurance; you want to be sure that it is meant for your type of business and the specific issues it may face. For example, it might be worth looking into professional painters insurance which can be paid annually or monthly – whatever works for your business. This coverage is meant to protect against such things as damaged vehicles, legal fees, injuries and accidents, general liability and more. You can usually get an instant quote online.
Do You Plan on Hiring Other Employees?
This is also a great time to think about the company makeup. Will it consist of just you, or will you hire employees? Hiring employees means you can take larger jobs and more at once, but it also comes with a lot of other considerations – their salary being one of them. Many new businesses tend to use a skeleton staff at first, and then hire on more employees as the business grows. This could be a logical route for your company to follow.
What About the Tools and Materials Needed?
Finally, be sure to think about all the tools and materials you’ll need to complete the jobs safely and professionally. There will be a monetary investment involved with these items so it needs to be factored into your overall start-up costs.
By asking yourself hard-hitting questions and factoring in all aspects of starting your painting and decorating business, you’ll be able to come to an informed decision if this is the right move for you. Gathering as much information as possible means your business will be better equipped for whatever it may face.
