Painting businesses can incur various expenditures of they aren’t careful. Whether you paint homes or commercial buildings, saving money can help you in the long run.
From getting more funds to grow your business to being able to invest in better marketing campaigns and expensive equipment, cutting costs is an integral part of running any business.
Here are five effective ways your painting business can save money.
- Rent Equipment
If you’re worried about buying expensive equipment at the beginning, then why not consider renting them instead? If you’re painting business offers specialized styles of remodeling, such as floor work etc., then you’ll need to invest in equipment. Similarly, a certain style of painting, such as painting historical homes, German-classical style etc., can require specialized tools.
If you don’t have them in your arsenal yet, then don’t spend the money right at the beginning. Renting equipment is effective as you’ll be spending only a fraction of what you’d be spending if you bought them. At the same time, you’ll be able to charge higher prices for your specialized skills. Over time, you can save up enough to buy the equipment you need without affecting your cash flow.
- Transportation Costs
Painting businesses need to account for transportation costs. You’ll need a van or a truck that can carry you, your employees and your equipment to your work destinations.
Early on, you can lease a van instead of buying one yourself. Leases are usually for five years at a time, depending on the person you’re leasing from. Certain dealerships can allow longer or shorter leases as well. At the end of the lease term, you can choose to start a new lease or opt for a new lease. You can also buy the van from the dealership if they allow it.
Overall, leasing transportation removes the need to get a loan for a vehicle right at the beginning.
- Outsource
Even a painting business needs to handle administrative and managerial tasks. The good news is that you can outsource this at a fraction of the cost.
From accounts and payroll management to handling everyday office work, you can outsource these tasks online. That way, you don’t have to hire additional employees.
You can even outsource tasks like website creation and management, IT management, HR management, and more. Getting a virtual assistant removes the need to hire an office manager as well.
Aside from these, you can also consider hiring contractual workers instead of full-time employees. Certain painting tasks can require an additional pair of hands. By hiring workers specifically for those tasks, you remove the need to pay a full-time employee.
- Save on Marketing and Advertising
Your marketing strategy is crucial to growing your client base and secure regular work. Many painting businesses actively spend money on larger marketing campaigns. But you can achieve the same results without a large marketing budget.
How do you achieve this? You’ll need to be proactive in building your client base. By focusing your efforts on online and offline marketing in your geographical area, you’ll be able to get the word out about your business more effectively.
Ensure your business is available in local listings, advertise through local newspapers, and actively try to spread flyers and business cards. On your business’ Facebook page, try to post as often as you can without overwhelming your client base. Respond to queries as soon as you can. Curate your content in a way where you offer valuable information that can help people who are looking for painting related information.
You can also save money by comparing your painters insurance policy online and making sure you have the right balance of cost and cover!
- Collaborate With People in Your Industry
You don’t have to collaborate with other painters, but have you considered people who work in a similar industry?
Electricians, plumbers, carpenters and people who work in such industries are more likely to come across people who are looking for painters.
By working together with them, they can provide referrals to you. You can also do the same for them. Exchanging business cards, flyers and brochures ensure that you can help each other out. Should you come across anyone looking for services that you or your collaborative partners are associated with.
By improving your cash flow management, you can slowly and sustainably grow your painting business.
