How to Start Your Own Painting Franchise

Starting your own business is a dream job for thousands of people. But when it comes to the challenges, costs and administrative work that it takes to start your own business, many will shy away from pursuing their dreams. As a franchisee, you’ll be able to avoid many of the downfalls that go into starting your own business. So, if this sounds like the right opportunity for you, here’s what you need to know.

For the creative-minded entrepreneur, starting a painting business could be the dream opportunity. But with almost 30% of aspiring entrepreneurs being put-off starting their own business because of the complexities of the process, many simply choose not to pursue their dream opportunity [City A.M.].

Starting a business with a franchise can be a great way to ease yourself into the opportunity of your dreams, while reducing many of the traditional problems independent businesses often face. So, why not consider starting your own painting franchise?

Should you start a painting business?

Home improvement and decoration has been one of the biggest pastimes over the last 18 months. As many as three in five Brits have started a home decoration project, with painting the living room being the number priority [DIY Week].

But with many of us going back to work (or simply losing the desire to finish the job!), demand for professional painting services is on the rise. Far from being a one-off lockdown trend though, painting services are set to be a big part of the industry for the foreseeable future. Beyond the financial benefits, running your own painting franchise also allows you to:

• Be your own boss
• Enjoy all the benefits of running your own business, but with reduced risk
• Have strong job security
• Have an already existing customer base
• Already be a part of a supportive network of like-minded franchisees

There are plenty of benefits to running your own painting franchise, but how exactly do you start one?

How to start a painting franchise 

If you feel ready to start a painting franchise, there are a few things you should look to do to get your business in the best shape possible. 

1. Consider your budget

Starting a business costs money, but when you choose to start a painting business, you’re avoiding many of the big costs that smaller businesses need to face. The average cost of starting a franchise business is £42,200 [British Franchise Association], but many businesses that have need of painting and creative skills come in below this cost.

A franchise such as Prokil, for example, requires a minimum investment of only £30,000. So when you choose to start your own painting franchise, you don’t need to have the highest budgets. 

2. Understand your market

Once you have a good understanding of what your budget is, you can then start to narrow down your franchising options. In a busy and competitive sector, there are lots of different options available to you, but not all of the franchises in this industry will be a good fit. 

To help narrow down your options, you may want to ask yourself some of the following questions:

How passionate are you about the franchise?

Do you agree with the franchise’s ethos?

How much training and support is on offer?

Are there business coaches and mentors? Can you call upon them regularly?

What are the advantages and disadvantages to certain franchises? What could you improve?

There are a lot of different questions and areas of interest that you will need to research, but once you’ve pursued all the leads, you should have a shortlist of franchises that you will be a good fit for. 

3. Produce a business plan

Now, you’ll need to produce a business plan. These plans aren’t binding contracts necessarily, but they are outlines of how you want your business to develop over time. Before your final plan is put into place, you’ll need to go through a few different rounds of feedback from your franchisor, lender, and any other industry professionals. 

While your final business plan will have gone through a couple of revisions, there are some key details that are relevant to all of your plans. So pay special attention to things like financial forecasts, market analysis, inventories, and sales and marketing plans. 

4. Find a location

If you’ve decided that you want fixed premises, the final stage of this process will be to find the perfect location for your new painting business. You could have the perfect business plan, have the ideal marketing strategy, and have staff members lined up and ready to go, but if you’ve chosen the wrong location, you could very quickly find you have no customers.

Fortunately, your franchisor will likely be on hand to help you find the perfect location for your business. Not only that, some franchises have dedicated financial tutors to help you get the  best possible deals on your new premises. So, if you’ve decided you want a dedicated shopfront, make sure to ask your franchisor what support is available for helping you find one, as they’re sure to have a tried-and-tested guide to finding the right location. 

Become a painting franchise today and enjoy a profitable, busy industry

If running your own painting business is the dream opportunity for you, but you don’t want to go through the laborious traditional process of starting an independent business, running a painting franchise might be the right way to go.You will be able to enjoy all the benefits of being a business owner, all while avoiding many of the big failings that smaller businesses face.

But, if this isn’t quite the right place for skills, but franchising still sounds like an ideal opportunity, you could find a better opportunity for yourself on the UK franchise directory.