Painting Business
Fresh coats, fresh profits — every 5-7 years they call again
Painting businesses provide interior and exterior painting services for residential and commercial properties. The business benefits from a built-in repaint cycle — every property needs repainting every 5-7 years. Commercial and new construction painting offer higher-volume project work.
Avg Revenue
$250K
Profit Margin
27%
Acquisition Multiple
1.5x - 2x
Startup Cost
$10K - $35K
Difficulty
2/5
How It Works
Estimate jobs based on square footage and complexity. Crews prep surfaces, apply primer and paint, and perform finishing work. Residential interior jobs average $2,000-$5,000, while exterior and commercial projects run $5,000-$30,000+. Growth comes from building a referral network and hiring crews.
Revenue Range
Pros
- +Low startup costs — basic equipment and a vehicle
- +Built-in repaint cycle creates natural repeat business
- +Easy to learn and train new painters
- +Exterior and commercial work scale revenue significantly
Cons
- -Seasonal slowdowns in cold climates (exterior work)
- -Labor-intensive with slim margins on employee-operated jobs
- -Estimating accuracy directly impacts profitability
Best For
Detail-oriented operators who can estimate accurately and manage crews
Operating Costs
Labor is 40-50% of revenue, followed by paint and materials (15-20%), vehicle costs, insurance, and marketing.
Where to Buy
- BizBuySell →
Find painting businesses for sale nationwide
- BizQuest →
Browse painting company acquisition opportunities
Quick Facts
- Category
- service
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Acquisition Price
- $375K - $500K