This article doesn’t aim to harm small-business house painters’ reputations. Some people are experts and can charge the price they charge. Some don’t know what they are doing and end up hurting their clients and themselves. We want to help you understand the differences so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to take this chance.
The answers to your questions can be found in the post below.
Always strive for…
“Uhhhh! Are you sure that’s good idea?”
Lucy turns from Sean to Dale, and back again. Because she was unsure which house painting estimate she should choose, she asked them about it. Sean believes she should pick the cheapest and Dale the most expensive.
She’s as stuck now as ever.
“Cheaper is cheaper for a reason!” Dale says she will have to repaint the house sooner, and it may not turn out as great.” That’s a possibility! Sean responds, “Even though it doesn’t look so great, it’s not like it cost so much that she can’t get it fixed.”
Lucy looks puzzled, and ponders why she even asked them. Lucy has already researched exterior paint costs and the reasons they changed. Maybe she should also do the same to estimate differences.
She grabs her phone and tries to figure out why the house painting estimates are so different.
Here’s what she found.
1. It’s All About the Numbers
“Numbers? “Numbers?
Many house painters in Auckland will stare blankly at you if you mention words like “labor percent”, “gross profits”, and “breakeven.” Unless they are lucky, they won’t be able to make a living painting.
“They don’t know how it works so they can make money from each job. Lucy imagines that they will charge enough money to cover the materials, but not to pay anyone.
Painters will not charge you a lot but make a lot of money. It is possible that they will find out too late and attempt to raise the price or do some other thing to reduce costs. It doesn’t matter what, it’s messy and will not end well.
Lucy sighs, “Yeah, that’s awkward,” and twirls uncomfortably at this thought. As they continue to argue, neither Sean nor Dale notice.
Scroll down to see the second reason that house painting estimates are different.
2. They aren’t really professionals
“Are they trying trick people?” !”
They are not, most of the times. A lot of people who start out as painters don’t know much about how to run a business. They can only paint walls, but not much else. They don’t know how to do it so they give an inaccurate estimate.
They charge less, or they don’t know how to paint as well as professional artists with years of experience.
It seems that it boils down to either knowledge or experience. Lucy interprets that they can both paint and not run a company, or they can do some of it but aren’t great painters. She wonders if Dale or Sean know this.
Lucy already knows that some of the painters she received estimates from meet this standard. It was almost as if they had just created a number.
She scrolls to the end, pointing out that house painting estimates can be different for various reasons.
3. It doesn’t matter how big your business is
“How so?”
Both small and large businesses will experience different expenses and costs.
One side is the one-man-operation who uses his garage and station wagon as his van. He doesn’t have much to spend money so he can charge lower prices.
He can only do so much work quickly if he does a good job.
You then have the contractor who has a physical business. There is also a person on the phone, an answering machine, and uniformed employees. They are background checked and drug tested and go through an onboarding program.
Although larger painters are more expensive, they can achieve better quality work faster.
Lucy gasps, “Wow! That’s a huge difference!” Dale and Sean stop fighting to see her surprise outburst. She tells them, “I need to go back and review these house painting estimates and take a look at their websites before making a decision.”
Lucy may request a house painting estimate elsewhere if they don’t match her criteria.
Last Word
These factors are the main reason why some painters are more successful than others. There is a price range for every painting company.
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