We asked a team of experienced decorators what they thought is the best way to find work as a decorator. We had a varied response, which you can read below.
If you’re looking for decorating work, try talking to builders, pop into any small sites that are coming out the ground. Anytime you see some building work happening, pop in & ask if you can quote it. Within 18 months of setting up my own business, we went from 2 of us to 15 plus blokes. You just need the motivation & obviously be good at what you do! Just be polite, but confident.
If you’re serious about finding work as a decorator, then the best thing you can do is buy Sales and Marketing for Decorators, which is available online. It gives you everything you need, from getting motivated, to attracting the right kind of leads, to making the sales. It’s helped me put my prices up. I’d highly recommend.
Bit corny, but perseverance helps. Sometimes you’ll just want to jack it in. Bad job or customer or day. It isn’t easy being self-employed at times. Whatever happens, persevere. One day you’ll get a job or customer, and they/it will make you feel like a million bucks.
This may not help anyone in the short term, but word of mouth is the best way to find decorating work. Be polite, do a good job, use trade quality paints. Leave a couple of cards with any customer you do work for and suggest they’re “in case any of your friends need a decorator”. Just plant the seed and leave on good terms. You’ll be drowning in work in no time.
When I was first starting out as a painter and decorator, I dropped off a ton of flyers. If I saw a skip on a drive, I would pop a business card through their door. You’ve just got to persevere. It takes time, but as long as you can produce good quality work and then word of mouth starts to get around.
Contact your local council to see if they have a scheme. We have one called the Derbyshire Trusted Trader. It does basic vetting but adds your name to a list and customers (particularly the elderly) will use it to find a trusted decorator and it’s also used by the council. It also only costs £100 for our local one so very easily pays for itself.
Have a Facebook page and you update regularly, and people can leave feedback and you upload your work. Customers like to be able to “check you out” and find a few basic things out about you and they usually find a Facebook page as the best way to do this. It’s also a great way for a decorator to communicate with customers (Facebook page app). Keep it separate from your main account.
Facebook is also a great method for touting for work. People can recommend you on Facebook to your Facebook page and that’s free advertising. It also has a element of trust, I know a few people who avoid having one due to not wanting negative feedback and it automatically makes me think that person is shifty.
Have your van sign written or if not have a magnet from vista print (other companies available) and you will be surprised how many people will see it and either stop to speak to you or contact you. It adds an element of trust also when you see a marked vehicle. And the nosy neighbours working next to your customer know that you’re a decorator and “check you out”. It is also a way for you to let potential customers that you’re looking for more work as a decorator.
Networking – get yourself out there looking for work. Join Facebook groups like Decorators Forum UK. Speak to friends and family about if they need any work doing and they can help spread the word for you. Once you have some work as above photograph it, get reviews and market.
We never found it personally useful for finding work, but you get magazine flyers (we have one named doorstoppa) charge you around the £40 mark for a small advert in them. They distribute to a large area and again one job pays for it.
Oh and an important one. Make sure your personal profile is on private on social media. That goes for any job. Customers will snoop and you don’t want them seeing you on your Saturday session. You need a line between private and professional.
Advertise your decorating work on local Facebook groups. Always take before & after pics & ask the client to put a review on your Facebook page.
Also, when I first moved to Spain, I used my old Facebook page for the pics from the work I did before I moved here. That got me my first job after 5 weeks, not looked back since then. A Facebook ad campaign targeting a specified audience helped me too, gets people in your area to know about your company & the before & after pics along with the reviews, lets people see what you can do. Most of all, persevere.
Go the extra mile at the end of a big decorating job and buy the customer a bottle of something with a note saying hope you enjoy the work undertaken. It’s only a small touch but it will make them remember you and pass your details on.
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