Female painter and decorator AIBU to just go for it?

[paintingismygame]

I've done my own house up from top to bottom, painted and decorated it. Helped a few friends and family out with their houses over the past few years, I really like it and think I'm good at it. I have no formal training in painting though, AIBU to just go for it and start my own business? Any female painters here?

Yes, and given the choice, some women (and possibly men) would prefer a female tradesperson if available. It’s not exactly rock science.

Is geology very difficult these days? I understood your point, @Butchyrestingface, but I don't agree with the poster I was responding to who said 'a lot of women would feel uncomfortable letting a man into their house'. A lot of women do currently let male tradespeople in their house and consider it normal, or the discomfort is purely down to having a stranger in the house. Yes, they might opt for a woman if available, but I don't think it's accurate that many or most women with tradesmen in their houses are specifically uncomfortable because of their sex. It's a pain having someone around, especially if you're working from home.

A decorator in his 60’s probably learnt his trade via an old fashioned apprenticeship and so no formal qualifications but years of experience and references.
My dad was a builder who learnt the trade from aged 13 as an apprentice. Not a formal qualification to his name but he could have built you a house from the footings up.

I would 100% hire you!

I 100% wouldn't, unless you were properly qualified and trained. Just as I wouldn't send a child to a school where the teacher's qualification was 'teaching their own child to read'.

If I were paying trade rates, I would expect the person to be properly qualified, be able to the job to a higher standard and faster than I could or tackle less straightforward jobs.

It's a perculiar type of middle class arrogance that skilled trades are so easy that anyone can do them and they can pick up a paintbrush and a tin of Dulux and make a living doing it.

I think it's a definite promising work towards OP, if I saw a female decorator with the relevant reviews and qualifications (if required doe the level of the job) who can show previous work and offer the correct guarantees- then I'd probably hire them over a man, in order to show support to women in business.

In order to get to that point I think you need to put together a portfolio, start a proper trading name and do jobs and get reviews. When people pay for things like this they want a flawless finish IMO, I think you can often tell what's been done by a professional and a 'good' home job.

You may well be that good and that is a good thing really because it means there would be no issue accumulating good reviews, showing photos of your own work wtc. You can't advertise as a professional tradesperson if you aren't one though.

I have always done the painting and decorating in our house and am also good at tiling and quite good at plastering and skimming. However, there is no way I could set up as a professional.

I'd be surprised if anyone could without going on some courses to pick up tips and tricks of the trade. You'd also need advice on the makes of products to use and info on accounts and costing and advertising.

I have an acquaintance who is a female painter and decorator and there are plenty of women, especially the elderly, who do prefer her because they feel less vulnerable in their homes than with a male.

Is geology very difficult these days

You’d be amazed. 😇

I know a lot of women currently do let male tradespeople in their homes. It’s considered ‘normal’ insofar that the trade is heavily dominated by males. Whether any discomfort is truly only down to having a stranger in their home, as opposed to a male stranger, I don’t think we can know that.

I think there is a good chance that some if not many women would be more uncomfortable at the prospect of a male stranger in the home, especially those who have had negative past experiences of men (a not insignificant minority).

Just because women do let men into the home doesn’t negate the possibility of them feeling uncomfortable at doing so - just that their options are currently very limited.

Op, you could do some freebies to build up your portfolio, they buy the materials you do it for free, then maybe some half price jobs. Get some reviews in etc, and do your nvqs as you do it.

There’s a company in my area that do this and made it a marketing feature that their staff are all women. They are self taught, very popular, and making loads of money (despite not being very good 🙈).

I know possibly feels a bit sexist but personally I much prefer letting a strange woman into my home than a strange man.

That said, if I was a female decorator I’d feel eg a bit nervous going alone into the house of a strange man. So possibly work in a team?

Are you sure you're quick enough and perfect enough?

The paying public are rightly highly demanding. They won't want to pay you for 2 days' work if an experienced decorator can do it in a day.

Have you enough experience? I.e. do you know all the different kinds of paints, which brands of white gloss don't yellow, how to prepare services properly, the different pastes to use on different types of wallpaper?

As others have said, doing it for your own home and doing it on a paid basis are very different.

You really don't want to find yourself having to go back to rectify mistakes and shoddiness.

I think at the very least, you should be doing a college course.

We had our hall and landing redecorated recently. It was a male decorator and I did feel uncomfortable leaving him alone in the house having read too many mind-boggling threads on MN about what he might be getting up to while I'm out. So on that basis, I would have preferred a female decorator, all other things being equal.

You don't say whether or not you are planning to start a family any time soon, but if you are it may be worth considering that breathing in paint fumes for extended periods while pregnant (particularly if the homeowners don't want the windows open) may carry a theoretical risk to your baby. Also, if you have to remove old, lead-containing paint first before repainting, this carries a definite risk.

I haven't ever asked the painters I have used if they are qualified. I doubt most of them were.

I always ask for a quote for a job. Your speed wouldn't matter if people are paying you per job.

The decorator i am currently using is City and Guilds qualified and also has CSCS plus up to date CRB checks for anyone asking about needing qualifications.
Go for it OP if you love it, but you might need a course to get customers and need check what insurances you'd need.

I have a friend who is a painter and decorator. She did some sort of course despite already being very good at it. I wonder if the course was get a qualification to fulfil an insurance requirement and join a trade body. My experience of painters and decorators is that it’s a bit of a low barrier to entry trade so there are a lot of people charge low rates and doing a bad job, so anything you can do to set yourself apart from those jokers while you build up your reputation can only be a good thing.

Get training and a qualification and then go for it. I would much prefer a female tradesperson in my house

There’s a company in my area that do this and made it a marketing feature that their staff are all women

How do they get away with only hiring women, and advertising on that basis? It's illegal. Imagine if a business made a point of only hiring men!

I chose my p&d because she was female and had good reviews. She had a team, not all female, but she was great. I used her again when I moved and I was very pleased.

Why not start as a 'mate' to an existing local painter? That would help you get an idea of the difference between a professional (them) and a good amateur (you). It won't pay much, but the experience could be invaluable.

Being good with a paintbrush doesn't mean at all that you'd be a good decorator. You have to know surfaces, paint types, coshh guidelines, h&s practices... the list goes on.

Do you know what to use for stain blocking, oil stains, how to apply eggshell properly or how to chemically strip down gloss safely before repainting wood, how to seal plaster, how to repair plaster, how to fill holes and patch gaps in walls, that sort of thing?

Go for it but get proper training first.

I would hire you if you had some kind of portfolio to demonstrate your past work and if you charged less than others (due to the lack of formal training)

Any female painters here?

Is it just painting you're good at?

What about wallpapering and tiling?

My niece is a painter/decorator and self-employed. She qualified after a 3 yr apprenticeship in the mid-90s whilst working in the family firm. She also has more recent interior design qualifications. She specialises in hanging 'difficult' wallpapers and has worked all over the country on specialist projects such as listed buildings etc.
When working locally, she is mostly employed by people with large, high value projects (and properties to match) and will use less qualified painters etc but supervises them very carefully. Her name has a certain cachet and she commands top price.
But she still likes doing kids bedrooms with Spider-Man wallpaper.

You could try to get some paid experience as a decorator's mate.

I used to work in property maintenance and my best painter and decorator was a woman called Brenda, she was the bizz!

Go for it.

Go for it if you don`t you may regret it.
Just a thought you could look to a local painter/decorator and have a chat and maybe offer to do a free days work for him/her and let them tell their thoughts on the finished job.
Wishing you all the look in the world.

Hi OP.

Contrary to the debbie downers on here, there is a need for more women decorators and currently some funding in England to help you.

www.citb.co.uk/about-citb/partnerships-and-initiatives/Construction-Skills-Fund/On-site-training-hub/

There are a number of Hubs set up with the funding to support you so please give them a call.

Thinking back the difference between a paint job someone did as a favour and paying the female professional was accuracy. Really neat finishing with F&B paint even.

So make sure you can be accurate and neat as I’d hate to pay for less than that.