✅ WORLD’S BEST TO-DO LIST + SOP
TOP 50 THINGS A PRO PAINTER MUST DO TO BUILD HIS OWN EMPIRE
MASTER CHECKLIST (Copy / Paste / Screenshot)
Each item is color-coded by category:
🟦 Business Setup
🟩 Marketing & Sales
🟧 Production / Field Operations
🟪 Growth & Scale
🟦 BUSINESS FOUNDATION (1–15)
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🟦 Write a business plan
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🟦 Do market research
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🟦 Choose a business name
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🟦 Choose legal structure (LLC etc.)
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🟦 Register the business
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🟦 Get EIN number
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🟦 Obtain licenses + permits
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🟦 Get insurance
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🟦 Open business bank account
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🟦 Set up bookkeeping/accounting system
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🟦 Buy tools + equipment
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🟦 Establish supplier relationships
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🟦 Build pricing strategy
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🟦 Define your service offerings
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🟦 Create professional branding (logo, decals, shirts)
🟩 MARKETING & SALES (16–33)
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🟩 Launch website (landing-page format)
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🟩 Create social media profiles
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🟩 Set up Google Business Profile
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🟩 Create before/after portfolio
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🟩 Collect testimonials
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🟩 Build printed marketing assets (yard signs, brochures)
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🟩 Launch advertising strategy
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🟩 Network with B2B partners (realtors, designers)
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🟩 Continue skill / business training
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🟩 Build a hiring plan for future growth
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🟩 Create employee training SOP
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🟩 Establish safety protocols
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🟩 Implement a quality control checklist
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🟩 Define payment policy (deposit → progress → final)
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🟩 Create a scheduling system
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🟩 Build a customer service SOP
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🟩 Write contracts + terms for all projects
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🟩 Create invoicing + payment collection system
🟧 OPERATIONS (34–43)
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🟧 Ensure tax compliance
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🟧 Build emergency cash reserve
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🟧 Create growth strategy (commercial, cabinets, etc.)
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🟧 Consult legal counsel (once per year)
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🟧 Create feedback loop (post-job review ask)
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🟧 Launch referral program
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🟧 Stay updated on modern coatings + tools
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🟧 Do community engagement (sponsorships etc.)
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🟧 Track KPIs (leads / quotes / closes)
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🟧 Quarterly SWOT meeting (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats)
🟪 SCALE / DOMINATION (44–50)
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🟪 Backup suppliers (never delay a job)
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🟪 Use technology (Jobber, CompanyCam, QuickBooks)
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🟪 Master time blocking
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🟪 Manage debt wisely (invest, don’t impulse-spend)
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🟪 Build expansion roadmap (cabinet → commercial → multi-crew)
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🟪 Self-care (sleep, exercise, boundaries — avoid burnout)
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🟪 90-day review / adjust / optimize
✅ SOP DETAILS (Action Steps for Each)
Here are the short, punchy, execution-ready instructions.
🟦 BUSINESS FOUNDATION
1. 🟦 Business Plan
Create a one-page plan:
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Who you serve (example: residential interiors + kitchen cabinets)
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Revenue goal (example: $30,000/month)
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Average project size (example: $4,800)
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of jobs needed (example: 7 jobs/month)
📌 SOP RULE: If the plan can’t fit on one page → it’s not clear enough.
2. 🟦 Market Research
Search FB Marketplace, Yelp, Google, and FB groups.
✔ Identify 3 competitors
✔ Secret shop them (“Hi, can I get a quote?”)
✔ Note response time / pricing / professionalism
3. 🟦 Choose Business Name
Rules:
✅ Include trade + location
✅ Easy to spell
✅ Looks good on a hoodie and truck
Examples:
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⭐ Vancouver Kitchen Cabinet Painting
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⭐ Elite Commercial Coatings – Phoenix
4–8. 🟦 Legal + Insurance Setup
Steps:
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Register LLC / Sole Prop / Corporation
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Get EIN (IRS.gov)
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Apply for painting/contractor license
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Buy general liability insurance
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Workers comp when hiring
💥 SOP POWER MOVE: List “fully insured + licensed” on every quote.
9. 🟦 Business Bank Account
Separate money = clarity + easier taxes.
10. 🟦 Accounting System
Tools:
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🔵 QuickBooks Online
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🟢 Wave (free)
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🟧 Jobber (estimating + invoicing + scheduling)
11. 🟦 Tools + Gear
Bare minimum kit:
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Graco 390 sprayer (cabinet-ready)
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2.5″ angled sash brush (Wooster / Purdy)
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Quality drop cloths
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Masking paper + 3M hand masker
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Clean vehicle (image matters)
🚫 DO NOT buy cheap sprayers or off-brand paint.
12. 🟦 Supplier Relationships
Walk into Sherwin-Williams and say:
“I’m launching a painting company and plan to buy consistently. Set me up with contractor pricing.”
Boom → instant discount.
13. 🟦 Pricing Strategy
Three-tier pricing:
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GOOD
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BETTER
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BEST
Clients almost always pick BETTER.
14–15. 🟦 Service & Branding
Pick a specialty → cabinets or commercial yields higher revenue.
Uniforms + logo + yard sign ⇒ trust.
🟩 MARKETING & SALES
16. 🟩 Website (Landing Page Format)
Only ONE goal:
📌 Generate a lead.
MUST HAVE:
✅ Before/after photos
✅ Social proof
✅ Call to action: “Request Quote”
17. 🟩 Social Media
Platforms to use:
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Facebook Page
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Facebook personal
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Instagram
🎯 RULE: Document. Don’t pose.
Show YOU working, not stock pics.
18. 🟩 Google Business Profile
This is your #1 free lead generator.
Weekly:
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Post photos
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Request reviews
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Add recent project descriptions
19–21. 🟩 Build Proof (Portfolio + Testimonials + Yard Signs)
People don’t believe painters — they believe results.
22. 🟩 Advertising Strategy
Start with FREE:
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Facebook groups
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Apartment complexes
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Realtors
Paid ads ONLY after foundation is solid.
23–31. 🟩 Sales Infrastructure
Scripts, follow-up cadence, objection handling.
🟢 CRM rule:
If it isn’t tracked, it never happened.
32–33. 🟩 Contracts / Invoicing
Never start without:
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Deposit paid
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Signed contract
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Colors confirmed
🟧 OPERATIONS
34. 🟧 Tax Compliance
Quarterly filing avoids headaches later.
35. 🟧 Emergency Fund
Goal: 2 months operating cash.
36. 🟧 Growth Strategy
Decide:
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Cabinet-only?
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Commercial?
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Multi-crew residential?
Each requires different marketing.
37–43. 🟧 Legal / Feedback / Metrics
Track weekly:
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Leads generated
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Quotes sent
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Jobs closed
Growth = data + consistency.
🟪 DOMINATION / SCALE
44. 🟪 Backup Suppliers
Keep 2 suppliers so jobs never stall.
45. 🟪 Tech Stack
Recommended:
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Jobber
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CompanyCam
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QuickBooks
46. 🟪 Time Blocking
AM = admin / estimating
PM = production oversight
47–50. 🟪 Scaling the Empire
Goal:
Stop painting with your hands
Start painting with your business.
You run the business.
Employees run the brushes.
✅ FINAL WORD
The day you stop chasing leads is the day the business becomes real.