1.) When getting prepared to do painting estimates you first need to know your target market or markets. Are you going to be painting in middle-class neighborhoods or are you going for the high-end glitzy neighborhoods?

Are you going after commercial accounts, industrial, etc.? Only then can you best gauge how high you are going to set your painting estimate rates. High-end, low-end or a middle-priced.

Personally, when it comes to painting for residential customers, I keep my rates the same. I don't care if it's high-end or middle class. If they cannot afford my painting services, I am out of there. Once you have painted at a higher price, it's hard to go low unless of course, you are hard up.

If you are estimating painting jobs for big business you can aim extremely high without much competition as you would in residential painting. Plus larger commercial customers have deep pockets. Also, if you are tackling those types of accounts you will need extra painters anyways so you should be able to aim high in your bidding to cover their wages and benefits.

2.) You need an accurate estimating method that works perfectly every time without fail. Whether inside or outside. You can stand and stare at a project all day and try to guesstimate exactly how long it will take you to paint something or you can use an accurate method for bidding paint jobs and walk away smiling and not wondering if you just bit the bullet.

3.) You need to allow for fuel, travel time and even Uncle Sam's cut. If your going to be driving long miles you definitely want to account for fuel and travel time, even overnight expenses if you get that radical in your business. Again, if you have employees you will need to account for their wages and benefits in your bids also.

4.) You need to be aware of hidden expenses or projects that add extra time and extra materials to a job. Things like hard to cover colors, excessive prep time, high-work, down time due to outside sources that are common in new construction, etc.

5.) You need to know how much paint and materials you will be using. (Note: A good estimating system can automatically include all your paints and materials.)

6.) Your estimating system should be based on three basic ways of estimating. Just like a set of golf clubs, some times you need a different driver to make it on to the next green. Different jobs require different painting estimating techniques.

For example: painting ceilings, walls and woodwork estimating can change if you have excessive woodwork like walk-in closets with tons of shelving. Or rooms with high walls.

The same goes for exterior work in residential painting. Are the surfaces smooth and clean or is there stucco or shingles that require extra time and materials? When you have an easy system in place you can build up an estimate to meet the type of project you are facing.

Lee Cusano has owned and operated his own successful painting business since 1991. He has also helped many others to start their own painting business with his Bid Like a Pro Estimating and Advertising CD-ROM.

Lee also offers a free report titled "How To Gain a High Success Rate For Getting Painting Jobs". To get it go to http://www.bidlikeapro.com