Need business help, i do murals on walls (like bob builder and spider man etc..)for friends and family.?

id like to do this as a business instead of a hobby, i need some help with how to advertise, like i did a whole wall for a little girl who likes nemo the film and she has autism too so it meant so much to her, and also help with were i can get cheaper painting equiptment as its costing me a lot from my local shop. please mail me back with help.thanks manda

when i said i did nemo the film i meant i did her a fish underwater theme not nemo, and yes im aware of copy right as in all my pictures i do my interpretation on them not direct copys from legal pictures.

I'd take a slightly different approach and strongly recommend that you talk to a business counselor before you do anything especially spend money. You have to determine whether you'll start a web based business or one with a store front. I'd call the local office of SCORE (go to http://www.score.org and input your zip code to find the chapter nearest you), the advice is FREE.

The counselor at SCORE will most likely advise you to write a business plan which is very good advice because it will force you to dig out all of the start up details and the costs of starting a murals business and force you to also understand all of the aspects of this business including the customers you'll concentrate on (your market ) and how you'll go after them.

You'll need to register the business with your state controller's office and make sure that you have any city and county licenses if any are needed where you live. All of this will come out in a business plan.

Try this link :
http://www.ychange.com/small-business-co... and read some of the articles especially the ones about a business plan and starting a business.
Good Luck

You realize you're violating peoples' copyrights/trademarks?

You can't advertise that you will paint copyrighted material. You can say you do murals and people - but if you say you do Bob the Builder, and get paid for it, you can get yourself in legal trouble.

I would talk to local interior design companies. They often have a need for this type of work in their projects. Be sure to have photos of work you have done before visiting them. You can also paint some small boards to take with you as samples.

get in touch with your local buisness link,they will advise you and theres also a start up grant of 拢500.00.good luck


as for my thumbs down,im sure hes well aware of copyright infringement.

This will not work as a business. You need permission from the rights holders before you can even put paint on your brush. Those images are worth millions and the copyright owners will not just let any old person use them for personal profit.

A second concern about trademark-copyright violation. Maybe when you donate your services to small businesses, the owners turn a blind eye, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you're painting copyrighted characters or trademarked characters, logos, etc. as a business, you *will* be sued.

And lose.

my friend started a successfull photography business like that, doing it for friends.. take pictures of your work, use friends as "commentors" and make a website, one of your friends of their kids will know how to create a website for free. download your picturesto it, make business cards and ask if you can leave some at the local art shops or paint shops, word of mouth will be hte best advertising. shop the internet for cheaper supplies or go to non-speciality shops like wal-mart for basics. However, you will need to watch what you paint--you can paint clown fish...not Nemo,

A friend of mine does this for a living. She also does faux finishes and all that kind of stuff. She mainly works with interior decorators who bring her in to do the jobs. Also, word of mouth is a really good once you have done a few. If you're good, people will start talking about you.

We just did a website for my friend, I think that's huge now a days. You cant really have a business that is visually related without having a website for people to check out samples of your work beforehand.

You can advertise that you do children's murals in local papers. Also, you can get some of those car magnets advertising you and what you do. Children's shops sometimes let you hang a flyer in the window or put business cards on their counters.

As far as cheaper paint...I really dont have help for you with that. Basically, you need to charge whatever you want to charge these people and then have them pay for the supplies. Or build the cost of the supplies into your fee. The paint WILL be expensive. There really isnt any way around that that I know of. Im not sure what kind of store you are going to or what kind of paint you use, but you could always search on the internet for what you use. Maybe you'd find an art or paint store that sells it cheaper.

As far as the copyright mess that everyone seems to focus on...Im not totally sure what you are and are not allowed to do with them. My friend just painted a bunch of murals in an elementary school (also good for advertising!) but the school got permission first from the publishers. They were very specific that she had to paint the characters exactly the way they were in the book. But they let her do it. It's free advertising for them. You probably wouldnt get caught, especially if you were just doing a few here and there, but you might want to research this aspect some more.

Check with your local advertising firms. Good luck to you. You have a God given talent RUN WITH IT!!!!!

Manda that is awesome work. Do what you love. Well you might seriously consider having someone prepare your own website. I say have someone else do it for you, is because I am not good at my own. But you need to advertise on the Internet. Most people today access the Internet for products and services for a period of 6 months before they actually make a decision to buy. Next you could make a list of family and friends and past co workers and sent a periodic newsletter about your work and services. Networking is key to making your business grow. While print advertising seems like it might bring in business, I have found that is very limited and very costly. On the Internet you can buy search words to draw people to your website. That is worth the money. Seek out free listings sites and get your name and business listed on them. I sure wish you all the best! And if you're in MSP - email me, I'm in real estate and maybe we could do some work together. Good Luck!

Go on a local morning news show and paint a live mural then donate it to a children's charity.

Amanda,
A co-incidence.
I work for the RAF as a civilian bod, and I have being saying for ages that we need a "Murial" on that wall opposite.
The Commander of the station, at the end of a boring meeting agreed that we should brighten the dismal WW2 place up.
I proposed nice suitable outside wall decorations.
Sort of 'planes and sky-lines, as opposed to a lot of blank brickwork. This was finally met with hearty approval, so I need a good brick artist to conjur up stuff for RAF boring buildings. This could be a decent project.
And fun.

bob.rowell@btinternet.com

Should get back to me, but RAF paint seems to come in white or blue., with the odd shedload of red.