How to Start a Custom Portrait Business

Start a custom portrait business by following these 10 steps:

1. Plan your Custom Portrait Business
2. Form your Custom Portrait Business into a Legal Entity
3. Register your Custom Portrait Business for Taxes
4. Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
5. Set up Accounting for your Custom Portrait Business
6. Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Custom Portrait Business
7. Get Custom Portrait Business Insurance
8. Define your Custom Portrait Business Brand
9. Create your Custom Portrait Business Website
10. Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your custom portrait business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

• What will you name your business?
• What are the startup and ongoing costs?
• Who is your target market?
• How much can you charge customers?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Custom Portrait Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

• Your state's business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Social media platforms
• Web domain availability.

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

What are the costs involved in opening a custom portrait business?

The startup costs for a custom portrait business are notably low. This is because there is no need to lease a separate space, pay for attendant utilities, and so on. The only real costs are the costs of your artistic tools, which will vary based on the exact medium that you specialize in. However, you can typically get a selection of canvases and materials such as graphite pencils or oil-based paints for under $500. Advertising your business via traditional methods as well as a website and social media should cost no more than $1,000, and your ongoing advertisement after you open your business will likely be via social media, which has extremely low cost.

What are the ongoing expenses for a custom portrait business?

Using the recommendations above, almost all of your ongoing expenses will be built into your sales. That is, an average painting may have a cost in materials (canvas, brush, and quart of paint) of about $250, but you should be factoring this cost into the price you place on your art, allowing you to merely replenish supplies as you go. Assuming you work from home or at clients' homes and offices, you have no real overhead, and while you may continue to advertise via traditional media, most of your best advertisement will come from social media as well as painting in parks and other public places—both of which can be done for free!

Who is the target market?

While you will likely have a diverse array of clients, young families will generally be your best clients. They will be interested in creating portraits featuring spouses, young children, or the entire family.

How does a custom portrait business make money?

On the most basic level, your business makes money by charging people for custom portraits. Typically, the price per portrait goes up if the medium is more complex, the portrait more realistic, and the overall project more time-consuming.

How much can you charge customers?

A number of factors can inform how much you charge clients. One good formula to abide by is to charge customers for the cost of material as well as how long it took you to complete the work, giving yourself a fair price such as $20 an hour. This pricing may be sufficient if you are selling the work directly, but if it is being sold by a gallery, you may want to double the price to account for the amount that the gallery will get from the sale. Finally, if you provide professional framing services, don't forget to charge the customers for the time and materials involved!

How much profit can a custom portrait business make?

The exact profit potential of your business varies on the area and the number of clients you have in any given year. However, using the formula written earlier for what to charge, even a modest portrait that takes twenty hours to complete should net you a minimum of $650, and that is before you factor in additional costs for professional framing or additional market value factors. Thus, someone painting multiple portraits a week can turn a tidy profit with almost no overhead. It is also very easy now to sell portraits and artistic services through online venues such as Etsy, which can help you find clients beyond the confines of your specific region or metropolitan area.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Create a digital newsletter or mailing list so you can keep clients and prospective clients in the loop about your business. Don't neglect your website—make sure that it showcases some of your best work while offering clients the most pertinent info they need. Finally, don't discount featuring your work in galleries—while it can be annoying to split the profit with a professional gallery, the amount of exposure (and, thus, advertising for those who are most likely to buy) is more than worth it.

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation.

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your custom portrait business is sued.

You can form an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

• Separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

• Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
• Build your company's credit history, which can be useful to raise money later on.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a custom portrait business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

For information about local licenses and permits:

• Check with your town, city or county clerk’s office
• Get assistance from one of the local associations listed in US Small Business Associations directory of local business resources.

Services Contract

A services contract will outline the parameters of each project, including price, terms, and client expectations.  Here is an example service agreement.

Recommended: Rocket Lawyer makes it easy to create a professional service agreement for your custom portrait business when you sign up for their premium membership. For $39.95 per month, members receive access to hundreds of legal agreements and on call attorneys to get complimentary legal advice.

Trademark & Copyright Protection

When you are developing a unique product, concept, brand, or design, it is prudent to protect your rights by registering for the appropriate trademarks and copyrights.

Learn more about trademark and copyright protection

The nature of legal requirements is ever changing, especially in regards to copyright laws. Here is a frequently updated resource, which can help keep you aware of the legal requirements.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

Is this Business Right For You?

Obviously, this is a business designed for an artist. However, not just any artist: you must be comfortable doing a lot of interaction with many kinds of customers (especially if you are doing portraits on the spot), and you must be able to work quickly, both to achieve customer satisfaction and to increase your margin of time and profit.

What happens during a typical day at a custom portrait business?

The daily activities of the custom portrait painter are simple: you will communicate with current clients and work on advertising to and communicating with prospective clients. Otherwise, much of your work day is taken up by practicing your craft and working on the portraits your clients have ordered.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful custom portrait business?

Any previous artistic experience is helpful, and specific portrait experience is still more helpful. A formal education is not a requirement, but having a higher degree in art or a related field may help you both advertise yourself to customers and charge a higher price for your work. Finally, any experience selling your art (in person or via online methods such as Etsy) can be helpful.

What is the growth potential for a custom portrait business?

The growth potential for a custom portrait business is modest when looking at industry projections for the next few years. However, it is worth noting that such a business has extremely low ongoing costs and a low investment to start, meaning that the majority of each sale translates to profit for the artist.