thinking of starting out on my own, from northern ireland

[mark_mc]

I am thinking of starting out on my own, at he minute i am employed but things arent lookin great for the new year.
i do a lot of homers on the side of work, i know a lot of people out there dont agree with that but where else do you start.
but the problem is there isnt enough work out there, well i havent been looking and dont know where to look, i dont know about this delivering leafets cause all can see is people looking stuff done for nothing.
i am skilled tradesman and have very good experience and knowledge when it comes to plumbing and when i do any jobs i do them right, there is jobs i dont get because someone undercuts me but i will never change to the the demands of those who want to pay nothing if you want something done you do it right or dont do it, is my attitude
is there any advice any fellow plumbers can give?

 

[oldplumber]

If your happy to take on the stress of working for yourself go for it, however do you have specific skills you can sell well ie boiler repairs, oil tickets or do you only do plumbing in general at present ie bath installs. Consider the market at present, no bank loans, jobs being lost xmas approaching and lack of money in the spring to most folks, are you really happy to give up a paid job and go it alone?

 

[mark_mc]

i have my oftec exams, unvented cylinders exams, biomass exams and hope to get my solar next year, dont do bathrooms as round my way they are mostly done by the handymen and you cant beat there prices as they dont use the right things.
at the minute im seriously considering it as work isnt great off this week as things slow.
i have a van off my own and have no tools to buy i have everything i need, 1000's of quids worth of of gear just picked up of the years as i say i have a passion for plumbing
all my work comes from word of mouth so must be doing something right, and im not that cheap.
but its just one week you can busy and the next not, thats the sticky bit for me, where do you get all the customers? do you put leafets out there and just work to get your name out there and then start rising the costs??

 

[ecowarm]

it can take 18months to 2yrs to get you're name out there, speaking from experience!

 

[mark_mc]

thanks ecowarm,
as you say 18months to 2 years.
so in them 18months to 2 years what did you do to get your name out there>

 

[ecowarm]

phew what didnt i do, thats a
better question

 

[oldplumber]

advertize in local mags, work hard, always turn up ,work clean, sign write the van, take any job as the tap repair leads onto a heating install, turn up looking clean and tidy, and accept that on days when theres no work you get to walk the dogs. Takes 2-3 years as stated and never lose a good customer to someone else by refusing a job. Once you got around a 1000 good customers life gets easier!

 

[dontknowitall]

Play computer games until the phone rings ...

Long dog walks ...

Visit elderly relatives to make sure I was in the will ...

The most effective method I had was putting a business card in peoples' doors. Really boring but for every 200 or so you might get a tap or WC to fix. Later on, those taps turn into boiler services or new showers. Those in turn lead to boiler replacements and new bathrooms.

Sometimes you can deliver 500 cards and get no call at all. Worst time is summer, best time is winter.

 

[ecowarm]

get your name on as many free internet sites as possible, get a web site. join a networking club (free or as cheap as poss) dont do yell dot *** its not worth it, you'll just get get loads of idiots phoning trying to sell you stuff you dont need. hand out cards everywhere you go, day and night.

 

[oldplumber]

hey eco you must get so much dross in your mail, cold calls at midnight and spam by the ton. Maybe a few jobs as well but god the hassle of free web sites etc!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mark_mc]

you guys are really good to talk too.
i will give it my all in the new year as say i have depended on word of mouth and its got me around £5ooo- £8ooo profit on all jobs done over this year.
i will get the van done with some good graphics and deliver some business cards and keep up my good customer service

 

[SafeGasInstall]

i have a man who deliver business cards for me ,he delivers 1000 a day it cost me a lot as cards are not cheap high quality !!!
a have had customers ringing for small jobs which is a good start as i have been in college for my commercial gas ! in past have been working for company as self employed ,now i want to go and do commercial and keep the domestic just to top up my incomes !have had few customers for boiler change jobs but they are not willing to pay my rates so good luck to them!and hoping to get recommend from customers to there associates ! i am finishing my assessment tomorrow and only have one boiler service to do this weekend and one leaking tap to repair !

 

[dontknowitall]

I've a website as well but do my best to avoid joining other websites!! I just feel it makes me look cheap and tacky. If I lived in a large town/city I might think rather differently but it seems to work out here in the sticks.

I spent £500 on my van sign writing and it paid for itself within a year. I also get loads of comments about the smart look (from customers and other tradesmen).

Cleanliness is one of the best things to do though. When I repair or install a WC I clean it properly (including around the seat and underneath the pan and around the pan connector) and then put some of Tesco's best in the pan. This was a tip I learned at the training centre. What's the first thing you do when someone repairs your WC? Lift the seat then flush it!! When there's a clean smell and cleaning liquid smiling at you when you lift the seat it makes you think that the chappie has done a really thorough job.

With new taps, I clean all the old gunge away and polish the taps and plug hole and clean the basin.

A new bathroom has a 15-20 minute cleaning session when I've finished.

Another thing I do is in the wet weather I put a dust sheet over the customer's door mat and wipe my feet on my sheet instead. This keeps the dirt out and dries the soles of my shoes so there are no marks in the house. (Then there's another dust sheet where I'm working.)

Finally, over the 15 years or so the only trades people who have been asked back to my house are those who tidy things up at the end of the day and don't invade our space with all their tools and rubbish.

 

[ecowarm]

yell.com nightmare

 

[dontknowitall]

If someone could get Yvonne from Yell.com off my back I'd be grateful!!!

 

[ecowarm]

hey eco you must get so much dross in your mail, cold calls at midnight and spam by the ton. Maybe a few jobs as well but god the hassle of free web sites etc!!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean free listings (google it)

 

[fuzzy]

If someone could get Yvonne from Yell.com off my back I'd be grateful!!!

you could get on yvonnes?