Sat, 6 Aug 2005, 11:51 – John C. Jones FURTHER REPLY TO ROBERTO REGARDING
STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS AS A PLUMBER
Hello again Roberto.
As Grant has written, you need to advertise the fact that you are available. You should not be satisfied until “the whole world” knows what you are offering. Advertise in every possible place, such as the YELLOW PAGES and the LOCAL PRESS etc. Display POSTERS and distribute FLIERS and BUSINESS-CARDS everywhere you go. You should make “a lot of noise” about yourself and attract as much attention as possible. It might help to have a simple WEBSITE with the name of the business and contact details. You will be able to have this designed for you very inexpensively.
You should constantly be thinking of NEW ideas, EXTRA services, SPECIAL offers etc. You must try to give the potential customers a good reason for choosing YOU to do the job for them. You must IMPROVE on the quality of the service which is currently being offered by your competitors.
You must think carefully about where you will find your customers. It might be worthwhile to VISIT some large establishments, such as FACTORIES and places of EDUCATION. You will probably have to make REPEAT VISITS in order to convince the potential customer that you are reliable.
In this type of work, it is always useful to target the WEALTHIER AREAS of the region in which you are located. You might find it useful to make a PERSONAL VISIT in order to introduce yourself to the potential customers.
It will also be useful for you to contact others in the building-trade (i.e. contractors and small businesses which cannot employ a plumber full-time). This is an important line for you to follow. Word can easily spread in the trade when you have a good reputation.
If you find that you need an unskilled assistant, remember to try the local JOBCENTRE to see if there are any INCENTIVES on offer.
There might be a TRADE ASSOCIATION which caters for PLUMBERS. See the following website.
Please let us know if you need any further information.
Best Wishes.
The one and only J.
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Fri, 5 Aug 2005, 11:54 – John C. Jones REPLY TO ROBERTO
STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS AS A PLUMBER
REPLY TO ROBERTO
Hello Roberto.
It should not be difficult for you to start your own plumbing business, as there is a high demand for such work these days. First you will need to complete the formalities of informing the relevant official bodies. It is not a complicated procedure for someone who wishes to operate as a sole-trader.
In other threads of the Forum, there have been a number of similar enquiries on START-UP PROCEDURE, and you will find it useful to read one (or more) of my replies to those queries.
In the “I WANT TO START MY OWN BUSINESS” thread, you will find a detailed description in my reply to JIMMY dated JUNE 3rd-4th and there is information on FUNDING and PREMISES in the reply to DEAN dated APRIL 30th.
YESTERDAY, in the “MODERN APPRENTICESHIPS — BOOST YOUR BUSINESS” thread, I gave IMRAN and PETER some contacts for finding further information.
When you have read those messages, please let us know if you need any further information.
Best Wishes.
The one and only J.
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Fri, 5 Aug 2005, 00:08 – From Grant to Roberto
Well, World of Water (UK) should be able to reply to (Tue, 2 Aug 2005, 23:15) – Roberto’s Forum post on starting his own business as a plumber.
In all areas, Plumbers are needed. With this in mind, you know the work is out there and you simply need to spread the word about yourself in a way that is most interesting.
We found our Plumber, Terrance, when we saw his business Card displayed on the wall of our local plumber’s supply merchant.
Our last Plumber came from asking our neighbour whether they knew a good plumber.
Word of mouth is vital. Networking is vital. Business Cards are vital.
The image you put over needs to match your character.
If you require any design work relating to water/ plumbing for your business cards, we can always come up with a fun suggestion. I recall that one of our members proposed a large fountain sculpt of copper that used hot water pipes (Thermo paint coated) and cold spray but at the time we could not find an artistically minded plumber that was a welder and engineer. I’ll see if I can hook out the file on that project as it may be something that could launch a plumbing career with large art-world media coverage.
All best wishes
Grant of the HoBB Gardens (Water Gardens at the moment with all this rain!) and Project House (Clearing the water)
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Tue, 2 Aug 2005, 23:15 – Roberto ( rbruk_63 (at) yahoo . co . uk )
Hello everyone.
I just finished the City & Guild 6022 Copper Tube Advice and Installation Course after 15 years as welder engineering.
Get a job with a decent wage I saw is impossible. What can I do to start my own business as a plumber?
Many thanks
Roberto