A question for those who are full-time busy and self-employed.

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WaterTight

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How many years did it take you to go from your first private customer to having a workload sufficient to consider yourself full-time?

I understand things are quieter than usual for many but if, averaged over the year say, you will expect to work most of the day for most of the working days of the month, this question is for you. I'm also aware the routes getting you to this situation will vary (include them if you think they're relevant i.e. inheriting a customer-base or subbing half your work off a company.)

And looking at the industry now would you suspect the road would be that much longer if you were starting down it again today?
 
Sane here, about 4 years.

I believe that location plays a big part in it now more than ever in these trying times. The big cities seem to have too many plumbers chasing too much work. Small to medium sized towns seem to have a better balance between work and the amount of plumbers chasing it, but again that's down to Regional location too.
 
The benchmark has always been 5 years,get past that and you can class yourself as established..........or so they say

Thats as long as you are
Building your customer base and do not fall into the trap of putting all your eggs in one basket.........and you know your job and move with the times

Imho
 
It took me 4 years to get to a situation where I was more or less full time self-employed, then came the recession. Since last September spent a lot of time posting flyers, putting ads in local shops etc and still spending too much time sat on my backside.
 
Only advertising I do is BNI . Not for everyone but has worked bloody well for me
 
bod said:
Only advertising I do is BNI . Not for everyone but has worked bloody well for me
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this will seem a silly question to those who know the answer (like most questions) but as i dont know then i ask
"what is BNI"
 
Only downside to BNI is they only allow one company per trade, so if there is already a plumber in your local BNI, you cant get involved! there are 4 BNI groups local to me and each one already has a plumber
 
I'd be putting yourself on there subs list so if the plumber leaves your in
 
Didnt know you could do that, thanks Bod. TBH I would like a few more years experience before I joined someone like BNI, don't want to throw my money away
 
Like I said it's not for everyone but on my first visit I got a job for 8k enough profit in that to pay for my years membership subs extra holiday an still some change lol
 
how much is your membership bod? do you literally just meet up every week and share jobs with each other?
 
PlumbersMate said:
how much is your membership bod? do you literally just meet up every week and share jobs with each other?
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It's about 440 a year membership , a one off admin payment 125 and then 30 a month for room and food , yes weekly meet where we swap referrals , I've had some top draw cherry ones , one that me and ecowarm are teaming up on next week in London
 
have been sent a text message for an invite to join last week, but not sure where to take it yet.?

another problem is there asking for a 'quality p&h company'. i do the middle bit but not sure of the 2 ends.
is the invite for a one man band or established firm & how much?.
 
What ever you can handle redsaw What chapter isig I'll check tere stats
 
i have no idea, just a cold call text recieved?.
is this a normal way to do things, she did leave her first name.
 
Not that i know off , it's usually you've done work for one of the currrent members or a contact of there's and your names been mentioned Or they have work already for a plumber
 
The best way of advertising is to advertise to the right people. I.e. the well of types who aren't going to be wanting you to work for peanuts. Local church magazines are great for that, as are the small booklets that get sent round different areas of town. If you can get advertising and known to the posh areas of town your onto a winner. There's nothing worse than turning up at a crap house where the customer is haggling you on the price and you end up working for nothing.
 
Church magazines tend not to have websites.

Best method is to look for them in your local shops (or even church!), pick up a copy and contact the necessary person, who's details will be inside (or phone one of the advertisers for contact details.)
 
i was at it for about 6 years work on then dead quiet for ages then busy again on an on then dropped on a housing association doing landlord checks and any work that might need as and when so things are ok at the moment got 380 houses so working most days and even some weekends but i nearly packed it in just befour i got sorted because it can be spirit crushing when things are tough .had 5 years of regular work now but some of my mates have not been so lucky and thats all it is luck stick at it you will get thier good luck
 
excellent question,

I find the same, get 3 weeks quiet, 6 weeks, so busy I havent got enough time in the day, when I talk to family about it, they turn around and say "well save money for the quiet times" if only it was that easy, the busy times pay for the quiet times. the quiet times, nothing gets paid.

But hopefully in my second year, have got loads to keep me going, next year might not be the same.

i am only just getting reccomendations and repeat customers, had a few in last 2 months, from when I first started. suppose its one of those things, you only think about your plumbing every 1-2 years. so any customers that you did work for before will remember you, but it will take a little while for them to use you again.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone.

I've been advertising my services and working for myself as often as comes up for about 2 years. I average 4 or 5 small-medium jobs a week and about a quarter comes from repeat business, about 10 percent have used me more than 4 times. I've also been offered the chance to join a company with an established friend who is busy with the view to building into a bigger company as a partnership with a generous offer on the table. That would require a full-time commitment and my own business would become weekend/evening slots, prob involve turning work down before long and may eventually as good as cease. Which after two years building it up would be a hard choice.

With the information I've got from this thread it looks like staying working for myself I could hope to be roughly full time in 2/3 years. So therein lies the choice. Not between what I'm doing now and what I'm being offered but where I'd be in each venture in 2/3 years time.
 
hello watertight i posted about 1500 biz cards before crimbo i had 2 calls the last time i had a job was 3 weeks ago i charge £35 for first hour then £12.50 every half hour so i dont think im to expensive i only do plumbing not gas work so i dint know what im doing wrong but ill keep trying
 
philtheflush said:
hello watertight i posted about 1500 biz cards before crimbo i had 2 calls the last time i had a job was 3 weeks ago i charge £35 for first hour then £12.50 every half hour so i dont think im to expensive i only do plumbing not gas work so i dint know what im doing wrong but ill keep trying
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Too cheap, being cheap doesnt mean you will get all the work, most people get 3 quotes and will settle for middle priced quote.
 
i started in nov 08 and its only in the last 9 months that we have started to relax because the phone does ring
i'm still not working full time all the time, very up and down like others have said.
in the current economic climate i would say 5 years to get established rather than 3
 
I've been going just over 6 years and I would say that its the last 9 months that it's continuous work, even to the point of being able to pick and choose. But even before that when it's been quiet I've only missed a day or half a day here and there.

It's all going to be related to the area you are in, the type of work you do, the quality of the competition and price.
 
jase158 said:
Too cheap, being cheap doesnt mean you will get all the work, most people get 3 quotes and will settle for middle priced quote.
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I don't think he's too cheap, I don't think people like paying by the half hour, also, depends on the area he works.

£35 for the first hour then £25 per hour, this equates to £210 per day. Most people here would be very happy on with that.
 
philtheflush said:
hello watertight i posted about 1500 biz cards before crimbo i had 2 calls the last time i had a job was 3 weeks ago i charge £35 for first hour then £12.50 every half hour so i dont think im to expensive i only do plumbing not gas work so i dint know what im doing wrong but ill keep trying
Click to expand...

Your not doing anything wrong, do you advertise emergency work, does your business card look cheap, run up at home on a £50 printer or done by a pro. Do you only use a mobile number, a lot of people will not call someone on a mobile only.

I had a call last week from a leaflet drop done over a year ago! only a £45 job but I've already a had call from a neighbour. This happens quite often.

Look at the card from an objective point of view, ask a good friend to look at it and ask for an honest opinion.

Bit like your wife asking you 'do I look good in this'

We all know the answer she wants, if she wanted the truth she'd ask a mate!
 
^^ I agree. And I don't think people go for the middle quote anymore. I think that's a thing of the past now. People want to screw the price down to a minimum. I've lost out on jobs over £30 on a boiler swap! I think the days of writing your own pay cheque in this industry are sadly over for a while.
 
It's also how you come across on the phone and out on a quote. If you're not confident and personable you best at least tell them a few things they didn't know that they consider useful. People who don't have a tradesman in the family may well believe half the nonsense Cowboy Builders tell them about tradesmen. You've got to sell yourself. I'm really good at coming across professional and knowledgable. What they don't know is I can't hold a spanner the right way up.
 
took a couple of years to get established after going back to being self employed but its allways up and down and in the fifteen years ive been in business it's never been the same year on year .
i think pricing is down to the market you work in Old /young /landlords/ etc

but dont you just hate it when say fifty quid and they say "OH is that all "
i dont advertise personaly because i dont like the type of customers it drags up wanting the cheapest possible price making out they care about quality! I blame Paul luois and the like for that.
word of mouth is how i tend to get by
 
smileyplumber said:
took a couple of years to get established after going back to being self employed but its allways up and down and in the fifteen years ive been in business it's never been the same year on year .
i think pricing is down to the market you work in Old /young /landlords/ etc

but dont you just hate it when say fifty quid and they say "OH is that all "
i dont advertise personaly because i dont like the type of customers it drags up wanting the cheapest possible price making out they care about quality! I blame Paul luois and the like for that.
word of mouth is how i tend to get by
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I TRY and not to get hung up on price. I charge what I think is right, like we all do,

For every customer who says 'Oh, thats cheap' theres another for the exact job who says 'How much'.

If I need the job and I've had to cut the price to get it, then, I buy gate valves not full bore lever valves, instead of the McAlpine waste, cheap screwfix one, instead of cutting out dodgy looking sections of tube, work around it. instead of the grundfos pump a cheaper version.

So, who wins and who looses? Job isn't as good and I walk away a bit disappointed but the labour charge is the same, customer is happy because they've got one over on me! or to be kinder they think they got a better deal.
 
I am just starting my fifth year. I now have a customer base of about 400 and am now getting repeat work and referrals. I agree with Watertight that potential customers have very little on which to make a decision when choosing a trades person. From the feedback I have had I would say the critical things are.

1. Good quality targeted advertising - using customer reviews
2. A good website ( my wife is a web designer so easy for me, I know it is difficult to get it right)
3. Good communication with customers i.e., having an accurate voicemail message, returning calls and emails quickly, ringing the day before appointments to confirm them, keeping customers informed ( at the moment I am sending daily photos of a bathroom install to the customer who is on holiday in Tenerife)
4. Being honest when quoting, take the time and trouble to explain the issues thus demonstrating knowledge and instilling confidence. Providing detailed fixed price quotes very quickly, usually same day.
5. Being a member of a reputable Competent Persons Scheme (I am in the CORGI CPS)
6. Involving customers as the job progresses. I always let them know at the end of the day what has been done and what will happen the next day.
7. Respecting customers property, loads of dust sheets, asking before using a radio, asking before using WC and most important, tidying up and hoovering at the end of the day.( I have lost count of the number of times that customers have commented on the hoovering !) give the customers space and a break by taking tea breaks and lunch out of the house. Not relying on customers for tea.
8. Rectifying mistakes quickly and apologising if things go wrong.
9. Making sure anyone who you sub work to understands the above and does the same.
10. Doing a quality job, although the customer has no way of judging this when you first meet them.

The trick is demonstrating that you are professional in every aspect of the way you deal with potential customers, hoping that they get some reassurance that you will just as professional when you work for them.

Of course this does not always work for customers who know the price of everything and the value of nothing, but to be honest I don't really want to work for people like that.

I recently referred a friend who is a roofer to one of my customers who wanted an entire new roof? They went for his quote on the basis of ;

His quote being detailed and done the next day, his website (done by my wife) the fact that he had done work for me, he seemed to know what he was talking about and that they liked him ! They did not see price as the main factor.

We have all heard the horror stories of plumbers not turning up, not returning calls, leaving jobs half done, etc, etc. People on the forum bemoan the cowboy builders TV programmes which undermine us all. However they do lower the publics expectation which gives us the opportunity to exceed expectations just by applying some common sense and customer service.

We have all been customers and had to choose between different suppliers and in my view it often comes down to trust which in my experience is not hard to instil.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
pipedream sounds like great advice, whats your website, sneek a peek lol
 
im going to try flyers with more info my biz cards are from vista i even put 20% discount for o.a.p. and a no call out charge i work in cardiff so ill strive on cheers
 
philtheflush said:
im going to try flyers with more info my biz cards are from vista i even put 20% discount for o.a.p. and a no call out charge i work in cardiff so ill strive on cheers
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Personnally I stay away from both these things,

1. OAPs, as people will get their mum/ dad to turn up and say it's there house, just to get discount, it feels like I am targeting OAPS, i find it hard to remember special offers/ prices and I feel my price is just right so to offer discount would leave me short.

2. No call out charges, most people ask what the call out charge is, but I do not charge one, simply a price for first hours labour and so on, these days not many people do charge a call out charge.

In my opinion people want to know more relevant information, years established, If your insured, the things you do. not worth getting 20 calls for unvented if you don't have unvented certificate, just annoying.
 
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