New self employed advice

[Cameron2404]

Hi all, this is my first time posting to this site however i regularly browse it. Im looking for a bit of advice and guidance as I have recently gone self employed... I will give you a bit of background first..

So, my names Cameron, and i'm 22 years old. I've been plumbing since i left school and picked it up very quickly. I completed a level 2 nvq apprenticeship with a domestic plumbing and heating company. They also sent me along to various Worcester bosch courses ect. From them I went to a mechanical firm that worked on new builds. I became a working supervisor but I did prefer domestic plumbing over this. The company then moved offices 100 miles away which forced me to leave. So from then I decided to set up my own limited company and work self employed. Luckily, a mate of mine was on a local new build site working as a subcontractor which he then got me on. Now this work is regular which is good, however i really want to steer away from this site work and start getting my own domestic work in. This is where i need advice...

I have my own website, and social media pages but thats the only advertising i really have. What do you guys recommend to start getting my name out there? Im debating registering for checkatrade but i get mixed opinions. At the minute i just need a bit of guidance on where to start really.. I am also currently studying my ACS for gas, which i should have completed in the next few weeks.


Any help would be much appreciated! And apologise for such a long message! Cheers!

 

[ShaunCorbs]

i would try and start with family and friends and get a good set of reviews / name going about, it will be very tough for the first couple of years but once your name starts getting about it should be better,

one tip i would say is get some flyers made and go delivering them once a week, start one end of town and work your way through

 

[king of pipes]

Theres no easy way bud shaun has given you some good advice it will take a good couple of years to get established and for your name to get around turn out quality work at a competitive price and it will come good there is alot of people out there improving their homes rather than moving so keep at it and good luck . regards kop

 

[Chuck]

Im looking for a bit of advice and guidance

Be wary of a landlord offering you lots of work out of the blue. It may mean that that they understand the difficulty of starting a business and want to give you a helping hand. It is more likely that no one else will work for them because they have a habbit of not paying their bills.

 

[pjohn]

Consumer here, I've often used rated people to get some quotes in, you'll be at a disadvantage with no reviews, but if you bid competitively and do good work they'll come with time.

Also, who's doing your bookkeeping? Make sure you keep on top of that, and consider hiring an accountant for end of year returns - they can often save you more than their fee (I was self employed for 8 years, so that's from personal experience).

 

[buzzingwithlife]

Hello and welcome, as a small business owner myself starting out it sounds like you are on the right track. You have a website (an address so we can look?) , social media. Getting a business card designed is a good idea, something that makes you stand out. Stay away from the likes of trustpilot as it's not a genuine review site. And you want customers to come to you because you are great not because you pay money to a site to exchange crap reviews for good ones. Like someone suggested have some flyers done, there's a free index you can sign up for and place ads. Go for it and don't give up : )