Starting your own business may be a rewarding yet challenging process. However, there are several important steps you should take to ensure the success of your new company. In this blog post, BUILT will provide you with some tips and advice on how to start a business as a trades professional, including the necessary skills, marketing strategies to promote your business, and the importance of establishing a strong reputation.
Essential Skills and Qualifications
Before you consider starting a trades business, it’s essential to have the necessary skills and qualifications in your chosen trade. You should have a good level of experience and skill to be able to complete jobs by yourself and satisfy your customers. Consider obtaining an apprenticeship or other qualifications, specialising in your field of work.
If you are already qualified but lack experience, getting some temporary or contract employment will help you. It’s also a good idea to learn some general business skills. For example, learning about accounting can help you manage your finances and taxes, market research will help you promote your business efficiently, and HR management will help you manage the people you hire.
Marketing Strategies to Promote Your Business
Marketing your company is an important component of starting a successful trades business. To attract clients, you must spread the word, which requires an effective marketing approach. This involves using a variety of strategies, such as placing advertisements in local directories or attending trade events. However, you must also ensure that your business is digitally marketed, which begins with creating a website and social media profiles and maintaining them with information about your company, recent customer reviews, and industry-related content.
Having a solid digital presence is crucial for any business today. You should have a professional website that showcases your skills, services, and portfolio of work to potential customers. It also gives your business a professional image and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you. Additionally, you can promote your business through social media, including Facebook or through other platforms, such as Google Maps and google business profile. By creating a strong online presence, you’ll be more visible to potential customers and attract more business leads.
(More: Marketing Tips for Trades)
Building a Strong Reputation
Building a good reputation is essential for any business, especially when the job is to work inside your customers’ houses. Customer recommendation based on your reputation is the best way to get work in the trade business, and 70% of all jobs come by word of mouth or previous direct experience.
To build a good reputation, you should aim to provide a high-quality service to every customer. Be professional, reliable, and trustworthy, and always deliver on your promises. Additionally, make sure that you’re easy to contact and responsive to customer inquiries. By doing so, you’ll be more likely to receive positive reviews and recommendations, which can be invaluable in attracting new business. Make sure to encourage your customers to leave reviews on your website or other online profiles you may have. This is an excellent strategy to build credibility among local potential customers.
Developing a Portfolio of Work
A portfolio is an excellent way to prove your competence and gain new clients. In addition, you can promote your company and your expertise by displaying the work you have performed on your website or social media, including photographs of completed tasks or videos of before and after results. This allows potential consumers to see your skills and develop trust in your company. This is especially important for trades professionals since it allows potential consumers to see the quality of your work as well as your degree of experience.
Need help building your website?
We understand that starting a business from scratch is challenging, especially in the competitive trades industry. Whether you are a heating engineer or an electrician, you definitely don’t have the time to build or improve your business online presence. This is where we come in!
BUILT has over seven years of experience assisting trades in expanding their web presence. We only require a 10-minute phone call to get things started, so don’t hesitate to request a callback and take your business to the next level.
(More: Top 3 Website design ideas for Plumbers)