Plumbing repair can be a lucrative business for a skilled professional. Here are five simple tips to help you start your own plumbing business today.
1. Create a business plan
Get your business started on the right foot and plan to set yourself up for success. It’s great to have a plan, but you’ll also need a plan to show prospective investors or financial institutions to secure funding for your business.
Here’s a list of all the things you’ll need to include in your plan.
- Business structure
- Services and products
- Target market information
- Marketing plan for year one and beyond
- Regulations and licensing requirements
- Employee headcount and growth
- Startup and maintenance costs
- Insurance coverage requirements
- First-year expenditures, revenue goals, and budget
This can seem overwhelming, but taking your time and planning your business out can give you the clarity you need to make the right decisions for your new company.
For more information on how to start writing your plan, read our post 5 key elements of a successful business plan.
Now let’s move on to choosing a name for your business.
2. Choose a name for your business
What’s in a name? Well, everything.
The process of naming your business is conflicting. You have to balance what you like versus what might resonate with your community. Some businesses go the easy route and use the name of the owner(s) as a guide to naming.
Whatever you choose, you must make sure that what you do and can offer individuals is clear. Clarity can come from including plumbing or plumbing language in your business name.
To create the best name for your business come up with something memorable and unique.
3. Learn about business taxes and regulations
Understanding and preparing your business to meet its tax and regulatory requirements is crucial to the long-term success of your new company.
We hear too many horror stories about businesses that worry about tracking and paying their taxes too late. They have to play catch up while trying to sell jobs, install projects, and manage their employees. It’s a big headache you’ll want to avoid.
We’ve also heard stories about plumbers who maybe didn’t have all the permits for their jobs completed, and now, they are facing fines and action from their local governments.
Avoid this by planning on getting the right permits for your business and jobs ahead of time so you’re not waiting around for approval until you can install the job.
This will help you avoid the stress of being in the red while trying to get your business up and running.
4. Create a marketing strategy
Relying on referral work and word of mouth is fine, but to really grow your business, you need a solid marketing plan to set goals and identify the tactics you need to achieve those goals.
Your marketing plan should include:
- Executive summary
- Marketing goals
- Customer demographic information
- Competitor research
- Success measurements
- Marketing tactics
- Budget
For more information on how to create your plan, read our article 7 things to include in a successful marketing strategy.
The biggest thing to take away from the article is, you need a way to convert the “leads” you generate through your marketing plan into paying customer.
We also made a conversion checklist for contractors that you can also use to help you close more deals.
5. Learn how to sell
Selling your services effectively is critical to securing the success of your business. But, how do you get better at selling?
- Learn what the customers in your market are struggling with the most, and think about what factors are impacting their buying decisions.
- Make sure you’re speaking with the decision makers of the household when trying to close a job. This will help you avoid wasting your time selling your services to the wrong person.
- Find out what makes your business different and exceptional and use it to your advantage.
Also consider using values like years of experience in your field, being a local company, or a deep understanding of products and installation to help you stand out from the competition.
Of course, there’s more to selling than what we just covered. But, becoming a lifelong learner of sales techniques can help you grow your business the way you want.
We can help you get more leads
Now that you have a firm grasp of how to start up your business and market your services, there is one thing you should consider:
What if you can’t get the business you want?
With so many companies in the same industry, it can be difficult to stand out from the rest. Unless you have help.
Customer financing is a tool that can help you get more customers and close more deals. Often times when a customer says no to your services they are just going to your competitors to shop around for the best rate.
With financing you can help your customers pay for your services over time, with small monthly payments. This allows your customers to see that you are willing to help them out and put themselves first.
Also with no dealer fees, contractors are able to keep more of their profits.
At Hearth, we specialize in helping plumbing professionals get more jobs. To learn more about our unique services, visit our customer financing page.
You can also Email us at [email protected] or call us today at (512) 686-4141
We may not be able to fix toilets, but at Hearth we can definitely fix your bottom line
