Advice sought on business expectations

[thenorthernplumber]

Hi guys i'm self employed plumber in the north east i'm looking to grow my business and just wanted some idea of realistic numbers in reagrds to boiler installers and swaps per month, i currently do around 5 a month no advertising facebook or website, all of which im currently having designed and should be up and running at the end of the month would any of the guys that self employed on here says it realistic to be able to do 15-20 boiler installs per month with the correct advertising and work ethic

 

[townfanjon]

Hi guys i'm self employed plumber in the north east i'm looking to grow my business and just wanted some idea of realistic numbers in reagrds to boiler installers and swaps per month, i currently do around 5 a month no advertising facebook or website, all of which im currently having designed and should be up and running at the end of the month would any of the guys that self employed on here says it realistic to be able to do 15-20 boiler installs per month with the correct advertising and work ethic

15/20 jeezzz , I couldn’t and wouldnt want to install that amount, its going some is that , but if you just do installs, no other work , plumbing etc , I would say it was possible, just !!!
Good luck with it .

 

[thenorthernplumber]

The aim would be to build the business and take on a couple of good lads as we go but i wasn't sure how realistic and difficult it would be in attaining that number of installs per month

 

[townfanjon]

How long have you been self employed pal , have you heard the “ dont run before you can walk “ phrase lol , massive commitment taking on staff .

 

[thenorthernplumber]

I been at it about 5 years now so and had 5 years previous being employed so i'm not fresh out of water just never pushed things

 

[Welder]

I been at it about 5 years now so and had 5 years previous being employed so i'm not fresh out of water just never pushed things

Just a simple question.

How do you differentiate your offering from everyone else? What's your USP?
There is real point to the Qs.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

That's decent 5 a month ish

 

[thenorthernplumber]

Just a simple question.

How do you differentiate your offering from everyone else? What's your USP?
There is real point to the Qs.

This is a fair question and to be honest i don't have a clear defined answer i take great pride in my workman ship and the reviews i'm now receiving which ill be publicising on my website and facebook page reflect that also i'm spending some of my budget on branding to help me standout but this isn't a real USP i'm finding it difficult to come up with one considering the game we are in a boiler replacement or fix is exactly what it says on the tin ! ( once the job is done to a high standard ) do you have any suggestions for my thinking cap.

 

[Harvest Fields]

The aim would be to build the business and take on a couple of good lads as we go but i wasn't sure how realistic and difficult it would be in attaining that number of installs per month

Good lads he says. Impossible that maybe, I say.

 

[SimonG]

The good lads are probably self employed already. Will need an attractive package to get the right people and more importantly retain.

 

[Welder]

This is a fair question and to be honest i don't have a clear defined answer...

My point here is that without a USP of use to potential customers one has to consider just why they would choose your offering.

You are correct insofar as marketing will raise your profile but that marketing cannot simply be "Hello. Please buy from us" There has to be a 'because' element to the message.

The other aspect, as Harvest pointed out, is your team. Youll find the devil is in the detail of, yet again, 'why' would a good quality installer choose to work with you & not do their own thing?

Please dont think Im knocking your aspirations. We all need & deserve them but we must think things through, testing & retesting so that when you decide to 'do' it has the desired effect.

As mentioned, think it all through properly cos thats what will make it work for you.

 

[OffshoreGas]

For anyone looking to grow a business I’d suggest the only USP you really need is to actually turn up.

Domestic trades are from a customers point of view dreadful. Pick up the phone tomorrow and call 5 builders/5 plumbers/5 Plasterer’s to come and quote for a small extensions say and 50% won’t even turn up. Of the 50% that do you’ll generally only get an actual quote from half. You’re now down to 25% of those you started with. Of this 25% 50% will never turn up to actually do the job.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been on the phone to sltrades offering them cash (the amount they asked for) and they just haven’t been interested/organised enough to do the job.

 

[Riley]

Was there a point to this??? Or were you just ranting at tardiness??

 

[OffshoreGas]

People have asked what his USP is and how he’s going to find business. In my experience of domestic trades if you’re not a massive pain in the arse people will beat a path to your door.

It must be pretty stressful to hand a wedge of cash over to some random person you’ve only just met who’s going to do something you don’t really understand to the most expensive thing you probably own.

 

[Welder]

Was there a point to this??? Or were you just ranting at tardiness??

I feel OFG has a point, although it's a rant - no mistake

I left school in 1971 after doing my A levels in 1 year instead of 2 and since that time people have complained about the pi55 poor communication of trades.

In the early 90 mobiles came in and a revolution in said comms was promised. Today however it's worse than it ever was IMHO. We make fewer calls than we did when we only had wee soaked phone boxes and yet just about every human being is connected!

The question Why? is an important one. Personally I believe it's the fault of this epedemic of narcissism. That in turn is OUR fault. The very people who complain, raised the ignorant buggers who cannot be bothered to communicate, who cannot be bothered to consider others. Oh the wonderful irony of actions coming home to roost...

When I had my plumbing business I made a point of telling people that I communicated. That I was running late, that I'd gotten the darn date wrong or whatever. However, my USP was never entirely that because none of those people wish to be told it's 'their' fault nothing happens as they failed to raise their kids properly!

 

[Millsy 82]

As someone has already said good lads are hard to find.

I packed in working for my self 2 years ago as I was so busy I was never home. So I thought do I employ someone or do I go back employed. I chose to go employed and soon regretted it. After a year and a bit I'm now back self employed and soon heading towards the same point I was at.

I do think what I'm going to do when I get to that point, i have thought about an apprentice and bring them up but then what do I do when like today I hope to be finished by 2 and then go surfing, what do I do when I go on holiday etc.

I thought about maybe employing an improved some one like my brother has come into the trades later on but paid for themselves to do it but have not got much experience. You can still mould them to your liking but you may still have to pay for likes of gas.

Or you get someone who can do installs and just keep throwing installs at them and hope you can keep enough coming in.

In a perfect world you want someone that can do service, Repair and installs so even if the installs dry up for a week or 2 you can get them to do service and repair.

I also worry that if you employ someone to them it's only a job but to me it's been my life for the last 5-6 years (minus the short break employed) so they won't care as much about it as I do.

 

[Millsy 82]

Oh and to answer your question yes you can get 20 installs a month I've worked for quite a few companies big enough to cope with that demand but they are usually 4-5 Install teams big. Not just a 1 man and another installer. Again as someone else has said learn to walk before you run.