Starting a business ???

[djbrowney]

Hi guys,

Just after some advice, i am a carpenter atm but do an awful lot of day to day repairs on upvc windows door ect ect drilling locks ect ect aswel as all types of carpenty. Now im planing on starting up my own business doing upvc maintance/repairs/lock changes ect ect.

Im going to get some flyers printed up to get sent out with the local news paper but whats the best way of getting people attention and not just putting it in the bin like most do lol

Also the design/layout of the flyer, i havent really got anything on my pc to desgin anything on so doddles on paper atm lol :cry:

Any other help would be much appreciated :thumb:

[bazil]

Microsoft works has a flyer thingy in it, it's on xp,
but word of mouth and a few before and after pics will help.

[craig green]

Good thread & good luck with your venture in advance.
I used to work for a newspaper, if you can afford the distribution & printing costs involved with the flyers then do it. If you place an ad in paper they will badger you endlessly for more ads & tbh who really looks at the ads in a newspaper these days??

I'd say you need it to appeal to older people in that a funky/modern style wont please your average 50 somethings that will want their windows & doors fixed. SO long as it portrays you as a trustworthy & honest tradesman you should be OK.

A local radio ad is probably your next best ad.

[djbrowney]

Cheers craig, i have sold some of the car stuff so now have the money to advertise. The radio is £2000 + so that i little more than i was hoping to pay. I really didnt realise how much this upvc stiff breaks tbh 15 years ago there was a massive boom with it round our way so i though being a credit crunch climate people would rather repair than replace lol (well i hope anyway)

Bazil im on windows 7 and dont have office :(

My carpentry work is always busy with extra work only through word of mounth, but you wouldnt belive the amount of people that think a upvc fitter cant be done buy a carpenter lol

[Bubba]

open office is a free download. pretty much the same afaik

[craig green]

Spot on with idea of people repairing not replacing in the current economic climate.

I've seen a few vans going about doing the double glazing demisting aswell.
£2000 for the radio!! Fook that! Sounds like you've done your homework though.
Advertising in local media is a cut throat game, be careful what you get told (by ad reps) & what you spend on it. As said word of mouth is as good if not better. Newspapers will call you for late space & promo's for literally anything & everything anyway, so it pays to have some JPEGS or PDF's of a flyer or ad to hand incase a bargain or 2 comes up.

[djbrowney]

Spot on with idea of people repairing not replacing in the current economic climate.

I've seen a few vans going about doing the double glazing demisting aswell.
£2000 for the radio!! Fook that! Sounds like you've done your homework though.
Advertising in local media is a cut throat game, be careful what you get told (by ad reps) & what you spend on it. As said word of mouth is as good if not better. Newspapers will call you for late space & promo's for literally anything & everything anyway, so it pays to have some JPEGS or PDF's of a flyer or ad to hand incase a bargain or 2 comes up.

Yer thats what i told them on the phone lol

Local free paper that goes to 40,000 houses round my area, spoke to the publisher and they have said i could do area's at a time depending on cost £22.50 per thousand so i quite a bit but maybe not such a big kick in the bollocks if i do area's at a time. I planning on keeping my 9-5 to start with just in case it all goes tits up and will probaly going to split the workshop in half so i have work space and car space and get to keep it :p

Yer new sealed unit is another thing to add to the list lol

[bazil]

I'm on windows 7 home primium ( sp ) it's there I'm sure.

Is this a full blown thing? Ie sole trader or ltd company? If so up here we have the business gateway that is really helpfull, I was set to start out a plant hire company and they helped with business plans, helping with advice on advertising, the bank was helpull to with free business banking for a year and access to a financial adviser etc
I'd say get as much free help as you can from anywhere you can get it.
Also make sure you present your company in the proper way so not to look like a pikey with a beat up van and only a mobile number on the side of it,

I'm just a bit odd but only use companies that are local and have a landline or 0800 number.

[craig green]

Sounds good mate. Sounds like you cant go wrong.

[djbrowney]

I'm on windows 7 home primium ( sp ) it's there I'm sure.

Is this a full blown thing? Ie sole trader or ltd company? If so up here we have the business gateway that is really helpfull, I was set to start out a plant hire company and they helped with business plans, helping with advice on advertising, the bank was helpull to with free business banking for a year and access to a financial adviser etc
I'd say get as much free help as you can from anywhere you can get it.
Also make sure you present your company in the proper way so not to look like a pikey with a beat up van and only a mobile number on the side of it,

I'm just a bit odd but only use companies that are local and have a landline or 0800 number.

What more full blown than having your own business lol,

Im planning on buy an 08 plate is astra van and having it sign written. ect ect i like the sound of free lol

I now what you mean buddy, i must admit i only ever seem to use people from word of mouth :cool:

[bazil]

Especially local companies I try to use, some come in with a wee book that shows previous jobs with a comment written by the homeowner etc big national companies rely on their big image but the bloke you get at your house may be a div lol

[mowgli]

the money is in getting in with the housing associations, councils & major property letting people, even holiday parks. they don't really rely on house insurance, as the excess is way too much for them. then there are businesses.. how often does someone get to work to find the pikeys have had a go?

approach home insurance people to see if they are looking for contractors in your area... you are in the wilds a bit..

yellow pages, the bt book... a quick website with lots of decent linky words.. they don't cost much.. print off a load of flyers & get a few young relatives to help post them in your target areas.

also, don't plan for it to take off instantly.

good luck.

[djbrowney]

the money is in getting in with the housing associations, councils & major property letting people, even holiday parks. they don't really rely on house insurance, as the excess is way too much for them. then there are businesses.. how often does someone get to work to find the pikeys have had a go?

approach home insurance people to see if they are looking for contractors in your area... you are in the wilds a bit..

yellow pages, the bt book... a quick website with lots of decent linky words.. they don't cost much.. print off a load of flyers & get a few young relatives to help post them in your target areas.

also, don't plan for it to take off instantly.

good luck.

i work for a private housing assosiation now, work with them is now long gone. its all done in house as i saves a forune. Hense the reason i have been doing this for the last three years. Yellow pages and bt book is a waste of time imo cant remeber the last i picked one of them up lol

Cheers for the advice :thumb:

[bazil]

My joiner does 24 hour call out for boarding up ie pubs smashed windows, council and private landlords use him,

[djbrowney]

My joiner does 24 hour call out for boarding up ie pubs smashed windows, council and private landlords use him,

i will be doing this also buddy :thumb:

[craig green]

Yell.com is where its at.

I've always found if you are in Yell you will get cold callers & canvassing galore.

[Pistol Pete]

Good luck with your venture.

A mate of mine left work a few years back to setup a painting and decorating business with his other half. He said the best way for him was word of mouth. As this way, 9 times out of 10 a good job was done, so they passed on his details.

BUT....with the credit crunch things did dry up abit and he struggled. But then with the type of thing you are looking to get into, you should be ok.

[djbrowney]

A website would be awsome but that mega money, i only just no how to turn the pc on and use google lol

[mowgli]

i work for a private housing assosiation now, work with them is now long gone. its all done in house as i saves a forune. Hense the reason i have been doing this for the last three years. Yellow pages and bt book is a waste of time imo cant remeber the last i picked one of them up lol

Cheers for the advice :thumb:

old people, 'the grey pound', don't exactly google stuff.... most people over 40, as in the majority of the population, use the phone books a heck of a lot.. don't discount it.. local shop window ads, diy stores tradesmen ad boards etc are also good spots

[Lee]

It will start slow, and just when you think you are going to have to quit and get employed again, it will suddenly start to ramp. :)

I wouldn't bother spending too much on advertising, keep as much money back as you can to live on whilst the work is thin on the ground, but any work you do do, give the clients plenty of cards so they can hand them to their friends (most people will be more than happy to recommend you if you do a good job).

Sign written van is a very good idea, make sure your number or email address is easy to remember and easily readable (amount of vans i see advertising their business and then the contact details barely legible)

In my experience, there is no better advertising than word of mouth. Slowly but surely you will get remembered, and then one day you will do a job for someone with connections and they will network you with bigger contracts.

I started by installing one or two interactive whiteboards a week, it got very tight, sometimes I was spending more on fuel than I was earning just to get my foot in the door, but after two years i was fighting people off, and working abroad on huge simulation tents etc :) Unfortunately my industry took a massive kicking in the recession and i'm all but finished off now, but your niche should be reasonably recessionproof :)

Good luck mate, you will never go back :)

[djbrowney]

old people, 'the grey pound', don't exactly google stuff.... most people over 40, as in the majority of the population, use the phone books a heck of a lot.. don't discount it.. local shop window ads, diy stores tradesmen ad boards etc are also good spots

That is very true buddy didnt even think of that cheers :thumb:

[djbrowney]

It will start slow, and just when you think you are going to have to quit and get employed again, it will suddenly start to ramp. :)

I wouldn't bother spending too much on advertising, keep as much money back as you can to live on whilst the work is thin on the ground, but any work you do do, give the clients plenty of cards so they can hand them to their friends (most people will be more than happy to recommend you if you do a good job).

Sign written van is a very good idea, make sure your number or email address is easy to remember and easily readable (amount of vans i see advertising their business and then the contact details barely legible)

In my experience, there is no better advertising than word of mouth. Slowly but surely you will get remembered, and then one day you will do a job for someone with connections and they will network you with bigger contracts.

I started by installing one or two interactive whiteboards a week, it got very tight, sometimes I was spending more on fuel than I was earning just to get my foot in the door, but after two years i was fighting people off, and working abroad on huge simulation tents etc :) Unfortunately my industry took a massive kicking in the recession and i'm all but finished off now, but your niche should be reasonably recessionproof :)

Good luck mate, you will never go back :)

Money is not a real issue atm because im still in full time employment :p

I know how it goes with word of mouth with how bussy i can be sometimes with extra work through word of mouth. I just though flyer would maybe get the ball rolling :thumb:

Sorry to here is not going good for your self though :thumb: