Whether you’re in construction, renovating, plumbing, roof repair, or another trade entirely, being your own boss is one of the big appeals of the tradesperson’s work life. You can strike out on your work, work to your own standards, and carve out your own success. But that doesn’t mean you should do it all alone. Everyone needs a friend and, in work, the right friends can make your business all the more successful. So, where should you be looking for friends? Advocates No matter what industry you’re in, marketing has to be one field that you spend at least some time thinking about. To tradespeople, the kind of marketing that’s most effective is word-of-mouth. A great website can be deceptive, an advertisement can focus on bombarding people with easy abstractions. But for tradespeople, that first impression is most often formed by hearing others’ opinions on their services. Creating a great reputation for yourself as a business is all about looking for advocacy wherever you can find it. Network with others in the industry and work with them to build referrals through related businesses. If you have a happy customer, ask them if they would be kind enough to give you a testimonial or leave a review online. Control that rep and see yourself building leads better for it. Suppliers Per person, working in the trades is some of the most resource intensive work out there. Everyone has their tools, their supplies, their protective equipment, and their machines. Doing your research with suppliers and starting conversations is vital to being profitable. Rather than going to regular retailers, for instance, specialist stores like https://www.plasterers1stopshop.co.uk/nela-m-2 can help you find equipment that you to be quality at a better price because it’s closer to the source. Stores that are used to dealing with businesses might also offer better deals in the long-term on a business account. You should also be looking out for industry serving businesses like equipment hire providers so that you don’t always have to buy the tools you need for a job. Other tradesmen Renting tools isn’t the only way to take on work that you might otherwise not be able to. Networking with and beginning working relationships with other tradespeople is great for marketing and referral purposes, as mentioned above. But looking for subcontracting teams like http://www.blingwork.co.uk/subcontracting/ or even working as a subcontractor yourself gives you a much greater chance to diversify your income. You can work with different clients, some of them requiring a lot more repeat work than the one-and-done transactions that might make up the majority of your jobs. It also allows you to offer more services through your business because you know you can find someone with the expertise to complement your own when you need them. The right connections are going to help you manage your costs much better. They’re going to help you find clients. They’re even going to help you take on more kinds of work. If you’ve working in isolation, hopefully the points above convince you to consider shaking a few hands. ]]>
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