Lots of tradies dream of starting their own small business once they are experienced. Being a tradie business owner means they can set their own hours and work jobs they prefer. It also gives tradies a chance to make a big profit if they’re good at what they do.
Of course, there will be plenty of unexpected challenges that new business owners will have to navigate. If you’re thinking about starting a tradie business, you may want to take a training program for small business owners. You’ll be able to learn a lot and develop effective management skills so you can unlock your maximum earning potential. In the meantime, read on for your tradie small business owner tips.
Tool Insurance
Quality tools save time and save money but what happens when they are damaged or stolen? Without your tools of the trade, work stops and that’s not good for business. That’s why it’s critical that you protect your equipment with tool insurance. Public Liability NZ can protect your business and your tools. You can get started insuring your tools by using their online insurance comparison tool. Get free quotes sent to your inbox for tool insurance and set up coverage quickly.
Time management
New tradie businesses usually start out with the business owner doing all the work since they don’t have enough financial resources to hire subcontractors or employees. Being responsible for the full spectrum of duties, both servicing customers and all administrative work, can be a bit overwhelming. Whether you’re a business owner that wants to work solely or you want to eventually hire employees, you have to always be aware of how you’re spending your time.
A major mistake new business owners make is trying to handle everything alone and eventually spreading themselves too thin. If you’re doing all the labour, invoicing, marketing, ordering supplies, quoting new clients, and managing all your other business-related paperwork by yourself, then you’re eventually going to start cutting corners and making errors.
Below are ways to make the most of your time as a tradie small business owner:
• Partner with a qualified accountant: entering your own expenses and invoicing your clients is fine but handling all your finances can become a burden. You should be focusing on your tradie jobs and let a reliable accountant organise your business accounts. Who better to accurately and efficiently manage financial matters than an accountant? Won’t this make your life a lot easier when tax time arrives?
• Invest in a high quality website: Every business that’s doing well has a website. It’s a necessary part of doing business in today’s world. You can’t rely on word of mouth recommendations only but must put your tradie business out into the digital world too. This means you’ll have to hire a professional web designer to launch your site. You’ll also have to make sure your website has automated customer replies, photos of your previous work, and a thorough description of your services.
Marketing
Your website will be a perfect place to passively market your tradie business. In addition, you’ll want to keep these tips in mind.
• Highlight what makes your business better: Why should a potential customer hire you? What makes your tradie services better than anyone else? Think about what you do for your customers that no one else does. If you clean up before leaving the job site, if you work flexible hours and days, if you provide quotes in less than 24 hours, or if you always call 30 minutes before arriving – market it everywhere. These are the things potential clients want to know before they make a decision. The extra efforts you make should be highlighted on your website, business cards, marketing materials, etc.
• Activate social media accounts: Besides putting your business on the internet via a website, you’ll also want to use all popular social media platforms to market your services. That means you should create a business account for Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Next you’ll want to begin posting photos and captions about your tradie business that can be liked and circulated. You’ll build brand awareness by talking about your services, your experience, successful projects completed, etc. If it’s too time consuming, then hire a part-time social media marketer that can keep your accounts busy while you work jobs.
Streamline
Take advantage of the multiple tradie apps that are available these days. Utilising tradie mobile apps can make your life a lot easier by streamlining tasks. Imagine if you could quickly access blueprints, share work plans with your employees, develop and save quotes, change orders, and follow a task manager all from your mobile device. Tradie apps are meant to make tedious jobs less time consuming, meaning you’ll have more time to focus on performing actual trade jobs instead of administrative responsibilities.
Most tradie business owners, like yourself, rely on a long list of items like physical calenders, notepads, spreadsheets, electronic and paper files. Each of these things helps you complete quotes, invoices, customer service, and other activities. That’s why specialised apps, like Bridge, make these duties more straightforward and convenient.
