What you must have to succeed in contracting today:

5 mandatory tools needed to operate a business today:

1.       The right skills

2.       The right tools

3.       Good communication skills

4.       A phone number that customers can reach you on

5.       A website so people can find you when they need your services

Mandatorty Tool #1 - The right skills 

To run your own plumbing or contracting business you must possess the right skills. 

Odds are if you have just graduated from trade school you may understand your trade but you won’t have enough hands on experience to be able to run your own business yet.  If you are a new graduate now is the time to work for someone else. Pay close attention to how they run their business, gain hands on experience in the field & learn from your fellow tradesmen, get to see how pricing is done, find out what is working for your employer and what isn’t.  Really get to know your trade and how to do each task required of your trade. 

The right skills = Know your tools, know your materials, know the job & know the code.

You will be ready to start your own business when you are the authority in your industry.  

The authority in your industry will:

·         …have all the answers. People will turn to you for solutions. 

·         …be able to provide quality services in a timely fashion.

·         …have the tools & materials necessary to complete the job.

·         …have the license & understand the codes required to do the job right

Having the right skills simply means that any future employee YOU hire will be able to turn to you for all the answers.  You know what needs to be done, you know how it needs to be done, and in a pinch you can do it yourself.

Mandatory tool #2 - The right tools 

Getting started running your own business can be quite costly. You must have the right tools to get the job done in a timely and professional manner.  The wrong tools can drag out jobs which can cause you to loose money.  This is why we recommend that new grads work for someone else for their first two years, so they can slowly accumulate the tools they need (buying one tool at a time spread out over two years is easier when you have a steady income). 

When it comes to tools, don’t buy the cheap ones, they are guaranteed to break just when you need them most. Always go for the quality tools even if it takes longer to save up enough money to buy them. In the end your tools will last much longer and you will have fewer headaches when trying to complete a job under a tight deadline if you are using quality tools.  Note: the same thing applies to parts. Sure you can use cheap parts for your customers, but if you go for the quality parts they are less likely to break down which gives your business more credibility for being dependable. 

Getting a good reputation takes time, getting a bad reputation only takes ONE job done wrong.

Mandatory tool #3 - Good communication skills 

Customers expect you to be able to talk to them intelligently and with patience.  Usually they are under stress when you arrive if you are providing residential services or renovations.  The best communication skills start with listening.  Listen to your customer, acknowledge their concerns, answer their questions, and be up front about costs and expectations. 

Be sure to put everything you discuss into writing and always include the obvious things that you do not include in your services (drywall, painting, etc.).  The average homeowner knows nothing about your trade so it’s important to use this opportunity to educate them about what you do and don’t do. It will save you frustration & battles later when it comes time for you to be paid for the jobs.

If you are going to be dealing with customers you must be able to communicate well. Most cities offer adult education classes that you can take part time in the evening if you need to improve these skills.  There are also local networking groups that offer you the chance to talk to others giving you live practice for your listening & speaking skills.

Mandatory tool #4 - A phone number that customers can reach you on 

This one is rather obvious; if your customers can’t call you then you will never get work.  Many new tradesmen who go into business for themselves often make the mistake of using their home phone for their business.  Nothing comes across as more unprofessional than having kids screaming in the background or dogs barking. 

Always get a private phone line specifically for your business with the forwarding capabilities so you can forward it to wherever you are (your home, your cell, wherever you need to be).  Your phone should be a landline not a cell phone – this way it always works & your phone is tied to a physical city (which makes you show up in directory assistance searches).  Cell phones are not attached to physical locations and thus may not show up in a directory search.

Mandatory tool #5 - A website so people can find you when they need your services 

Customers need to be able to find your number WHEN they need your services and more homes are using the internet for finding local businesses and services. With yellow pages becoming more and more obsolete in this age of internet and iphones – having a webpage becomes a vital tool for being found.

If a customer cannot find your number they will never call you.

For more free information about getting your website up and running this week be sure to get your copy of our free report. 

How does Your Plumbing Success help you?

We have seen too many skilled tradesmen go bankrupt or live a poor lifestyle simply because they didn’t have the information they needed to know to run a successful business. We want to see our industry being lead by real people (not giant franchise stores from out of town). We want to raise the standards and see the plumbing trade become respected once again for their skills and services. But most of all we want to see you succeed!

Your Plumbing Success is about all the many components of becoming a successful plumbing contractor from how to get your phone to ring off the wall – to how to get more money per call without loosing the sale – to how to hire the right plumbers for growing your business. 

Your Plumbing Success doesn’t teach you how to be a plumber (we assume you already are one) we teach you how to be a successful business operator.

We are not a big business consulting firm – we own and run a very successful plumbing contracting business so we have first hand knowledge on how to make this work.  We learned over the last 30 years what works and what doesn’t work. We have tested & fine tuned every system we offer. We know our systems work because they are successfully used every day. We know what our customers are looking for and how to deliver at a fair price that makes money for our business and our employees. We have the highest paid plumbers in the industry who love working for us.  And now at the age of retirement we have decided to share the wealth with you.

Your Plumbing Success walks you through each stage of the business improving your profitability each step of the way. 

If you would like to start learning today you can choose between our two programs.

The Apprentice Program:

a do it yourself monthly educational series that gives you the tools the big franchises use to be successful

or

The Masters Program:

a one on one fast tract to success program where you are personally mentored and assisted every step along the way

You can struggle learning the hard way – or you can learn from the success of others. Our success can be yours.

Your Plumbing Success – it’s your choice.

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