There are around 120,000 registered plumbing and heating engineers in the UK, and a large portion of them are self-employed. You would think the high level of competition would put people off starting their own plumbing and heating company. However, in the UK, we rely on keeping the hot water pumping through our homes so we’re always looking for great plumbers.
Sometimes, it can seem like even with all the choices, it’s hard to find a plumber that does a great, professional job, for an affordable price. So you might think, hey, why can’t this be you? Well, it can be. But like when starting any business, there will always be a few bumps in the road.
Find your niche
The heating and plumbing industry is broad. If you’re just starting out, you might be tempted to apply all your knowledge of plumbing and do everything all at once. But getting ahead of yourself often leads to high overheads which you may struggle to keep up with. It can take between six months and several years for a small business to generate a profit.
In this case, it might be better for you to find your niche. Focus on the thing you are good at, enjoy, and can do efficiently.
This might be anything from boiler repairs to complete pipe fit-outs on new builds. But if you choose your niche with these three things in mind, you’ll be offering a high-quality product that you’re passionate about. All while keeping your productivity high because you complete these jobs quickly and professionally.
This doesn’t mean you can’t offer other services, but your customers should know where your strengths lie and so should you. Once you nail your niche - and you’re making a profit - you can branch out into new ventures and watch your business expand.
Write a good business plan
A good business plan means more than checking whether you have enough money to start your company and designing a trendy logo. That won’t cut it. Your business plan needs to be a detailed look at where your business will go in the next few months, years, and even as far as ten years into the future.
You should have clear, measurable goals, and be able to show why your business will work and what its unique selling point is. All of your plans need to be based on thorough market research. Your plan should cover your financial resources, number of employees, their salaries, office space, equipment you need, marketing plans, and all available resources. It should also detail how you plan to grow your business over time.
It’s essential you have a quality business plan in place and know what areas you will specialise in before you fully commit to being the owner of a small business. Being a small business owner might not be easy, but it will definitely be rewarding. Perhaps, one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.
Condensate Pro started as the brainchild of one plumbing and heating engineer and has now grown into a company which provides game-changing solutions to installers and heating companies across the UK. Our products make installations easy, quick, and simple and protect customers from frozen condensate blockages. Visit our website to see our range of products and tools.
