Advise on a startup business

[Wirralspark]

Hi . New to the forum and this is my first post. I am after some advise if you’ll Help please ? I am an electrician with 20 years experience. I am looking into opening my own company. I know all the info on creating the business . Where is the best place to advertise for free? Also, I don’t have premises as of yet. But I want to offer the service of building control panels. As this is something that I want to base my business around, as well as installations. Should I approach big panel wiring firms and ask if they want to sub contract any panel building to me? Like I said I am new to trying this on my own and would like advise on what avenues to take. Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[Deleted member 105166]

Not sure there is anywhere to advertise that's truly "free", anyway your discipline appears more specialist, which can work greatly to your advantage with the search engines. As you are starting a new business, pick a company or trading name that you can buy the .co.uk and .com domains and Ltd Co. for, so you have UK IP protection on the three important measures. Also set up accounts on the main social media platforms to protect your identity. Unless you have a foot in the door, before you approach companies cold, invest in a website that doesn't look home made and include a few case studies of what you do. Your case study pages essentially provide free advertising, when you write them, use words and phrases that are specific to your work, then when people search for these terms, you will hopefully appear in organic (unpaid) results on the first page of Google. There's a few ideas for starters...

 

[Wirralspark]

thank you for the advise. I don’t want to burn bridges with companies before I have even started . Hence the post. Just really not sure about the best way to go about it. I suppose i need to gain exposure and wait for companies to approach me. Problem is I am not patient. I want to be pro active

 

[Octopus]

Best you peruse the Business Section on the Forum ..............

AND more to the point, being self employed means you HAVE to spend money on advertising ............ whether it be adverts, websites, business cards or logo'ed clothes

Get your wallet out!

 

[Wirralspark]

Thanks for the advise . Like I said I am after advise . Was trying to get off the ground as cheap as possible. I realise I might have to spend on advertising. But if there was a way that I could do it for free, I thought here was a good way to find it. I appreciate the advise

 

[Octopus]

Thanks for the advise . Like I said I am after advise . Was trying to get off the ground as cheap as possible. I realise I might have to spend on advertising. But if there was a way that I could do it for free, I thought here was a good way to find it. I appreciate the advise

Not being nasty but when writing adverts, make sure you spell check and proof read

Starting with "advice"

 

[Wirralspark]

Haha thanks . Tired after a long day.

 

[Octopus]

When you go SE, you need to do a business budget and you should allow up to £100 per month for advertising.........

Doing nothing isn't an option

Relying on free advertising could leave you penniless.

 

[Nobbin]

Having owned a few businesses I can definitely agree on the advertising front. Do not expect free advertising to keep your business afloat, rather look at it as a bonus.
As one of my main businesses was printing here's a pause for thought...
5000 A5 double sided flyers cost less than £50. My local postie delivers up to 1000 doors a day (in 4 hours). So, if we just halve that and say that you alone (to save cash) deliver 500 a day over a couple of weeks of Monday to Friday, that's 5000 potential customers reached in two weeks for £50 and a bit of leg work.
I know yours is a niche market and leaflet drop is probably not a viable option, but the point I'm making with regard to paid advertising is coming up and applies to Internet marketing as well.
It's an accepted standard that less than 2% of leaflet drops lead to an enquiry, but, 2% of 5000 is 100 new enquiries. You would need to be pretty bad at customer relations not to turn at least one of those into a sale and get your £50 back and then some.
So, you need to get in with the big boys but there's no direct route. Why not then target their customers? Who are the big boys customers? What can you offer that the big boys aren't or can't?
It's all in the research. Research your target customers, your target suppliers, your competition and research your support services. There are lots of links between them and you'll likely uncover some common bonds between several of them. It's here that you'll most likely find small successes that lead to larger introductions and recommendations.
But your own confession of impatience may end up being your downfall.
Don't try to push a boulder all the way home, chip away at it and bring it back piece by piece.
Best of luck to you fella.

 

[Wirralspark]

Thank you so much for the reply . Really do appreciate all the help I have been given so far. This is a great site. I will take on board all of the great ADVICE you have given !! Some really good points there. I want to start this company as I have worked for some companies that really don’t produce good products. I can see a big opportunity for myself if I can deliver a really good quality service for a reasonable price. I will research every point you have put forward to me.

 

[Bobster]

Unless you have all the knowledge necessary to build and CE mark the panels yourself, most probably easier and less hassle going to a panel builder.

Personally I'd let them do the dogsbody work whilst you're doing the important stuff. Get yourself off the ground first.

 

[Wirralspark]

Hi
I might be really mistaken (research is being done now) CE mark will not be needed as I would be building panels to customers specifications. If I were to build a panel with a sole purpose and sell to public/companies, then I would need a CE mark? That’s my understanding as companies I have worked for have never put CE stamps on anything . As long as I supply all the documentation for the components used and a set of drawings and manual. I am under the understanding that that is ok? But it’s another avenue to research. Thanks for the advice

 

[Bobster]

Hi
I might be really mistaken (research is being done now) CE mark will not be needed as I would be building panels to customers specifications. If I were to build a panel with a sole purpose and sell to public/companies, then I would need a CE mark? That’s my understanding as companies I have worked for have never put CE stamps on anything . As long as I supply all the documentation for the components used and a set of drawings and manual. I am under the understanding that that is ok? But it’s another avenue to research. Thanks for the advice

A lot of companies fall foul of it. An they are breaking the law. The amount that are caught however used to be next to non. They are starting to clamp down on it.

You will still need to make sure it is CE marked under the low voltage directive as a minimum. If the panels you were selling were to be installed as part of a machine, you would still need to CE mark your panel, then the machine builder would CE mark the panel and machine under one certificate.

 

[stevethesparks]

With any free advertising, expect a lot of time wasting phone calls from people/companies promising to increase your sales, also watch out for the scams that want you to advertise in their magazine.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

My free advertising is copying a friend who is also a spark, I slide my business card inside the lights on the shelves at my local big diy chain, Out of around 100 cards inserted, I have had 14 calls to fit light fittings, So it has worked out very well, that's several hundred quids worth of work for very little outlay. One woman said she rang me purely as she thought it was very enterprising!
I have also inserted cards, flyers etc in books in the library, I started by checking for the top 100 books in the library and when in there waiting for my niece to finish her book club on a Saturday, I went around and put them in the said top books.. a large number of baking books coincidentally! and have had 6 customers from this method.
My other little method that did cost me a tenner is I am on good terms with a former homeless ex squaddie who I have mutual friends with, who once sold the big issue. he works in the big issue office sorting out piles for other homeless people to flog and does admin such as pitch permits etc.. well for a tenner he will insert a copy of my flyer in all the big issues for that week in the big issue office that he can get hold off. so for a tenner plus leaflets I get it out to several hundred people. I do this once a month. I have had several calls for work from this method. Its all about being imaginative and enterprising, I got these ideas from a book on guerrilla advertising

 

[123]

If someone put my business cards inside decorative light fittings I think I'd go around after them taking them back out again

 

[Squid]

If someone put my business cards inside decorative light fittings I think I'd go around after them taking them back out again

I'm not surprised, coloured art work costs......

 

[plugsandsparks]

When i was starting out 7 years ago i used a Royal Mail business flyer drop, i cannot remember how many but it cost £700. I did not get many calls as RM include your flyer mixed in with all the other stuff from window companies and the like. Anyway bizarrely i did get a call from a lady who wanted security lights, she then put me in touch with the company she worked for who needed industrial water treatment installation electricians, so i subbied too them for a while and this included some panel building. I then approached another company i bumped into who were working for one of my already clients, installing pasteurising plant and they needed a panel builder at their works , so i subbed to them for a while.
I have built panels at home but realistically you are limited by size and weight. A small premises will cost around £5000 - £10000 / annum rent so you need to have a good income coming in before you sign a lease.
Good luck

 

[plugsandsparks]

When i was starting out 7 years ago i used a Royal Mail business flyer drop, i cannot remember how many but it cost £700. I did not get many calls as RM include your flyer mixed in with all the other stuff from window companies and the like. Anyway bizarrely i did get a call from a lady who wanted security lights, she then put me in touch with the company she worked for who needed industrial water treatment installation electricians, so i subbied too them for a while and this included some panel building. I then approached another company i bumped into who were working for one of my already clients, installing pasteurising plant and they needed a panel builder at their works , so i subbed to them for a while.
I have built panels at home but realistically you are limited by size and weight. A small premises will cost around £5000 - £10000 / annum rent so you need to have a good income coming in before you sign a lease.
Good luck

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I'm not surprised, coloured art work costs......
View attachment 41583

Is this your entertainment for the easter weekend @SWD .. if it floats your boat,,,, then ride on cowboy.... in bristol we get a show called the lady boys of Bangkok show in castle park... its actually quite funny

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

If someone put my business cards inside decorative light fittings I think I'd go around after them taking them back out again

some are better than others... most are going over to push fit rather than shi**y little screws now, much quicker

 

[Squid]

Is this your entertainment for the easter weekend @SWD .. if it floats your boat,,,, then ride on cowboy.... in bristol we get a show called the lady boys of Bangkok show in castle park... its actually quite funny

Guy I worked with years back was on a C4 documentary as he left his wife for a chick with a d!ck it didn't end well.....

My entertainment for the Easter Weekend is taking the ---- out of God and trying to extract the injectors of my E30 and fitting some parts to the Subaru and debating whether to buy a Caterham or an Exige, oh and I need to find a job as the other half is getting annoyed, not sure why as I just paid off the mortgage and haven't worked for nearly two years.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Guy I worked with years back was on a C4 documentary as he left his wife for a chick with a d!ck it didn't end well.....

My entertainment for the Easter Weekend is taking the **** out of God and trying to extract the injectors of my E30 and fitting some parts to the Subaru and debating whether to buy a Caterham or an Exige, oh and I need to find a job as the other half is getting annoyed, not sure why as I just paid off the mortgage and haven't worked for nearly two years.

when up london recently i saw deliveroo were recruiting moped riders to deliver food! might be fun riding a moped around town..... failing that become a taxi driver.... they make a fortune in london... passing the knowledge will give you a challenge

 

[Squid]

I don't do motorised 2 wheelers in London as have been to far too many friends funerals over the years I cycle, next step is the next project then either sell or rent and move down to either Devon or Dorset or up to Somerset buy a few places and do rentals and take it easy. Hopefully you can help me out.

Mate is a cabbie its a dead business Uber killing it and 4 years to do the knowledge, no thanks, I did my time as an apprentice sparks but looking at the rates they pay now days my thoughts about getting back in to it are long gone and forgotten. I have other plans once the house project is completed.

 

[calpol91]

My free advertising is copying a friend who is also a spark, I slide my business card inside the lights on the shelves at my local big diy chain, Out of around 100 cards inserted, I have had 14 calls to fit light fittings, So it has worked out very well, that's several hundred quids worth of work for very little outlay. One woman said she rang me purely as she thought it was very enterprising!
I have also inserted cards, flyers etc in books in the library, I started by checking for the top 100 books in the library and when in there waiting for my niece to finish her book club on a Saturday, I went around and put them in the said top books.. a large number of baking books coincidentally! and have had 6 customers from this method.
My other little method that did cost me a tenner is I am on good terms with a former homeless ex squaddie who I have mutual friends with, who once sold the big issue. he works in the big issue office sorting out piles for other homeless people to flog and does admin such as pitch permits etc.. well for a tenner he will insert a copy of my flyer in all the big issues for that week in the big issue office that he can get hold off. so for a tenner plus leaflets I get it out to several hundred people. I do this once a month. I have had several calls for work from this method. Its all about being imaginative and enterprising, I got these ideas from a book on guerrilla advertising

Me and a mate did this 7-8 years ago, we got a load of small leaflets printed, and stuffed 100's of them in to light fitting boxes. About a week later i got a phone call from a very angry store manager.... I laughed it off and told him to ring the other lad since he must have done it. he told me had done and he told him to ring me we got a couple of calls in the meantime though.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I don't do motorised 2 wheelers in London as have been to far too many friends funerals over the years I cycle, next step is the next project then either sell or rent and move down to either Devon or Dorset or up to Somerset buy a few places and do rentals and take it easy. Hopefully you can help me out.

Mate is a cabbie its a dead business Uber killing it and 4 years to do the knowledge, no thanks, I did my time as an apprentice sparks but looking at the rates they pay now days my thoughts about getting back in to it are long gone and forgotten. I have other plans once the house project is completed.

The place to buy property in somerset is weston super mare, property is still affordable and has very good rental returns with good summer holiday lets... people are now moving to w-s-m as its affordable with the beach for leisure etc and prices are going up as it has a resurgence. Bath is far too pricey unless you go into HMO's for the students. Bristol has good areas to buy and do up property.
I nearly bought a cheap place over in merthyr tydfil at start of year as a development and/or rental project but the survey came back with some subsidence was more trouble than its worth. would have made £20k in a year on that house after doing the refurb were it not for the dodgy foundations!

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Me and a mate did this 7-8 years ago, we got a load of small leaflets printed, and stuffed 100's of them in to light fitting boxes. About a week later i got a phone call from a very angry store manager.... I laughed it off and told him to ring the other lad since he must have done it. he told me had done and he told him to ring me we got a couple of calls in the meantime though.

I got a deal i have just reached with a local independent garden centre who sell loads of sheds, summer houses etc they will put my notices up in shed and promote my services to supply electric sockets, lights etc in the shed once at customers property. In exchange the garden centre get a fee for every job that arises out of them getting me the job, the garden centre will ring me with customers details if interested in getting it connected up. Its a win win for both of us

 

[Squid]

The place to buy property in somerset is weston super mare, property is still affordable and has very good rental returns with good summer holiday lets... people are now moving to w-s-m as its affordable with the beach for leisure etc and prices are going up as it has a resurgence. Bath is far too pricey unless you go into HMO's for the students. Bristol has good areas to buy and do up property.
I nearly bought a cheap place over in merthyr tydfil at start of year as a development and/or rental project but the survey came back with some subsidence was more trouble than its worth. would have made £20k in a year on that house after doing the refurb were it not for the dodgy foundations!

I need to invest as I sold the place in Fulham and have some cash in the bank, choice is to do the house up and move/rent and move out of London and to wind the Yokels up wherever I go to.

Bristol is getting expensive and Uni's are building their own residences so in a few years time the student market will be dead also the government will be cutting down on what you can claim back in tax relief tightening the margins oh and stamp duty is a killer as well.......

Is a £20k profit worth the effort over a year?

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I need to invest as I sold the place in Fulham and have some cash in the bank, choice is to do the house up and move/rent and move out of London and to wind the Yokels up wherever I go to.

Bristol is getting expensive and Uni's are building their own residences so in a few years time the student market will be dead also the government will be cutting down on what you can claim back in tax relief tightening the margins oh and stamp duty is a killer as well.......

Is a £20k profit worth the effort over a year?

considering the house i was thinking of buying was only 50k and needed around 8k spending on it, to then be able to sell for 80 based on other properties, it would have been a good % return. It would have taken a year as i would have had to go back and forth over a few months to do a lot of the work between other jobs.

If you want to get the student market then bath is the place they are building loads of student accomodation but its too pricey for uk students and is snapped up by asian students. so the uk students all pile into hmo's and the returns are good.. landlords are now snapping up the old local authority homes as they have good size rooms and can get a hmo permit. then its 5 or 6 bedrooms and a good 2.5k rent per month for 9 or 10 months of the year. typical returns excluding property value increases is around 7% for most landlords in bath, many get closer to 10% return if they buy in the few remaining cheap areas and convert it to a good spec.

 

[Squid]

considering the house i was thinking of buying was only 50k and needed around 8k spending on it, to then be able to sell for 80 based on other properties, it would have been a good % return. It would have taken a year as i would have had to go back and forth over a few months to do a lot of the work between other jobs.

If you want to get the student market then bath is the place they are building loads of student accomodation but its too pricey for uk students and is snapped up by asian students. so the uk students all pile into hmo's and the returns are good.. landlords are now snapping up the old local authority homes as they have good size rooms and can get a hmo permit. then its 5 or 6 bedrooms and a good 2.5k rent per month for 9 or 10 months of the year. typical returns excluding property value increases is around 7% for most landlords in bath, many get closer to 10% return if they buy in the few remaining cheap areas and convert it to a good spec.

Girlfriends son bought a flat and a house in Penryn as they clamped down in Falmouth on investors buying in, the Cornish really know how to aim for when they shoot themselves in the foot.

 

[Squid]

To be honest get 3 on the go and that a good salary per year.... cut down the time to turn it around to 6 months then you are quids in. Why bother sitting in traffic and worrying about if the fat bird will allow you to park on her drive.......