Looks like another one bites the dust

[Uglyduckling]

Hi.
I have been trading for 4 years now and my business has been dwindling away over the years.
ok alittle history. I'm part p registered with Elecsa and have been now for 4 years.
I decided to set up on my own when being made redundant from a big electrical firm.
When I started 4 years ago I brought a little Fiesta Van had it sign written and off I went.
Back then I joined Rated People which really got things moving. I found news paper advertising useless to name but a few.
The first 2 years were great. I was working 5 to 6 days a week. Most of the work was smaller stuff up to consumer unit changes etc.
last year. 2013. Things started to change. I left Rated People as there was to many numptys chasing after my estimates who had no qualifications, no governing body etc. and rated people changed they way they worked. Back then you could get credits if unable to quote. Now they just keep your cash.
So I decided to try Check A Trade.
Now I was never as busy as when I started out but the work kept coming in.
My van got broken into outside a customers house and the buggers nicked everything I had in the back. Fortunately I only carry the tools I require for that day.
I decided to get rid of the van and work from my estate car instead. My estate car is a old Volvo.
Ok I don't know if this was the start of it. Turning up to customers houses in a car and not a nice sign written van.
This year has been the worst ever.
Im not getting half the phone calls as I used to even tho I'm in the top 5 on check a trade in my area.
Im really struggling now and as a example I did one small job last week. This week I only have one booked so far.
Why have I written this post?
What I would like to ask. Is it me or has the private part p electrical sector gone dead?
the only things I've changed is check a trade and my van to a car.
the quality of my work is still the same as it has ever been. Judging from my feed back.
What have I done wrong?
Things are now so bad I am getting close to throwing in the towel and go back to a job I used to do years ago just to get a steady wage.
I will stay nameless but I work in the south. Oxfordshire southwards.
Many thanks.

 

[telectrix]

can't blame the volvo, or yourself. trade is up and down. nowadays ppl don't want to spend, but the economy is on the up, and if you can survive till february, you should see an upturn in work.

 

[Welchyboy1]

Sound like your a little too reliant on these silly sites, maybe people have started wising up to the fact
That the tradesmen they supply are not trusted or rated after all(im not aiming that at you in anyway)

turning up in an estate is not gonna help your image much tbh

you need to work on getting referral and recommendations, build relationships with local contractors and other trades, this brings in a regular stream of work without the overheads of advertising(its always good to have a little bit of advertising, but not to rely upon it)

sadly its not instant and takes years to build up, i would of though by 4 years you should have built up a bit of a network


the area around me become saturated with new start ups four or five years ago, nearly all of them have disappeared now, probably gone back to the big sites up town

 

[HandySparks]

Sorry to hear your tale of woe.

Where are you based? (Town)

I have more work than I can handle at present. The previous really good year for me was in 2009. 2011 was dire. Turnover is really unpredictable from month to month and year to year.

Do you have your own website? If you have a properly targeted site, I recon you can do as well as these paid-for online sites. I'm finding that I'm getting more and more business from customers doing a Google search.

 

[Octopus]

I would say that reliance on Check-a-Trade has been your down fall.

Seen a couple of mates who do bathrooms suffer the same.

I think Check-a-trade "attracts" the wrong sort of customers - the ones you don't really want!

Do you have a website?
Have you invested in decent "logoed" clothing?
decent cards?
Do you contact details include your address, landline and mobile numbers?

I get about 75% of my business through word of mouth and repeat business and FYI I spend about £720 per year on marketing.

As for the vehicle - there are a few "bashed" estates going around here, but they seem to be doing OK

 

[Geordie Spark]

Sound like your a little too reliant on these silly sites, maybe people have started wising up to the fact
That the tradesmen they supply are not trusted or rated after all(im not aiming that at you in anyway)

turning up in an estate is not gonna help your image much tbh

you need to work on getting referral and recommendations, build relationships with local contractors and other trades, this brings in a regular stream of work without the overheads of advertising(its always good to have a little bit of advertising, but not to rely upon it)

sadly its not instant and takes years to build up, i would of though by 4 years you should have built up a bit of a network


the area around me become saturated with new start ups four or five years ago, nearly all of them have disappeared now, probably gone back to the big sites up town

Bowlox!!!

Over 20 years I used Mazda 626 hatchbacks and had no trouble getting work at all.

The bonuses were I only had one vehicle to tax, insure & maintain and that vehicle served a dual role of works van and family car to perfection, but the real biggie was it was NEVER broken into and I NEVER lost any tools or equipment out of it!

Maybe not as "professional" looking as a properly sign-written van, but a bloody sight more practical and secure for me!!

 

[Harni]

We use cars at work partly for insurance purposes. Vans are substantially more expensive to insure for trades use as you can pretty much guarantee there will be tools in there.

 

[JD6400]

To the OP
Sorry to hear this too , but I think things are on the up in general !? So it may be worth keeping going that bit longer .
As for these sites , I think you can not have better work than word of mouth .
I know you have been getting good reports , but how many personal referrals do you have come in . I would use this as yard stick to customer satisfaction and start looking for the reason why , if it is anything but good .
We were duped into using Yellow pages once about 10 years ago , and wish I had just burnt the money instead !
All it did was put us on the map for never ending marketing calls and several customers that were just chancers .
As a upshot we seem to be on google as a free listing , and get maybe three or four calls a year because of it , and almost always they will be a liability to work for .
Not sure if that will be any help to you , but that is what I have found

 

[Welchyboy1]

Bowlox!!!

Over 20 years I used Mazda 626 hatchbacks and had no trouble getting work at all.

The bonuses were I only had one vehicle to tax, insure & maintain and that vehicle served a dual role of works van and family car to perfection, but the real biggie was it was NEVER broken into and I NEVER lost any tools or equipment out of it!

Maybe not as "professional" looking as a properly sign-written van, but a bloody sight more practical and secure for me!!

Theres work and theres work

I dont get how an estate car is more practical than a van

Sorry but you project an image of your business when you turn up on a job, especially from new clients when responding to an advert enquiry

if i wanted a to hire a professional tradesmen, and some chancer turned up in a rusty old estate........lol!

but then if it works for you, crack on!

 

[Rockingit]

Feel for you matey. I founded my firm 6 yrs ago and its been an uphill battle through the recession, up one month down the next. And many firms have a honeymoon period - you're now at the sleeping on the couch stage!! Keep at it, darkest hour before dawn and all that stuff.