Construction is a key cornerstone of the UK’s economy, and a strong sector in which to start your own business. Whether you are new to contracting and looking to build a reputation, or taking your skills from a career under a larger employer to start your own outfit, the following steps can help you build a business with relative ease.
Your business plan
Your first step in creating a new business should be to form a concrete business plan. This plan should include your initial steps to trading legally, and your first few years of growth. What are your aims in terms of income and expansion, and do you anticipate expanding to a certain capacity within your first three years?
Your medium-term aims will have a direct impact on how you start your business. If you are anticipating building custom as a lone contractor, you may benefit from starting as a sole trader as opposed to a limited company.
Establishing specialism
As part of your business plan, you should settle on the unique selling point (USP) for your construction business. Specialising in a certain discipline can help you narrow down your offerings, and plug a gap in the market in the process – ensuring you get regular and reliable custom as a result.
For example, ecological building processes are becoming a particular point of focus for both domestic and commercial clients; man’s impact on the environment is starker than ever before, and green building practices are being favoured over less sustainable options. Committing to the sourcing of green and sustainable materials from reliable suppliers might be one aspect of a larger sustainability mission specific to your business.
Hiring reliable staff
As your construction business grows, you will find yourself needing more employees or fellow contractors to complete more, or higher-scale projects. Whether you hire additional help on a freelance basis or build a staff cohort of contractors on a PAYE basis, building a network of reliable workers can ensure you never need to turn a job down.
Building a reputation
Through the cultivation of reliable workers and a solid business practice, you can begin to build a solid reputation for your work. The best process for this is through word-of-mouth, as local communities share information on the best contractors for domestic and commercial work.
By this same token, customer testimonials can also be a powerful way to build your customer base. Reviews and testimonials are the chief mechanisms by which potential clients choose a given contractor or construction business, so building a roster of positive reviews will be the most effective way to start a marketing strategy.
