With the pandemic changing the economic landscape significantly over the last couple of years, the future of a number of industries is in doubt. Small businesses have had to shutter their doors, big companies have taken hits to their profits and have had to respond accordingly, and customers have struggled to get their needs met in a whole new working and economic environment. Suppose you’re feeling uncertain about your financial stability where you are, and you’re looking to switch to something that is unlikely to get less lucrative. In that case, you may want to consider switching to a career in plumbing.
While other industries have struggled in the midst of the pandemic, much like healthcare workers, construction workers, and the like, plumbers and other trade workers are in constant demand. Much like workers from those other fields, plumbers provide a service that the average consumer cannot accomplish on their own, having attained the qualifications necessary to work with complex systems without inflicting damage on the consumer’s property. As long as houses exist and pipes can spring leaks, they will always be needed, meaning that if you’re looking to start your own business, you can’t do better than entering the plumbing field.
Fortunately, it isn’t hard to enter the field, so long as you know the correct steps to take! This guide aims to give you the foundation needed to transition from your current job to launching your own enterprise as quickly and effectively as possible. If anything you’ve read above has piqued your interest, read on, and we’ll talk about what you need to do to enter the field as painlessly as possible.
Obtain Your Plumbers’ License
Before launching your own business, you’ll need to have an understanding of both federal and state regulations for your adopted trade. Instead of attending traditional classes, you can choose to attend an online trade school, which will give you the foundation needed to obtain your license. The advantage of going through the online schooling route is that you can work on obtaining your license while working your current job, making sure bills get paid while you work towards getting the credentials needed to ply your trade.
You will also need to take classes in the future to maintain your licensed status, as the regulations at both federal and local levels are almost always changing. Staying abreast of these regulations and maintaining your licensure will protect you from liability in case something goes wrong while on the job.
Write Up a Business Plan
Like any other business, your next step after getting the credentials needed to practice should be drafting up a comprehensive business plan. Among the things that you should lay out in this plan are your target market (usually narrowed down after researching your area), the costs involved in starting your business, budgeting for ongoing costs (including additional assets that other plumbing companies have found helpful), your rates and worker salaries, and the name of your business. You should also aim to chart out any growth opportunities, the goals for your business over time, and a solid marketing strategy that will allow you to survive amongst the bigger fish in your area. Plumbing has also changed over time with technology, and many plumbers have taken to selling modern gadgets like electronic toilets to increase their profits: deciding whether to follow that practice, or even taking a look at newfangled gadgets that can increase your productivity and make life easier for you, should also be something you factor into your business plans.
Your business plan should be your guide to the present and future of your enterprise: whether you’re writing it with the aim of attracting an investor’s attention or just to chart out your company’s future, you’ll want it to be as thorough as possible.
Register For Taxes
The last thing you’ll have to do before acquiring the assets and workers you need and taking on your first job is to register your business with federal and local governments. Putting aside that in some states, this step is required (and registering for taxes is an absolute must in all fifty states), registering with the local government can have advantages if something goes wrong on the job, while also allowing you to get all the necessary permits for you to ply your trade. Don’t forget to give Uncle Sam his due: once all of the red tape has been cut through, you can move forward with taking on your first job and establishing yourself as a force to be reckoned with in your local trade community.
Starting your own trade business doesn’t have to be difficult; if you establish the proper foundation, make sure you’ve gotten the education you need, and take the proper steps to get in the government’s good graces, you’ll find that you’re able to start a successful enterprise that outlasts the pandemic.
