New business

KAG

> I've never been in business before, I've always <BR>
> worked for someone. I have 10 years in the oil <BR>
> burner field. I love what i do for a living, and <BR>
> about a year ago i started thinking about having <BR>
> my own business. Now I'm fully licsensed and <BR>
> insured. I've sold a couple of jobs that went <BR>
> well. i built and office in my basement and a <BR>
> parts/stock room. i have a 97ford 350 exstended <BR>
> body which is great to work out of. so i'm <BR>
> ready... But it got very slow recently. and i've <BR>
> realized that i've mad some mistakes. 1) i did <BR>
> not advertize or promote my business, i just <BR>
> thought word of mouth would have been enough... <BR>
> and now it's slow and expenses are catching up <BR>
> with me. i don't want to give up, i've worked so <BR>
> hard to get where i'm at and i can't see it slip <BR>
> out of my hands. Does anybody have any business <BR>
> ideas or is there ways of promoting my company on <BR>
> the internet or something??? i'm just afraid of <BR>
> getting in dept to the Point of where i have to <BR>
> let go of my business. <BR>
<BR>
Carry plenty of business cards with you and everyone you meet hand them out. Don't wait for the conversation to turn to your line of business. Be aggressive but not pushy. Remember your word of month should be daily. Go to all the local coffee shops and post your card, many have business card boards. I read the local news paper for local issues regarding my business and I will email the people involve regarding thier issues. Try and find a local networking group that you can join many are short money and your investment can go through the roof in no time. Another thing I did is looked at all the local competator ads and ask my friends what appealed to them and what didn't. Some radio stations will allow you to run 30 second ads for short money. I even went to the local trade school and offered my services to them for free. All of these have helped me grow my business. "THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX" you are your best foot in the door, but if you don't your client won't either. Boy is that filled with cliches. Good Luck and try and make it fun.

steve_38

NEW BUSINESS

I've never been in business before, I've always worked for someone. I have 10 years in the oil burner field. I love what i do for a living, and about a year ago i started thinking about having my own business. Now I'm fully licsensed and insured. I've sold a couple of jobs that went well. i built and office in my basement and a parts/stock room. i have a 97ford 350 exstended body which is great to work out of. so i'm ready... But it got very slow recently. and i've realized that i've mad some mistakes. 1) i did not advertize or promote my business, i just thought word of mouth would have been enough... and now it's slow and expenses are catching up with me. i don't want to give up, i've worked so hard to get where i'm at and i can't see it slip out of my hands. Does anybody have any business ideas or is there ways of promoting my company on the internet or something??? i'm just afraid of getting in dept to the Point of where i have to let go of my business.

Brad White_38

Two Words

Ellen Rohr.

Now go shopping, above left...

Techman

Business

Hello! Try knocking "door to door",Every store,every house,every business in a 10 mile radius,then after awhile "word of mouth" will kick in !GOOD LUCK Stephen!

tom_49

Knock door-to-door.Great advice there. Give a business card to everyone you meet.

If you do good work, show up when you are supposed to, word will get out.

It amazes me how many jobs I get because I actually show up to look at it.

What about your old company? Did you leave on good terms. Maybe they could use you as a sub, I did that when I left my old company. My old boss was glad to sub me out, I knew everybody and he didnt have to pay my taxes anymore.

Any way Good Luck.

S Ebels

> I've never been in business before, I've always

> worked for someone. I have 10 years in the oil

> burner field. I love what i do for a living, and

> about a year ago i started thinking about having

> my own business. Now I'm fully licsensed and

> insured. I've sold a couple of jobs that went

> well. i built and office in my basement and a

> parts/stock room. i have a 97ford 350 exstended

> body which is great to work out of. so i'm

> ready... But it got very slow recently. and i've

> realized that i've mad some mistakes. 1) i did

> not advertize or promote my business, i just

> thought word of mouth would have been enough...

> and now it's slow and expenses are catching up

> with me. i don't want to give up, i've worked so

> hard to get where i'm at and i can't see it slip

> out of my hands. Does anybody have any business

> ideas or is there ways of promoting my company on

> the internet or something??? i'm just afraid of

> getting in dept to the Point of where i have to

> let go of my business.

S Ebels

First thing I'd do

Just a suggestion but if I was sitting in the office with nothing to do I'd get out my customer list, even if it was only 3 people and call them.
Tell them you just wanted to touch base with them to see if they were happy with what you did for them. Listen closely. During that conversation I would ask them if they knew of any friends or relatives that may be in the market for some HVAC work, plumbing, whatever you do. Let them know that you offer rewards for new leads. Maybe a $xx.xx gift certificate to a local eatery. Arrange it with the restaurant owner in advance, sometimes they'll give you a buck or two off in exchange for sending everyone their way. It has worked for me and a referral is as good an advertisement as you can get.

John R. Hall

Stephen

Keep me updated on the progress of your new business. I've got some great reference articles I can send you about a small contractor I've been working with for a couple of years. Drop me a line with your address.

Hey, Steve E. -- I thought the first thing you'd suggest would be to buy my book. :-(

heatboy

It's as easy.......

....and as difficult as saying the words, charge more than it cost to run your business. I am in agreement with Brad. Ellen Rohr saved my business about 8 years ago. Without her tutelage, I would have been gone long ago. BUY HER BOOKS! Ask for advice here at the Wall.

Best of luck,

hb

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David Sutton_6

Oil burner service

Start checking with some of the independent oil co. who only sell oil, offer them your service.You could help them go from just oil to a full service company by adding your services to theres.

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Dave DeFord_4

Are there shows in your area?

> I've never been in business before, I've always

> worked for someone. I have 10 years in the oil

> burner field. I love what i do for a living, and

> about a year ago i started thinking about having

> my own business. Now I'm fully licsensed and

> insured. I've sold a couple of jobs that went

> well. i built and office in my basement and a

> parts/stock room. i have a 97ford 350 exstended

> body which is great to work out of. so i'm

> ready... But it got very slow recently. and i've

> realized that i've mad some mistakes. 1) i did

> not advertize or promote my business, i just

> thought word of mouth would have been enough...

> and now it's slow and expenses are catching up

> with me. i don't want to give up, i've worked so

> hard to get where i'm at and i can't see it slip

> out of my hands. Does anybody have any business

> ideas or is there ways of promoting my company on

> the internet or something??? i'm just afraid of

> getting in dept to the Point of where i have to

> let go of my business.

joel_19

Stop

Stop right now and ask yourself a question . "Ok, I haven't been advertising , in my budget my percentage that i'm carrying in my overhead for advertising is....."

If you can't answer that question than that means you probably haven't budgeted out all of your exspenses . Which means theres probably lots of other stuff you forgot to add into your rate.

Four words "Buy Ellen Rhors books"

ok why are you still reading this you should be clicking awayand entering your credit card number already

Dave DeFord_4

Are there shows in your area?

I'm thinking of the home and garden shows, and builders shows etc. You might also want to market new installs this time of year - have a pre-season special or an end of the season special. Do you have a sign on your truck? If not get one with your 800 number on it.(800 numbers only cost about $30/mo). Have you put your business card on every bulletin board you can find? Do you sponsor a little league team? Do you tell everyone you know about your new business? Can you write an article for the local paper? Have you joined the local chamber of commerce? Have you read "Gorilla Marketing"? Get out and meet people. Look around for how other small businesses market themselves in your local area. If you do not have a business phone line get one - most ususally get a free listing in the phone company Yellow Pages. This is probably the best bang-for-the-buck advertising you can get. What I am getting at is you need to market your business EVERY DAY EVERY HOUR YOU ARE AWAKE!. Word of mouth is the most trusted form of marketing but it is not necessarily the quickest. Most importantly learn to sell - not the high-pressure used car salesman type of selling but the I-know-what-I-am-doing and I will do a good job type of selling. Give speaches to local service clubs (Lions, Rotary, Exchange Clubs etc.) If you are nervous making speaches join Toastmasters. Buy an ad on Find-A-Pro. Don't sit around the house wishing you had some work - go out and hustle some up. The work won't come looking for you you have to go get it. Some of these ideas won't work for you but some of them will. Ask every customer you get how they heard about you. Keep up the ones that work and drop the one's that don't. But most importantly DON'T EVER GIVE UP. The biggest difference between success and failure in business is persistence. Just when it looks the darkest something will come your way. Nearly every success was preceeded by failure. There is an old saying that the difference between a success and a failure is that the success man got up one more time than he fell - there is a lot of truth in that. Best of luck and keep your head and spirits up - something good will come your way.

P.S. One more thing go take a bookkeeping course through your local adult ed at the high school. Most businesses don't fail for lack of techincal skill they fail for lack of business skills - get some. I haven't read Ellen's books but if Dan has them here they're probably top notch.

Steamhead (in transit)

Steve, you'd also want to

get in touch with your local Small Business Administration and SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives). These organizations have much to offer- Gordo and I took several of their seminars and met our accountant, lawyer and insurance agent thru them.

Good luck with the new business! Let us know how you do.

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KAG

Just syarted 6 mo. ago

I joined a local business group that networks. They have helped with the word of mouth alot. Also found reliable printer, laywer, accountant, and marketing firm in the group, there are many other still to meet. They are all willing to help and talk about my business with out charging, to a point. Also joined local plumbers group. But the best thing is carry many business cards and talk to everyone you meet about your services, whether they asked or not. Remember the worst they can say is no, no matter how they say it it's still just no.

[Deleted User]

Read...

The E-Myth, and the E-myth Revisited and then tell me they didn't write the book about you...

So many people have entreuprenarial seizures every day that it is hard to keep up with the failures. Heck, we've been "doing it" for a LONG time, and we're STILL looking for a universal Easy Button...

For sure, follow the Ellen Rohr advice, as well as anything Holohan wrote. If nothing else, you'll have lots of great reading to do while you're waiting for the phone to start ringing again. And it will get your mind juices flowing about how and where to drop your dollars for advertising, like right here at Find A Professional...which is FREE for a trial period.

ME

ANDREW_12

when i was starting i had alot of luck hanging around the local plumbing and heating supply. A little kick back for referals that paid off to the counter guy also helped.

toearly_2

LOL... When we first started in business money was tight and had to get the most bang for the buck..

We would send flowers to calling hours for people we did not know. Of course we would pick the ones that would have a good showing,, So to speak.

Point is.. Do what ever works and always think outside of the box

David

&

John L

Like Dylan said

"You got to change your way of thinking and find yourself a different set of rules". You may be an "oilman" but you have to wear the marketing hat alllllllll the time from now on. Do you know every HO and business within a 4 block radius of your shop? For referrals why not do a tune up as a thank you, that way you will keep them as a customer.How many churches are in that 4 block radius, how many schools,police stations,municipal offices etc. Learn one more skill- how to market effectively and inexpensively. go back to the customers that you have done work for and ask them for referrals, these folk all work somewhere, which can lead you into another source of leads. Make up oversized postcards with special offers and pass them out everywhere. Keep track f the most effective methods and duplicate them. Nothing happens until someone calls you, so become a master marketeer and then you can demonstrate you master heating skills. Good luck in your new adventure

Josh_10

Advertise on this site! Free for three months..

DanHolohan

I was waiting

for someone to say that. Thanks.

Brad White_72

ME did but it bears repeating... NM

Al Letellier_9

getting the word out

Here' what I did, Stephen. After 30+ yrs in the industry, I went on my own. I made a list of EVERYBODY I knew, everybody I ever had contact with, and everyone I liked, disliked, disowned or were ever associated with in any way. (You'll be surprised how long the list is). Then I mailed them all a letter on my company letterhead, included a dozen cards with each, signed on the back, and offered a 10% discount on the first service call if the card was presented and a finders fee for the referral (Print some fake $5 bills as credit for service)as the finders fee and mail a thank you with the $5 credit. I did advertise with Yellow pages, but the letters alone generated enough business that within 30 days, my calender was full and I've never lacked for work since. Oh yeah, almost forgot. Do good work and stand behind it 100% and follow the other great advice posted. Be patient and don't quit !!!

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KAG

Business Cards

Carry plenty of business cards with you and everyone you meet hand them out. Don't wait for the conversation to turn to your line of business. Be aggressive but not pushy. Remember your word of month should be daily. Go to all the local coffee shops and post your card, many have business card boards. I read the local news paper for local issues regarding my business and I will email the people involve regarding thier issues. Try and find a local networking group that you can join many are short money and your investment can go through the roof in no time. Another thing I did is looked at all the local competator ads and ask my friends what appealed to them and what didn't. Some radio stations will allow you to run 30 second ads for short money. I even went to the local trade school and offered my services to them for free. All of these have helped me grow my business. "THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX" you are your best foot in the door, but if you don't your clients won't either. Boy is that filled with cliches. GOOD LUCK and have fun thinking up new ways to advertise.