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Hi everyone

 

I am trying to a bit of research for my nephew he is 25 years old and currently working as a roofer. He’s a very hardworking polite young man.

He would like to set up a business cleaning / clearing and fixing gutters etc .

Also carrying out general roof repairs.

He wants to start off getting work by going door to door asking if householders would like a quote for having work done.

I would just like any advice to help him out and what people think the reaction would be to him going door to door for work.

 

Thanks

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Hi everyone

 

I am trying to a bit of research for my nephew he is 25 years old and currently working as a roofer. He’s a very hardworking polite young man.

He would like to set up a business cleaning / clearing and fixing gutters etc .

Also carrying out general roof repairs.

He wants to start off getting work by going door to door asking if householders would like a quote for having work done.

I would just like any advice to help him out and what people think the reaction would be to him going door to door for work.

 

Thanks

 

Roofers going round knocking door to door have a horrendous reputation of knocking on old ladies doors and ripping them off. A bit of local advertising might work, tapping up existing contacts but given what you read, knocking on doors would be a bad idea, in my opinion.

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Probably having a load of flyers made up and either take them round or pay to have them delivered with a local free newspaper would be a better option

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For good reason nobody knocks on doors looking to get work apart from gypsies these days! And nobody with any sense employs door knockers!

Like others have said its cheap enough to knock up a flyer or business cards and get posting them or use social media to promote himself.

As an aside, if he's good on ladders he could maybe also advertise a side line of 'general high level work' - like painting upstairs window cills / frames, removing satallite dishes, trimming creepers etc

Edited by lil-minx92

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Quite a few areas these days do not allow cold calling....and even though there is, as far as I know, no actual law against it, would not go down too well with many households in those areas. Best maybe to do some work for friends and family, and go on recommendations from them....

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Maybe leafleting would be better than door knocking.

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I agree with others, door-door isn't the way. Leaflets or an advert in a free local paper. Some local paers do both.

Also local builders might sub roof work out to him, so ask around.

His bigger things to check are insurance for him and public liabilty, easy to get, but needs doing. Has he got his own van, or is he working for somebody who has one etc. They are bigger costs.

If he can keep his costs manageable, and not commit to anything he can't afford when things are tight, he will be more robust.

Good luck to him, I'm sure he'll do well if he keeps his head screwed on.

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If you have time to do a bit or research then you could you could target specific areas with leaflets, business cards, on-line and local advertising.

 

Different areas and housing types are also worth targeting e.g.

Groups of houses often begin to have similar problems at the same time -so look for competitors working.

Some areas will pay more than others.

Streets with overhanging trees?

Edited by Annie Bynnol

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Leaflet delivery services can be pretty affordable nowadays if done well, I have used them with mixed success( depending on area)

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Advertising in the right areas at the right time is really hard as most people will know someone. However I’d have to agree with the person that recommended getting registered on trusted trader.

in my own personal opinion I’d recommend my builder I’ve had a lot of work off there and it doesn’t cost the earth its a good way of getting in with customers then word of mouth will go from there also abit of sign writing on the vehicle goes along way.

when your looking at sign writing your better off putting one or two bullet points that cover a variety of jobs as there’s nothing worst than a huge list on the side of a van ( jack of all trades) master of none also set up a Facebook page and get everyone you know on Facebook and share it as much as possible to friends and they will share it social media is what 90% of people spend around 10% of there day looking at it has unbelievable power hope this helps.

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Hmmm... :huh:


... with the amount of junk mail put through our doors, does anyone really read leaflets anymore?

 

I know I don't - especially if you get a few delivered together, which now seems to be the favoured method of cutting costs - just a cursory glance and then filed in the wheelie bin (colour undisclosed).

 

The chance of anyone reading a leaflet that happens to drop through their letterbox at the very same time as they require the services on offer must be minuscule, and I can't believe that many people would read and then save a leaflet on the off-chance that they might one day need it.

 

I'd be interested to know if anyone genuinely gets any new business by this method and what the 'success' is for say, every 1000 leaflets.

 

You'd probably have as much success putting a postcard in the local post office window (remember them?) and it would certainly be a lot cheaper... :)

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