- A training course, some equipment and a home made flyer won’t win you work;
- that guy at the trade show for the big manufacturer selling the fancy machine, who said you can make a fortune with a PAT business… won’t win you work
- A fancy website you got with a grant, even though you’ve never heard of SEO… won’t win you work
- That home made website you did last night… won’t win you work
- A page on Facebook with 20 likes, that you update once a month… won’t win you work
- 100 home made flyers you pushed through the letter box of 100 closed businesses on your way to the pub… won’t win you work
- Visiting a local business networking group once and never going back because they wanted you to join… won’t win you work
- Doing one or two things will not win you work, doing them half hearted or ‘on the cheap’ won’t win you work.
What will win you work?
- Doing lots of things together; working very hard, trying different things, and spending money… will win you work.
- The other thing that will win you work – learning from your own mistakes
- If you want to be a success in business you must make mistakes to learn from.
- And make no mistake about it… if you are running a PAT Testing business you must think like a business-person; if you don’t then you are destined to fail.
Setting up as a PAT Tester won’t make you rich
Doing a quick training course, buying some gear and handing out a few home made flyers won’t build a business; like any business whether you’re doing PAT testing, a florist, plumber, locksmith or accountant it takes a lot of hard work to build – you won’t have overnight success and you can’t be expected to get to the level of experienced people straight away.
Right now you’re probably shouting at your computer about the guy at the trade fair selling the fancy kit, telling you you can make a fortune in easy money from PAT Testing.. teasing you into parting with the best part of one thousand pounds to buy his machine, or at the very least getting you to dream that one day you could own such a machine.
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It’s not a get rich quick scheme
We see it regularly on forums where people moan that they did a course and now aren’t making any money, they’re asking for secrets and tips from others how they get their work… business is business; you have to learn for yourselves. There is no benefit to you in copying someone else’s ideas, and no benefit to them to tell you all their successes – you need to learn from your own mistakes and grow naturally.
What works for me won’t necessarily work for you, after all we are established, have a history and recommendations not to mention a vast existing client base.
How did I get to where I am today? I worked my socks off, I spent a lot of money in the process, worked very long hours and you know where that got me? To a place where I still spend money, still work long hours but am now seeing more rewards for my efforts.
Why would I waste all that pain and heartache, by telling you all my secrets and then giving myself some serious competition?
You can get here too, but don’t think for one minute that running a business is easy, and certainly don’t think PAT testing will make you a millionaire. But work hard, do the right things and in time you will make a very good living for yourself.
Here are 10 tips on how to build your new PAT Testing business:
- Pound the streets – get out into your local community, visit businesses, shops etc. with a flyer and a business card, tell them what makes you better than the guy the used before.
- Join your local chamber of commerce – not only do they have a lot of members that you can connect with they will also offer networking opportunities; usually they’ll even help you learn how to do that.
- Work out a budget you can afford to spend on marketing, then work out how best to use it (if you say nothing, then no marketing budget often leads to no income – you must speculate to accumulate)
- Do other marketing that doesn’t cost you money, such as setting up social media accounts like twitter and Facebook to network with other businesses
- Speak to local trade groups, etc. who may offer free courses for start ups, perhaps even your bank can help guide you – these are great to help you feel your way into business.
- Find a friendly local company, and ask them if you can join them on a few jobs as free labour to learn the ropes so to speak
- Get some work as a contractor to other companies; don’t expect to make good money but you will get experience.
- Read business books for knowledge – know everything about running a successful business? Then why are you reading this article. Learn.
- Find a USP that makes you stand out from everyone else
- Remember that not everyone on that forum is as new as you; you may only be able to do 20 appliances a day and they can do 200 – that doesn’t mean they’re doing something wrong – they will help you learn if you want to learn from them.
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