Call Out Services
As a plumber or electrician you will be required to travel to customer’s houses and fix a range of problems as quickly as possible.
You will need to have transport and a wide range of equipment and parts allowing you to do your work effectively.
You (and other callout employees) should have the appropriate qualifications, for both plumbing and electricians this traditionally involves either an apprenticeship (for younger people) or an NVQ or City and Guilds qualifications, although full time starter courses are available.
Obtaining the necessary qualifications is not easy, and complete training can involve several years of work and training; especially if you have no relevant experience. There is currently a shortage of up and coming electricians, so entry requirements to start training courses may be slightly relaxed for the foreseeable future.
As you will be running a stand alone business; you need to be certain of managing budgets, equipment and stock, as well as communicating effectively with employees.
Since January 1st 2005 it has been a legal requirement to certify many types of household electrical work in compliance with the Building Regulations (Part P). If you do not take a course to allow you to self-certify your work; your customers will need to contact their local authority to arrange inspection of the relevant work. This will put electricians who are able to self-certify work at a competitive advantage.
Plumbers and electricians tend to gain new customers mainly by word of mouth and local directory advertising (E.g.: Yellow Pages or Thompson Directory). The bad name that some plumbers and electricians get mean that word of mouth praise is vital in how most people decide who to use. This makes it vital that all of your staff work to good standards and give honest pricing; otherwise they could damage the reputation of your business very quickly.
Working as a plumber or electrician can sometimes be uncomfortable and difficult, and can also involve lots of late or unusual hours; but the money you can earn providing a good service is quite high, especially as you are working for your own business.
Charges are normally per hour (or half hour) of work, plus the cost of any parts. Operating out of an office will make your service appear more trustworthy, and will allow you to charge a higher price (if your service is good) which will help to cover the higher operating costs.
Pro:
There is a large demand for these services all year round.
Each call can make high profits if the service is good enough.
Operating out of an office implies better quality of service than a home business, and may allow the charging of a higher price.
Some areas have a shortage of trained plumbers and electricians.
Con:
There is lots of competition in most areas.
If the service is not to maximum standards every time then your reputation can be quickly damaged.
Detailed training can take along time.
Skill Level = Medium to High
Start up Costs = Medium
Training = Mainly long courses, some short courses available
Experience = Needed
Equipment Costs = Low to medium
Location/Office Costs = Low
Transport Required = Yes
No of Staff (incl. you) = 2-6 +
