I started with basic gear mig bandsaw drill old mobile welder etc. To start with I took everything on I could do. Lots of agricultural work and gates etc. I reinvested as much as I could and over time got ironworker guillotine and folder . Word of mouth was best advert I found. I started before mobile phones and Internet were common. I think Facebook is a good place to start putting up work now. The other thing you need is luck. Sometimes you're just in the right place at the right time
- Thread starter Sam_colt88
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8ob
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Properly kitted out mobile workshops do very well around here, construction beams, farmers, gate automation companies, marinas, skip companies,quarries and loads more to keep them busy. If you are any good you only need to put yourself out there and it will snowball.
Bob.
Bob.
Jaeger_S2k
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Be able to recognise certain phrases that a customer will say, because if you miss this one, you'll lose a lot of business, but if you understand what happens when these words are spoken you'll do just fine.
'So what do you think' or 'What would you do' or 'How would you do this and why'.
The minute these words are spoken by a customer is the moment they transferred the decision and responsibility to buy to you. You now have the sale, just don't lose it, don't oversell or inflate it and importantly don't abuse it. Take them gently by the hand and talk them through what you would do, then take their credit card and take a deposit. They'll enjoy the experience and sell you to their friends and family.
'So what do you think' or 'What would you do' or 'How would you do this and why'.
The minute these words are spoken by a customer is the moment they transferred the decision and responsibility to buy to you. You now have the sale, just don't lose it, don't oversell or inflate it and importantly don't abuse it. Take them gently by the hand and talk them through what you would do, then take their credit card and take a deposit. They'll enjoy the experience and sell you to their friends and family.
Jaeger_S2k
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Some interesting statistics.
Customers are more likely to share negative experiences than positive ones. Dissatisfied customers tend to tell more people about their bad experiences than happy customers do about good experiences. Specifically, unhappy customers might tell between 9-15 people, while satisfied customers might share with only 4-6. Furthermore, a significant portion of customers, around 13%, will tell more than 20 people about a negative experience.
Silent treatment is common:
Many customers (around 91%) simply stop doing business with a company after a negative experience without complaining.
Social media amplification:
The reach of social media can significantly amplify the impact of negative experiences, potentially reaching far more people than traditional word-of-mouth.
Customers are more likely to share negative experiences than positive ones. Dissatisfied customers tend to tell more people about their bad experiences than happy customers do about good experiences. Specifically, unhappy customers might tell between 9-15 people, while satisfied customers might share with only 4-6. Furthermore, a significant portion of customers, around 13%, will tell more than 20 people about a negative experience.
Silent treatment is common:
Many customers (around 91%) simply stop doing business with a company after a negative experience without complaining.
Social media amplification:
The reach of social media can significantly amplify the impact of negative experiences, potentially reaching far more people than traditional word-of-mouth.
Brad93
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Misery
More Amps
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Who said it was fun?
northwest
Searching for the Holy Grail.........
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Who said it was fun?
It is fun, if you could just exclude the customers it's great!
If it wont make you moneyWho said it was fun?
or
make you happy .... DONT DO IT.
My grandad used to say that , and only fifty years later Im realising that once again his wisdomly words of advise were spot on.
winchman
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I agree, but is that the type of work you want to do? Some people like site work some workshop.
Someone I know started out making gates and railings very small, then Piano movers, basically anything he could make in the garden shed. Many years later he specialises in high cost gates like you would see on a footballers house. Get your self known locally and see which direction it takes. Remember some work isn't worth doing too.
Get in your van with some Mugs, rollers pens calendars etc and visit every place you would want to do work for, so when they need a job doing they will have your number.
Get someone to do Facebook, Twitter etc as for many people thats the first place they look.
winchman
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Can you think of a simple item you can make and sell to fill in any time when it's quiet?
One place I worked at we made fancy hanging basket brackets, planters etc
The comments above about presentation are vital, you must be the worker, salesman Public relations, safety manager and engineer all in one, I deal with people who are easy to deal with and do a great job, one contractor I used no matter what job we gave him it was first class done to correct standards and done on time or we had been updated as to any issues and the resolution.
One place I worked at we made fancy hanging basket brackets, planters etc
The comments above about presentation are vital, you must be the worker, salesman Public relations, safety manager and engineer all in one, I deal with people who are easy to deal with and do a great job, one contractor I used no matter what job we gave him it was first class done to correct standards and done on time or we had been updated as to any issues and the resolution.
