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As a tradie, being your own boss is the dream. But before you can successfully make this happen, it’s important to set up the right foundations to build your business. Here are five things to keep in mind.
1. Study your trade
The more you know about your trade industry, the easier it will be to set up a successful business. Before you rush into anything, consider these tips:
- Contracting and pitching: When you’re just starting out, getting professional advice is a great way to hone your pitches for different clients.
- Keep an eye out: Staying up to date with industry news and changes will help you narrow down potential clients. Attend industry events, and sign up to associations like Master Builders Australia.
- Be open to subcontracts: Teaming up with other businesses is a smart way of picking up work on an ongoing basis and forming alliances.
2. Get your compliance in order
For the sake of your business and it’s success, it’s important to check your compliance. As a tradie in Australia, this includes:
- Having the right licence or registration: This changes depending on the state or territory you’re working in and also depending on your trade. Check out the trade association for your your industry or you can also find information at sites like hte HIA website.
- Complying with health and safety regulations: Check out the Safe Work Australia website for information about industry regulations – and make sure your business is compliant. If you are going to have people working for you this may mean getting workers compensation insurance.
- Get up to code: You’ll need to understand and comply with codes of practice in your industry to operate a business. Not doing so can result in fines and disciplinary action.
3. Set yourself clear KPIs
No matter what industry you’re in, it’s important to establish clear KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to measure the success of your business. Follow these simple tips to make it happen:
- Determine what your business goals are and align your KPIs to these.
- Use a flow chart to map out all your business operations. This will help you identify the processes that need refinement.
- Set KPIs for each of these processes.
- Tell all your staff and contractors about the KPIs. The more they know, the more likely your KPIs will be achieved.
- Always review your KPIs to make sure they’re achievable and successful.
Not sure where to start? Simply get in touch with your accountant.
4. Manage your work capacity
When you’re trying to build your business, it can be easy to forget about how much work you can realistically take on. When you can’t deliver, it can be bad for business. Here’s what you need to do to stop this from happening:
- Know your capacity: This is measured by how long it takes to complete operational tasks, deliver services, your current workload, and feedback.
- Streamline: Look into ways of minimising time spent on tasks, as well as focusing on better scheduling of services and staff.
- Look at your numbers: When you know your capacity, it pays to revisit your earnings. It might be worth increasing your prices and cutting other expenses.
- Hire quality staff: Simply put – the better your employees are, the more efficient the work will be.
5. Get your invoices in order
Mismanaging your finances is a sure-fire way of putting your business at risk. However, not all new businesses can afford to outsource financial tasks to accountants, tax agents and bookkeepers.
When you’re just starting out, it’s only natural – and often necessary – to do all the administrative tasks yourself. But the thing is, it doesn’t have to be difficult. If you’re a self-employed tradie with a small business, there are some great apps that can make your working life much easier. Many of them are free and easy-to-use, helping you stay on top of your invoices, and essentially turning your phone or tablet into a portable finance department.
“The opinions expressed by BizWitty Contributors are their own, not those of BizCover and should not be relied upon in place of appropriate professional advice. Please read our full disclaimer."
