How to Start a Plumbing Business

Summary: First of all, you need to decide what kind of plumbing business you wish to engage in, whether it is service-oriented or product-oriented. This article discusses what it is essential for service-oriented plumbing business. Obviously, you would need a plumber for this trade; as well as registering your business and acquiring a license. You would also need to advertise your services.

The age old question remains, “Where’s a plumber when you need one?”

Well, if you are starting your own business involving skilled workers working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures for water systems and drainage, then you should know exactly where your plumber is. If you wish to launch your own plumbing business, the first thing that you should decide on is what kind of plumbing business you wish to start: service-oriented or product-oriented.

If you are a business entrepreneur and you want to start a product-oriented plumbing business, you basically act as a supplier of pipes and tubing paraphernalia. You can also sell tools and other equipments to supplement your plumbing supply business. On the other hand, a service-oriented plumbing business can go two ways: a plumbing and heating business, and a fix-‘er-upper.

The former is a business arrangement where you set up the necessary components of plumbing, heating and drainage in any architectural structure. The latter, on the other hand, is the most common type of small business plumbing type. The fix-‘er-upper (from the term fix her up) is when a house owner calls up a plumber to fix a broken sink or a clogged toilet, etc. This kind of business can still be categorized further as contractor and small business plumbing.

For purposes of discussion in this article, we will detail what business entrepreneurs need to do in order to start a fix-‘er-upper plumbing business.

Obviously, you would need a plumber for this trade, preferably a skilled plumber who can install and repair piping systems, plumbing fixtures and water heaters. If you are a contractor, you need to know where to find reliable and trustworthy plumbers. Try to hire ones that have the most experience and are able to do quick work with minimal supervision. If you have inexperienced workers, it would be best to apprentice them with your veteran plumbers on their first few runs. As a contractor, it is your duty to buy the equipments and tools your workers need, get them to your clients when called and bill your clients accordingly. The plumbing business is a lucrative trade, if and when your plumbers can get to a job on time.

Starting a plumbing business like this entails registering your business, acquiring a plumbing business license, and even maybe acquiring plumbing business software so that you can bill your clients immediately and precisely. Transportation is important.

The other type of fix-‘er-upper plumbing business involves just you, provided of course that you are a plumber. As a micro-entrepreneur, you can start this business from home; you don’t even need a complicated business set up as long as you’ve got the skills and tools to do the job. A successful business of this sort still needs to be registered and licensed, so don’t overlook that.

Your business success is actually dependent on two things: how well you do your job (that your clients will seek and refer your services often) and how well you advertise your trade. As a plumbing business owner, you know that your services will not have a running start unless people know that you are a plumber, and that your services are available.

Plumbing business cards are essential. If you can’t afford these as of yet, putting up flyers and home-made posters can do most of the advertising for you. However, nothing beats word-of-mouth advertising. So tell your friends and family members that you are starting a plumbing business and ask them to help refer you to potential clients.