OCTOBER 2019 | 33
Installer Support
Installer Support is
sponsored by Kayflow
About the author
Theoretically you should also
need to master the intricacies
of GDPR. This is the regulation
about storing other people’s per-
sonal information either on paper
or computer. In practise, though,
it is likely that unless you start
doing aggressive marketing this
will not be an issue.
be clear on
‘ what
you want
to achieve ’
Depending on which trade you
operate in, there are other regu-
lations that you must follow. The
most demanding being gas and
electricity. It is your responsibility
to master and obey these regu-
lations and some require formal
qualifications. Ignoring them,
particularly for gas, can and does
lead to prison terms.
The problem of
the nationals
I was recently near Bideford in
North Devon and suffered a flat
tyre on the boat trailer that I was
towing. Searching the internet
for “Bideford breakdown”, the top
result is the AA. As it turned out,
I bumped into a local breakdown
specialist and without any wait-
ing, they sorted the problem out
very quickly for £25. If it wasn’t
for my good fortune, I would have
called out a national, and proba-
bly waited several hours plus paid
through the nose.
This illustrates the problem for
any local trade company that
get work some from emergency
callouts, like locksmiths. When
people search online, they will
often end up with an expensive
and sub-optimal result.
Taking services from trade-ori-
ented technology companies
may help to tackle the issue of
large rivals using computer tech-
nology to target your prospects
and customers.
Systems
There are now a good selection
of apps and full systems that can
help you to run your business.
These, including those from my
company Powered Now, are well
worth investigating as they can
save a lot of time and help guide
you down the right path in terms
of invoicing and keeping records.
Trusted Trader, My
Builder, Rated People
and Checkatrade
If you want to grow, there are
a number of companies that
purport to help you. These in-
clude Trusted Trader, My Builder,
Rated People and Checkat-
rade. They may be particularly
useful when you start out. The
problem is that you can’t get
business through them without
some existing reviews, but you
can’t get the reviews until you
get some business.
All of them are commercial
organisations and charge for
their services. They will provide
you with an online presence
which can help counteract
the heavy advertising of the
nationals.
Benjamin Dyer is CEO and
co-founder of Powered
Now. Powered Now’s mobile
apps aim to make it easier
for installers, locksmiths
and other trades to run
their businesses.
In summary
In deciding on whether to take
the plunge to become self-em-
ployed, it’s important to be clear
on what you want to achieve.
There are big advantages, but
there is a price to pay in effort
and responsibility too. Many
people make a success of their
own business, but there are
also plenty of people who find
it stressful and get their fingers
burnt. Key points are quality of
work and charging enough. All of
the best.
www.powerednow.com