According to credit experts Experian, just under 800,000 new businesses were founded in 2020, an increase of 13% from 2020. Of the retail businesses set up in the middle of a pandemic, more than three quarters of them were set up from the kitchen table. With the construction industry booming thanks to an explosion of home improvement projects, there has never been a more opportune moment for entrepreneurial Brits to launch businesses in the trades.

Furthermore, research from Powered Now, a mobile-based billing, invoicing and quotation application which specialises in trades, has unveiled the robust sentiment the UK’s tradespeople have towards their work, displaying how the sector has been a hive of job creation. Even a digital business such as an Amazon FBA business could help boost the trades.

Key Statistics:

18% of Brits agree that after COVID, they are now considering employment within a trade sector to pick up additional work or to commence a new career in a trade
15% of tradespeople have seen their client demand increase post-COVID, to their highest levels ever
18% of tradespeople have such a backlog of work that they no longer have the time to source any new business
With a client base of over 1500 trade SMEs in the UK alone, Ben Dyer, CEO of Powered Now, has provided a tool kit for prospective business owners to launch their successful construction enterprise in 2021.

Do you do the job well?
“One of the attractions of the trade is that, with 70% of work coming from recommendations or existing relationships, doing the job well is usually enough to be successful. You don’t need to know much about sales and marketing or lots of other stuff for your business to be a hit.

But the question you also have to ask yourself before launching out is, can you do the job well? It’s not a good idea to launch out on your own if you frequently get told you did a poor job. Life will be even more miserable as your own boss. You will you end up clashing with customers, not being paid, struggling to find work and in the worst case, being sued. Sorry, but that’s the truth.”

Finding your first jobs
“As you launch your new business, there is no better place to find business than your family and friends. All households need to get work done by tradesmen and your family and friends are no exception. Doing a great job for them will quickly lead to more work. People share good experiences and when they want some work doing, they ask their friends. Word of mouth is the invisible sauce that drives the business of all sole traders. That’s why doing a great job is so important.”

Satisfying customers
“It’s critical that you satisfy your customers but there are two sides to doing this. The first is doing a good job – their problem needs to be solved, the new item installed or some maintenance done. Then it all needs to still be working six months later! You would think that would be enough, but it isn’t.