As industries across the country begin to rebound from issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners are looking for new ways to jump out in front of the competition. And when you’re in the contracting business, your future depends on the decisions you make now.
If you’ve been doing small contracting jobs for a while now, perhaps you’re ready to step your game up and start tackling bigger jobs and making a name for yourself within your community. If this is the case, there are a few things you need to accomplish in order to be taken seriously as a bonafide contractor.
All professionals need to make moves to ensure their financial prosperity. And the more skills you possess, the greater your chances will be to become a household name in your community.
If you’re ready to take your contracting business to the next level in 2022, the following will provide some helpful advice.
Get Licensed
If you’ve been doing contract work such as handyman work or any type of small-scale construction, chances are you haven’t needed a contractor’s license. And this is because most states don’t require a contractor’s license to work on jobs valued under a specific dollar amount.
For example, most states require that you have a current contractor’s license in order to work on jobs valued over 5,000 or 10,000 dollars (depending on your state of residence). But if you don’t have a license, you won’t be eligible to work on bigger jobs.
With a contractor’s license, you’ll not only be able to work on big paying jobs, but this will also open the door to more opportunities for work along with your ability to network with established contractors as well. And this, in turn, means that you’ll be able to earn a much higher income than you would without a contractor’s license.
Compliance Training
If you want to stay ahead of the competition and make a name for yourself as a trusted contractor within your community, you’ll also want to be well-versed in compliance within your industry. And within the contracting industry, compliance can cover quite a few different elements.
A few points to consider about compliance training include the following:
- Safety compliance
- Workplace etiquette
- Inclusion
- Sexual harassment
- Promotions and awards
- Duty allocation
As you can see, compliance does cover a wide spectrum. And in 2022, most prospective employees have spent time during the pandemic reevaluating their worth and what they want in an employer. As such, many people are looking to work for individuals or companies who hold industry compliance to a higher standard.
For example, many prospective employees will be looking for inclusive environments, and to work for an employer who adheres to safety standards–especially in the contracting industry. And if you don’t have any compliance training, you may be forced to hire subpar applicants who may not add any value to your work or help advance your business.
At the end of the day, compliance training looks great on paper. And putting forth the effort to ensure the success of your company (and of your employees) will make you an attractive option for anyone looking to advance their career in the contracting space.
Marketing
If you don’t take the time to market yourself, you’ll likely be struggling to maintain your bottom line. And even though many contractors get most of their work via word-of-mouth, this only offers you a limited amount of potential for growth.
Marketing is what makes a business noticeable and allows for engagement to occur within the community. And any successful business likely has a sound marketing team behind the scenes.
As a contractor, there are many ways you can market yourself. And a few of these are as follows:
- Social media marketing
- Local ads
- Signage
- Website SEO
- Digital marketing
- Networking with complimentary trades
- Community engagement
The thing to remember about marketing is that it can be a full-time job in itself. And unless you have the time on your hands to create and implement a marketing strategy, you’ll probably want to outsource your marketing efforts to a private team of marketing professionals or hire a small marketing staff to work for you exclusively.
Taking your contracting business to the next level in 2022 is going to take a little time and effort. But if you adhere to the basic steps listed here, you’ll be in good stead when it comes to building your business and reaching all of your business goals.
