Are you thinking of using your skills and experience to start up your own construction company? Maybe you’ve worked within the industry for many years and are looking to utilize your expertise- starting your own venture can be a great way to go about it. However, a construction company is one of the most challenging types of company to establish and get right, since there are so many extra considerations to bear in mind that most other companies don’t need to worry about. But it can often be worth the effort, here’s why.
Lots of different job choices available
When you think of construction it might be bricklaying that comes to mind, but there’s much more to it than this. Within the construction field, you have electricians, plasterers, plumbers, gas engineers, carpenters and much more. It makes sense to start a venture in an area you have experience in, but you could also get experience and qualifications in a new area first if it were likely to earn you more money. There are often apprenticeships available in trades, or you could shadow a tradesperson that you know and work with and build up more skills from there which you can then utilize later on.
Costs vs earning potential
One of the main reasons roadblocks that people looking to start a job in construction find is that it’s expensive to get set up in, far more than most other companies. While every business will have overhead costs, in the beginning, these are usually limited things like computers, office space, and equipment. In construction, you’ll need machines, vehicles, power tools and more. Then, on top of that, you’ll need staff, software like Drop Cowboy and possibly office space to keep running. You have insurance, maintenance costs, none of which will come cheap. You then need to find qualified workers who have the skills and experience to run the machines, operate the vehicles and work with you on your team in whatever area of construction your business is in. While getting started in construction is expensive, the payoff is often worth it due to its excellent earning potential. Projects in these kinds of industries are usually larger, with customers and clients spending more money per job than most other kinds of business. The price of an extension, a loft conversion, a new kitchen or a house rewiring, for example, will usually cost thousands. This means instead of needing to secure lots of jobs to make money, you have bigger ones for more cash. There are plenty of opportunities for big profits and no need to spend as much money, time or effort advertising to find thousands of customers a year to make the sales you need. Often when it comes to construction work, recommendations with customers are passed word of mouth too which can also save you on advertising. One of the downsides is that specific jobs such as bricklaying can’t be done in adverse weather, meaning for more substantial projects you need to get them done (or get them to a watertight stage) before the year’s bad weather kicks in. The trick is to time projects well.
Health and Safety
Health and safety is something that every business has to be aware of and very careful with. If you make a mistake and neglect your duties here, people could be hurt and legal action could be taken against you which can be financially devastating for your business. However, in construction companies, there are extra considerations to think about when it comes to health and safety. When you’re working with vehicles, machines, power tools, and heights, there’s more chance of an accident happening compared to a slip or trip in an office or shop. You will need to be very strict on things like suitable clothing- steel toe cap boots, a hard hat, and a high visibility vest should be worn by people on site. Sometimes eye and ear protection will need to be used as well. Sometimes eye and ear protection will need to be used as well depending on the jobs you’re going to be doing. Everyone should have a health and safety certificate as well as proper training and qualifications to use the machines and vehicles that they will be working with.
A future-proof business
When you set up any business, it’s essential to consider if it will stand the test of time. After all, we live in a fast-paced world and many companies find themselves obsolete when new technology comes in as they’re simply no longer needed or useful. Even big businesses aren’t immune, look what happened to Blockbuster when new streaming technology arrived and they refused to keep up. However, when it comes to construction, it can be assumed that there’s a good future there since people will always want home improvements and buildings put up. Until robots can completely automate these things (which realistically won’t be for a long time) you’ll have a job. Be sure to respond to new technology and use it where possible, and keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. You can set up a business in construction knowing that if it does well, it’s likely to succeed without any major changes needing to be made for the foreseeable future.
Starting a business in construction can be challenging but incredibly lucrative. If you have skills and experience to put to use then it’s a great way to move your career forward too.
