Would you like to make money in your spare time or on the weekend? Or, even work completely for yourself? One option is to start your own sprinkler repair business. People may mow their own lawn in a recession, but they will rarely do their own sprinkler system repairs. Armed with these 5 Insider Secrets for Starting Your Own Sprinkler Business, you can be off to a good start.
Insider Secret #1: Price by type of repair. When you buy a shovel at the hardware store, the price tag doesn’t split out parts and labor. So, why charge your customers in this manner, detailing both parts and labor? It’s no one else’s business but your own how much you are making on labor. For each repair that you perform, have set prices that include parts and labor. For charge, charge $45 for a rotor sprinkler replacement. The $45 covers the parts price of $12 and your labor charge. Pricing by type of repair allows you to quickly quote repairs to potential customers.
Insider Secret #2: Gathering customers is more important than your repair skills. This is actually quite logical — without customers calling you to do repairs on their system, you will have no chance to show off your repair skills. Therefore, you must focus your limited time on driving customers to you — by telling everyone your know that you are in the sprinkler repair business; by taking the time to write Google and Yahoo business postings so that you show up when people search for “sprinkler repair” in your geographic area. The quality of your work is important, but don’t delay starting a business in order to learn more about repairs. You will learn by doing in this business!
Insider Secret #3: Call back customers promptly. This secret may seem like a no brainer, but you will be shocked and amazed how many of your competitors — many of them focused on their big-profit installation jobs — will not even call back customers in desperate need of sprinkler repairs. It’s your job to snap up these quick repair jobs and make a profit!
Insider Secret #4: Get to know an irrigation or plumbing supply wholesaler. Do a Google search to find irrigation or plumbing supply wholesalers in your area, and then visit them. Personally meet 1 or 2 of the salespeople, and tell them that you are interested in a starting a sprinkler repair business. They will tell you the commonly used sprinkler equipment in the area, likely extend you a line of credit, and even provide training on their products. They will be indispensable to your business.
Insider Secret #5: Organize and protect your business. Your repair business must be started on solid ground. That means protecting your business and yourself personally by using a proper business organization structure such as a corporation or limited liability company (LLC) for protection. Form your business organization, then establish a bank account for your business — never commingle personal funds with cash flow from your business. Set up a bookkeeping system to keep track of your expenses and to bill your customers professionally. Always seek the professional assistance of an accountant or attorney if you need it.
Most people will not repair their own sprinkler system, even in a recession! The start-up costs are low and the profit potential is high. This makes a sprinkler repair business worth considering.
