How to Get Your First Jobs as a New Plumber, Electrician or Builder

Your first jobs for a new trade business usually come from people who already know you. Do not be shy about this.

• Message friends, family, neighbours and past colleagues. Say what you do and the area you cover.
• Tell your old employer or the firm you trained with. They often pass on small jobs they cannot fit in.
• Tell other trades. A plumber knows an electrician, and a builder needs both. Swapping work is common.
• Ask for one thing: "If you hear of anyone who needs a plumber, would you pass my number on?"

Keep it short and give them your phone number. See how to get more jobs from referrals for what to say.

A Google Business Profile is the best free thing a new trade can do. Google says it can show your phone number and website on Search and Maps at no cost. When someone searches for a plumber or electrician near them, local results come from Business Profiles.

Fill in every part:

• The right main category for your trade.
• Each service you offer, listed on its own.
• Your service area, if you work from home and do not want your address shown.
• Your real hours and your real phone number.
• Photos of your own work and your van. Even a few good ones help.

Google also says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking, so the profile is worth getting right the first time. Follow our guide: Google Business Profile for trade businesses.

Customers search in several places. Being listed means they can find you without you chasing them. Start with the free ones.

• Google Business Profile: free, covered above.
• Tradehand: Creating a business and being listed on Tradehand is free, there is no fee per lead, and Tradehand takes 5% of each payment taken through it, card fees included. Paid plans are optional: Paid plans from £19 a month, billed yearly. It also gives you a website, so it covers two steps in one.
• Membership directories: TrustATrader, for example, says it charges membership with no lead fees and no commission, and limits members per area. Ask what it costs for your trade and area before you join.
• Lead sites: Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Bark and others charge to introduce you to customers. They can fill an empty diary, but you pay before you know if you have the job. What each charges is in one dated cost comparison.

When you have no reviews yet, it is tempting to buy leads. If you do, set a monthly budget and write down every fee and every job won. To choose between a monthly fee, a fee per lead and a free listing, read trade job sites that don't charge per lead, and this guide shows the maths.

A new trade with five good Google reviews looks very different from one with none. Reviews are what turn a stranger's visit into a phone call.

• Ask in person when the customer is happy, then send the link the same day.
• Use the direct review link from your Business Profile so they do not have to search for you.
• Reply to every review, good or bad.

Your first jobs are the best time to do this. Do a few small jobs well, for people who will happily say so. The wording to use is in how to get more 5 star reviews.

A website does not need to be fancy. It needs your trade, the areas you cover, photos of your own work, your reviews and a phone number that rings through to you.

It gives customers somewhere to check you out before they call, and it gives you an address that belongs to you. Tradehand builds one for you when you list a business. You can also build one yourself. Either way, make sure it names your town and your trade in plain words, as in "Boiler repairs in Reading".

To get it found, follow how to get found on Google as a trade business.

Local Facebook and community groups, residents' pages and neighbourhood apps are full of people asking "can anyone recommend a plumber?" You can reply. A few rules help:

• Read the group rules first. Some ban trade adverts or only allow them on set days.
• Answer questions properly before you ever mention your name. A real tip does more than an advert.
• Reply fast when someone asks for a recommendation, and be honest about when you can start.
• Never badmouth another trade. Locals notice.

This is slow work. Done steadily over a few months, it builds a name in your area, and people tag you when a neighbour asks.

A new trade loses more work to missed calls than to high prices. You are up a ladder, the phone rings, it goes to voicemail and the customer rings the next name.

• Call back within the hour, even if only to say when you can talk properly.
• Put your hours and a message on your voicemail.
• Reply to texts and messages the same day.
• Send the quote quickly. Customers often ask several trades, so a fast price keeps you in the running.

Tradehand's assistant can answer calls and messages for you when you are on a job, in your own name. Our guide: stopping missed customer calls.

Then keep going. Reviews, referrals and repeat customers add up, and each one makes the next job easier to win.