First year wrapping up

Currently wrapping up my first year, if you want to call it that. Much was learned finally getting hands on and seeing things first hand.

Because of Covid I did not start up until the end of August. When I finally felt confortable spending $$ (was out of work from April-End of June) it was very late in the season. By the time I finished my trailer it was August, then insurance and other miscellaneous stuff to tie up before chasing clients.

Even with the late start I was able to earn enough to cover 1/5th of my start up expenses. I know it does not sound like much but with starting very late I’m happy. I’m prepared to hit the ground running in the spring.

How was your first year?
(Mine was good, again I learned a lot. Wish I had more time, many things I would like to continue practicing and tweaking)

What did you learn that will help you out the most next year?
(The importance of giving clients clear expectations of the job. Following up and being consistent.)

What was your biggest success?
(Landing my first customer not using Home Advisor. I do not reccomend using HA to anyone. Leads are expensive, spend $$ on marketing material and start going house to house instead)

What was your biggest failure?
(Not getting more information on clients with wells. My first client was on a well and by the time I was finishing up I had to keep waiting for my buffer tank to fill because their pressure and flow was so low. I would have shown up with a full tank and only completed 1/2 then waiting and allowing the pump to rest before finishing the second half.)

What did you do to market your company?
(Facebook, Nextdoor, Home Advisor. Website coming next season, working on it over the winter. Door hangers and yard signs next season as well.)

What do you wish you would have done different? (Been more aggresive and got started at the beginning of the summer.)

Feel free to talk about what ever you want, I just threw in some quoestions to try to break the ice and get good conversation flowing. I think new contractors can learn a lot from each other to help us get a stronger start next year.

Hope everyone had a great year so far.

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What was your start up costs?