How to start your own renovation business. detailed instructions

The construction business has been and remains one of the most profitable. No matter how expensive the land on which the new house is to grow, and no matter how much inflation increases, it will still be profitable for you to build and sell apartment buildings. Naturally, the business of finishing and repairing apartments is also considered one of the most profitable. It was, is and will certainly be as long as our civilization exists at all.

A business that is not a hindrance to competition

Experts in this field are sure that as long as housing is being built, sold or exchanged, repair and finishing companies will be insanely profitable. Just think about how inexhaustible this market is.

After all, in addition to the newfangled trend to rent new apartments for self-finishing, there are thousands of apartments related to secondary housing, which at least once every 7 years need at least “cosmetics”.

At the same time, only a few owners decide to glue the wallpaper and re-lay the linoleum on their own. The lion's share of Russians prefers to seek help from a specialized company. Thus, the business of finishing and repairing apartments is always relevant. There is enough work for everyone, even despite the high level of competition.

How is it smeared with honey? Why do many seek to open an apartment renovation company?

Let's see what is so attractive about this line of business? Firstly, the fact that it is customary to make all payments here in cash, and secondly, you can not pay taxes, since the tax authorities simply do not have any way to realistically assess the amount of work performed.

Thus, there are many loopholes in order to hide the true income. In no way are we encouraging you to do this. Taxes must be paid. They are not so great, but the consequences of hiding can cause a very tangible blow to the pocket and ruin the company's image.

And yet, many negligent companies operate in this market using "gray" schemes. Sometimes some organizations, having all the necessary permits, still carry out their activities as if "the old fashioned way", that is, without proper ordering.

So that finances do not sing romances

The second positive point is the relatively low threshold for entering this field of activity. At the first stage, you can get by with as little as $10,000. This money will be distributed to the following needs:

• about $ 3,000 for paperwork and obtaining a license,
• for the purchase of a professional tool for repair and decoration - $ 5,000.
• to buy a used car - about $ 2,000.

As you can see, the investment is really small. The main expenses are related to the need to open an apartment finishing company and buy a tool to perform the work. It is not necessary to have an office in the center of the capital with pathos flags and long-legged secretaries. At first, you can do without renting a room at all.

The most important thing for you is to recruit a staff of good specialists and solve the problem of how to find a client for apartment renovation. Olyt shows that almost all customers (to be precise, 80%) apply for services based on recommendations. Therefore, we advise you to focus on the selection of excellent personnel and really high-quality performance of all work. Only in this case, you can dream of luxurious offices and multimillion-dollar earnings.

What services are provided?

Clients, as a rule, turn to order economy-class repairs (with a claim to luxury, but performed with inexpensive materials), cosmetic repairs (wallpapering, painting, and so on) and luxury (here the customer's imagination is not limited by anything).

The latter type of work is considered one of the highest quality and most expensive. It can cost from about $ 100-150 per square meter. As part of this repair, the walls are leveled. They are coated with several layers of a special material and then sanded to perfect surfaces.

On the ceiling, two- and three-tier structures made of gypsum plasterboard with an ornate shape and a dazzling brilliance of spotlights can be arranged. Needless to say, only the best European materials are used in the work?

What if it's cheaper??

The level below is repairing the economy class. It requires significantly less financial and time costs. Such repairs can cost about $ 80 per 1 sq. m. Due to what can reduce the price? First of all, due to the lower labor intensity of all operations.

So, for example, not the entire wall can be leveled, but only part of it (20 centimeters above and below), this creates an illusory appearance of regular geometry. Finally, cosmetic work is considered the cheapest. They are valued at no more than $40 per sq. m. The maximum that is done by a construction and finishing company is the removal of the old wallpaper, the gluing of new ones, the whitewashing of the ceiling and, if necessary, the complete or partial replacement of tiles.

Now about the timing and profitability

In order to make a high-quality and complete renovation of the luxury level in an apartment with three rooms, it takes about three months. But this is provided that the company will have the necessary staff of highly qualified employees who will do everything in good faith and quickly. In practice, these works can take up to six months.

And the point here is not only that specialists may not be of the same level as previously stated, but in the features of the technological process. Some operations are performed in strict sequence one after another and with certain temporary pauses, which allow the materials to dry properly and get stronger. In order for everything to go smoothly, the company draws up a business plan for the repair of an apartment, which is then agreed with the client and approved.

• Definition of target audience
• Customize ads
• Get targeted subscribers
• Get Applications

The company "Chestny Remont" is engaged in the complete and partial decoration of apartments in St. Petersburg. They also help with free acceptance of apartments in new buildings. Before that, advertising campaigns had already been carried out on Vkontakte, but they did not bring results and they decided to contact me in order to attract apartment renovation customers from this social network.

Before you start, you need to prepare a landing page (in this case, a group) for traffic. First of all, he asked the customer to change the cover and fill the group with unique content. They began to use posts with colorful photos, polls and picked up hashtags.

A sales funnel is an analytics tool that allows you to understand how your potential customer comes to a decision to purchase your product or service.

When working on this project, I decided to use 3 sales funnels:

After talking with the customer, I identified the following audience segments in the mindmap:

I collect bases on:

• Competitors
• Residential complexes
• Friends of competitor employees
• Interest categories

Besides:

• I analyze popular posts in the subject to understand which images in ads are most likely to hit.
• I am assembling the core in order to better understand the target audience: demographic data, in which groups. Most often, girls from 20 to 45 years old are interested in repairs. They are also in 2-3 groups about interior design and beautiful finishes.

To test the ad, pictures from the Internet or photos provided by the customer are used. I also test calls to action. For example: "Go and join / Go and fill in / Join and get a discount." The result is 20-30 posts with various pictures and appeals. I choose hot bases for the test, collected by competitors and Residential Complexes .. I unscrew and see which posts have the highest CTR, conversion to subscription and the ratio of positive to negative.

Sample advertisement for apartment renovation VKontakte

In the course of the work, a number of “unsuitable” ads for advertising were revealed:

Failed promos

1. Audiences that performed well in this niche: residential complexes and competitors.

They consistently bring applications for 100-300 rubles, which makes me and my customer very happy.

2. You need to work out the content of the group.

At the beginning of work, a subscription to a group (for a hot audience) cost 50 rubles! That's a lot, isn't it? Therefore, it was decided to completely change the content plan in the group, and as a result, the price dropped to 20 rubles per subscriber.

3. Design.

The design should inspire confidence and look decent among competitors who have terrible design.

4. Repair after a few months.

This niche is not the fastest in making a profit, but this is its plus. Constantly warming up subscribers with the help of content, we show them our professionalism and the fact that we can be entrusted with repairs in their apartment. And if, on an ongoing basis, you bring orders to the customer for 100-300 rubles (and even less), then this will be considered an excellent basis for long-term cooperation.

Now you know where to take clients for apartment renovation and how to write an ad in order to find a lot of clients. You can once again look at the text of the ads in the samples from my case and, based on it, create your own selling text for advertising apartment renovation. If something is not clear, be sure to write in the comments.

Nowadays, many construction professionals are increasingly opening their own business. This way of earning has certain advantages. The presence of healthy competition is a good incentive to improve the quality of the work done. In addition, you can set your own price. However, this activity also includes a constant search for orders. And here the usual methods of popularization do not always work.

About search tricks

In the construction business, word of mouth creates the best advertising. If the team has successfully completed its work, then satisfied customers will begin to recommend it to all their friends and relatives. Moreover, the same neighbors, looking at the current renovation process, decide to update their housing with the help of a team that works nearby. Therefore, when fulfilling an order, you need to try to get along not only with the owners, but also with their neighbors.

Also, very good results were shown by a method involving the distribution of flyers and business cards. The easiest way, of course, is to negotiate with the sellers of hardware stores and leave them flyers with business cards. All this is done naturally for a monetary reward. So many people will be able to find out about your team, and advertising costs will be minimal. Aspiring construction entrepreneurs can also distribute leaflets themselves.
The construction industry still has the old methods of finding customers and orders. We are talking, of course, about ads in newspapers and next to the entrances of residential buildings. Many people believe that if an ad is posted at their entrance, then its author lives somewhere nearby. This means that it will be much easier to contact him. This approach to finding clients is convenient to apply in those areas that are a priority for you. Note that ads in newspapers work less often, but still work.

Many builders have a large circle of acquaintances by the nature of their work. Note that it is very useful to know who your competitors are, whether they can become your partners. There are several reasons for this, and the search for orders is just one of them. Often, customers ask to recommend someone to carry out a certain type of construction work that is not included in the price list of their performers. And here they just remember old acquaintances. There are situations when you can simply outbid an order from competitors who, for certain reasons, cannot undertake its implementation.

Search for orders via the Internet

It would be foolish not to try to promote your services on the Internet. There are two ways to search for orders for construction teams in this field.

1) Publication of ads on thematic sites and forums. It is important to choose only those resources that are popular. You can limit yourself to submitting the same ad. But if this is not enough for you, then you can create your own section in which you will communicate with potential clients, give advice, collect applications, and gain authority.

2) Creating your own website. The second option for finding customers will give solidity to any team. A potential client will see that you take the matter seriously. But it’s not enough just to create a website. It needs to be unrolled. The content of the site must be constantly updated and promptly respond to all feedback and requests.

Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. You can choose the one that suits you the most.

Search for orders during the period of stagnation

Searching for orders in a crisis is always more difficult. An activity that has a construction profile differs from other types of entrepreneurship in that it has periods of stagnation and activity. It often has to do with the seasons. For example, in winter, building or overhauling a house is simply unrealistic. Moreover, if we are talking about a company, then you will have to pay a salary to all its members, regardless of whether orders are received or not. The same applies to state taxes. There are several ways to find customers during a period of stagnation.

1) Active search. This method implies the presence of an employee who will actively look for customers. It is desirable that it be a person with experience and relevant skills. He must regularly monitor the thematic press, collect information about tenders. In addition, he must collect useful contacts, send out commercial offers by e-mail, and so on. Such standard activities can attract long-awaited customers.

2) Visiting construction sites. If you plan to engage in construction at a high level, then be sure to walk through the large construction projects that are available in your city. Talk to customers. It is possible that they will be interested in your offers and will use your services next time. In addition, this is a good opportunity to lure customers from those performers who do not cope with their duties.

3) Major connections. In this case, you should establish contact with large construction companies and contractors. Do not be afraid to ask what current projects they have, whether they agree to cooperate with you. At a minimum, you will find yourself in the contact database of a serious company. As a maximum, get long-term access to large orders.

4) When attracting customers, one should not forget about the passive promotion of their services. In other words, you place an advertisement, earn a reputation for yourself, participate in various exhibitions. And that's it, new customers will find you. This approach works great if you have been in the construction business for quite some time, have a good reputation and a solid client base.

But ideally, it would be best to combine passive and active types of search.

Search for orders at the initial stage of development

As a rule, the construction industry is divided between large entrepreneurs. But this does not mean that the newcomer in this case has no chance at all. Its key task is to find reliable clients in the construction industry.

1) The first thing to do is to create a catalog of finished works. It will be your main resource. With it, potential customers will be able to verify the quality of your orders.

2) Creating your own website. You can create a business card site. It is desirable that it be professional. It will give a complete picture of what you do, what is the specifics of your activity, and what level are your design skills. On such a site, you can post samples of your work, specify prices, create a review book, and provide contact information. You can promote your site with contextual advertisements. The use of SEO will also help.

3) Establishing contacts. Try to establish contact with manufacturers of materials for construction and decoration. Everything is very simple here. The manufacturer advises your team to all his customers as competent performers. In return, he receives a small percentage of every order you receive. And you, in turn, will send your customers to partner stores to purchase materials for construction, repair and decoration.

4) Placement of announcements in thematic editions. These can be magazines or newspapers that talk about interior design and building materials. Be sure to design a module that will be remembered. Add a link to your online portfolio of your work.

5) Establishing contacts with large construction holdings. Quite often, large companies prefer to transfer some construction projects to smaller firms. In this case, you will have to give part of the cash profit to the main contractor. But in return, you can get a solid customer base.

6) If there is a union of builders in your area, be sure to join it. This is also a good opportunity to make useful business connections, get new customers and create partnerships with entrepreneurs who are engaged in a similar kind of activity.
The main goal of the novice construction team is to achieve the highest level of work. Clients must be happy with you. This is important because most people look for construction crews through people they know. Recommendations from satisfied customers sometimes work better than any advertisement.

Useful Ways to Advertise

In addition to the usual methods, there are several other ways to attract customers.

1) Placement of thematic articles in magazines - print and online publications. Tell us in the article about the methods of your work, about what needs and needs of customers you can satisfy.

2) Radio advertising. This method will allow you to expand the base of customers who often listen to radio broadcasts. Create a short video in which, in a few words, tell about your activities, as well as provide contact information.

3) Telephone and subject reference books of electronic format. With their help, you can find potential customers.

4) Exhibitions. This does not mean participation in the exhibition itself. You can just come as a visitor. So you can make contact with the people you need for free.

Video. We choose a team of builders and a designer for the construction or renovation of a house

When looking for a suitable business idea, first of all, you need to consider those industries that have high margins and low start-up costs.

The ideal business is also characterized by the fact that it generates income from the first day of operation.

The home improvement industry fits all of these criteria, especially if you have the right skills and experience. So how do you start an apartment renovation business?

What will be required?

• Instruments . To start a construction business, you first need equipment. Professional tools are not cheap and will cost you from 100 thousand rubles. To save money, you can rent expensive construction tools.
• Automobile . A van is best for you, but if you have your own car, you can also use it. It is almost impossible to deliver heavy tools and building materials without a car, so if you do not have your own car, then you should either buy it on credit or rent it.
• Room. There is no need for you to rent a space, which greatly reduces the cost of starting your business compared to other business ideas. Your office can be located at your home, and the tools are stored in the garage.
• State . For a small repair company, a team of two or three people is enough. But at the initial stage, you can quite manage on your own, if you do not take large objects.
• Registration and taxes. You need to register as a sole trader. A license is not required for interior finishing work. You can do bookkeeping yourself, but it is best to give this part of the work to a specialist. The price of accounting services starts from 1000 rubles per month.

Thus, the start-up and monthly costs of running this business are quite low. You may well try your hand at this business without the risk of losing a lot of money.

How to study the level of competition?

In the case of the construction business, you do not need to conduct any in-depth market analysis. It will be enough to check only the level of competition and average prices for work.

If apartment renovations need to be booked weeks or even months in advance, and business owners don't want to negotiate lower renovation costs, this is a good signal that the market is low-competitive.

If companies are highly competitive for work and are ready for significant price cuts, this may mean that the market is already saturated and it will be difficult to find customers.

Even before the first investment in your business, you can submit an ad in which you describe the scope of work and the approximate cost of services. Depending on how many calls there will be, you will be able to estimate your chances of getting the first orders.

How to find clients?

In order to get the first clients for a novice entrepreneur, there are several ways:

• Advertising in local newspapers. Newspaper ads are a good and fairly inexpensive way to get orders. But you have to be prepared for a lot of calls from people who will not order anything, but just sound the water and compare prices.
• Internet ads. Today, more and more people use the Internet in order to find performers for various jobs. You can advertise for free or for a minimal fee on bulletin board sites and city forums.
• Advertising in the hallways. You can print flyers with a list of your services on your home printer and distribute them to houses in your area. Many entrances have bulletin boards where you can also place your advertisement.
• Collaboration with a designer. If you have a familiar interior designer, you can agree on cooperation with him. Many people who order design for their apartments ask for advice from a good specialist.
• Your site. A business card site is a great way to offer your services to a wide range of people. On the site you need to place a complete list of your services, prices and contact information. It will be useful if you make a feedback form on the site so that customers can write to you. Be sure to create a section on the site with examples of your work. Also, the site should have an opportunity for customers to leave their reviews about your company and recommend it to others.
• contextual advertising. If you have your own website, you can find customers using Yandex Direct or Google Adwords contextual advertising. To do this, you will need to register with the relevant service and submit your ad. You are paid for each transition to your site from a click on an advertisement.

As you can see, organizing your own small business in the construction and repair industry is not difficult at all, and anyone who has professional skills and experience can do it.