Ok mate, i will agree with you on the front about some areas may provide more work than others...but i don't sit about on my arse waiting for the phone to ring........if i aint at work i'm calling every tradesman in my local paper (i do this EVERYTIME i aint working, and everytime i feel like a complete prat doing it) but it does get results.
I am also on the phone to ALL
tile shops regardless how far away from me they are..... i have done jobs 70 miles from where i live (just explain to the customer and put an extra bit on top of the price, if they like you they will do it)
I go to B&Q, wicks, focus, homebase and any other DIY store i come accross i give my card to every person in the
tile section and the bathroom section....oh my god it's shamefull but i have got many jobs from this one (ignor all this 'you look desperate crap that the courses tell you') just tell the people you talk to that for years you have traded as a sole tradder and your reputation is growing rapidily so now you are really trying to grow your company by promoting yourself....... everyone loves a small time person done good story, most people can't wait to give you a call to ask you to do quotes because it makes them feel good about themselves.
Cards through letter boxes goes without saying, i was doing this before i even completed my course!!
Phone up old customers just as a curtesy call to make sure everthing is ok with the work, they are so immpressed with this that the LEAST they do is tell all there mates what a great tradesman you are, and at best they say 'funny enough my neighbor was saying he might get his kitchen re-done soon i will pss your number over' bollox to that mate give me their number and i will call them.
I could go on and on and on with the things i do to make sure i'm in work, but i think you get the idea that i am very very hungry for this to work and am prepared to do whatever it takes.
BRH.... i absolutley and completely agree with you about courses, the bull**** they tell you about the 3 day week and £35k a year is bang out of order and that was the message behind my post.......if your gonna do it then you have to really go for it in order to acheive what they promote, you can't tickle the surface and expect £35k per year. my post was meant to be a slur to SOME (not all) all of them. It was not intended in anyway to upset newbies or people considering tiling as a carreer, i just think that someone needs to tell the truth that it's great if your prepared to graft and i REALLY MEAN GRAFT.if your not then you might be better off staying in your current job rather than risk your mortgage and stuff on the sales pitching of these training centres.
If any newbies wanna have a chat with me in private about about this then PM me... as you can see from BRH's post it aint just me who thinks these courses aint all they promise to be (some of them anyway)
TJ
