Having spent most of his early career as a plumber, for the last few years John Holden had been handing on his expertise working as a trainer at colleges in Halton. Having identified a gap in the market and following a growing desire to get back to his roots, John decided that it was time to set up his own business as a plumber.
From the first phone call to Enterprise Hub at Wirral Chamber of Commerce, John got on really well with the team and made the most of the range of support that is on offer from this programme. His initial meeting really made him think how he would market himself, having already chosen his future business name “Plumber John”, and an idea of the customer base that he wanted. With his many years’ experience, friendly approach and, let’s be honest, a real shortage of plumbers, this does feel like the right time for John Holden to start up.
John has attended the Business Planning, and Marketing Workshops on Wirral and valued the networking aspect of these as well as the information being delivered. With additional 1:1 guidance from the Wirral Chamber of Commerce on his sales and marketing techniques, Plumber John now has a website https://www.plumberjohn.co.uk/ and an increased confidence in social media techniques which he continues to learn.
On the support received, John commented: “From the moment I contacted the Wirral team I was impressed in how proactive they were in helping me to get my business started. It was useful asking direct questions and getting answers.” He is now beginning to build his customer base in Halton, Wirral and Liverpool and he has some past students in mind that showed real promise that he would consider taking on when the workload increases sufficiently.
StartUp Wirral from Enterprise Hub is helping start-up businesses like Plumber John are given the support required to become successful companies in both Wirral and Halton. If you’re thinking of starting a business in Wirral or Halton, please contact Lisa, Paul or Warren on 0151 541 0976 to find out about the programme which is part funded by European Regional Development Fund.