Top tips on how to choose your working area

How to choose your working area for maximum profit

One of the best bits about becoming your own boss is getting to choose your working/service area. Although it’s tempting to take on everything and anything that comes your way, no matter how far and wide, taking on work closer to home makes a lot of sense.

It saves money by reducing your travel costs, offers a nice work/life balance, is better for the environment, and helps you build a local reputation.

However, don’t just take our word for it. Watch the video below for advice from our successful business owners who’ve been there and done it already.

Have our superstars convinced you already? If so, sign up for further free advice and support below!

Still need a little more convincing?

Okay, we get it. It’s hard to say no when you’re in the heady throes of a new business. But keeping it local from the beginning is top-tier advice many of our tradespeople wish they’d taken on board when they first started out.

An easy way to mitigate the extra time and costs to travel outside your catchment area is to set yourself boundaries and communicate these with potential customers. For example:

• A time cap of 15 – 30 minutes for travel (each way or round trip – you decide!)
• You’ll only service homeowners within a 20-mile radius
• For trips that require travelling for over 30 minutes, a discretionary travel charge will be agreed and invoiced upon completion of works

If you do take on work further away, why not keep costs even lower and reduce the environmental impact of your fuel (hello extra selling point!) by buying or leasing an electric van?

Of course, it’s entirely up to you how you choose your working area and go about setting your limits. You’re the boss after all, so it’s your business, your rules. It also depends on whether you live in an area with a high demand for your services. (Which you totally researched before you set up your business in the first place).

Be sure to cost your business expenses and keep receipts of fuel charges to claim back on your expenses at the end of the year.

How to find local work

There are various ways to make yourself visible to your local community. Let’s take a look at the best ways to do this.

Digital Marketing

Whether it’s your website, Checkatrade profile, or your social media pages, it’s important to make your content feels local.

In your content you should mention the locations you serve. You can do this in headings, titles, call to actions, and in an area map. You could even add images that are local too. All of this helps the algorithms to push you higher up the page ranking. That means that when your customers are searching for the services you can provide in their location, you’ll show up in their search. Mention where you work in as many places as possible.

For example, if you’re an electrician who lives in Croydon, say you’re a Croydon electrician. Add a location map to your site and be sure to caption all your images on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok or LinkedIn with your location, adding it to your area tags and in your image alt-text too.

Checkatrade customer leads

Becoming a Checkatrade member also lets you choose where you work. We only send you leads for the locations/postcodes you choose, which stops you from wasting time replying to emails about jobs outside of your preferred catchment area.

You can also add where you work to your Checkatrade profile and portfolio, helping to attract customers who are more interested in working with local tradespeople.

Local job sites

Post a job on your local job boards – just use Google to search for the best ones in your area. Sections in local newspapers – real and online – often have job boards with work requests from people looking for tradespeople.

Print marketing

Ignore the rumours! Leaflets, posters, directory listings, and adverts aren’t archaic marketing tools. Read this for proof.

By making sure you’re seen in these print marketing mediums – when combined with an online campaign – you’ll maximise your local exposure! The trick is making sure your print marketing links up with your online presence, so get your digital house in order to make the most of all those paper leads.

Read our guide: Become your own boss for EVEN MORE information, and don’t forget to check out our YouTube series below!

Did you find this article on how to choose your working area helpful? If so, check out our blog for more top-tier advice!