If you want to start a new pipe repair business, you’ll want to start with the basics. The initial steps, aside from your training, which you’ll need to determine based on your state or province, is to incorporate your business. You can go through an attorney to incorporate, but there are plenty of online options.

LegalZoom and the like will be able to help you incorporate your business quickly.

Why incorporate instead of running as a sole proprietorship?

• You legitimize your business.
• You limit your own personal liability.
• You can easily transfer ownership.
• You can issue then begin to issue stock in the business.

Let’s assume you repair someones’s pipe, but you make an error. If the pipe bursts and floods the home, you’ll be personally held liable for the damage that occurs. But if you have incorporated or started an LLC, the business is liable for the damages.

General liability insurance will cover the damage, and this is the second thing you’ll want to do. Obtain all of your:

• Required licensing
• Required insurance
• Required certifications

You’ll also want to consider writing a business plan – especially if you need financing. A business plan will outline everything from your target market and marketing plan, industry needs, potential growth and financing needs. It’s important to create a business plan because it shows you’ve done all of your research before starting the business. This plan can be viewed as a blueprint for your business to follow.

Purchase Pipe Repair Equipment

You’ll be acquiring tools often as a business owner. New equipment and technology will often dictate when these purchases are needed. Traditionally, there will be plumbing equipment that you’ll need to acquire for:

• Pinhole leaks
• Clogs
• Deterioration
• Cracked pipes

Most repair services will have calls for these types of repairs from the day that they open up for business. From the start, there will be plenty that essentials needed:

• Cable pulling units
• Hydraulic power sources
• Bursting heads
• Fusion equipment
• A mixture of replacement piping
• Expander heads
• Pulling rods
• Retaining device
• Tools

You’ll find a lot of tools are needed, and you’ll also want to outfit your company van with a variety of different pipes, plumbing supplies and sealants that can help stop small leaks. These tools and supplies are a good start to opening your business, but as it grows, you may need to buy additional equipment. For instance, perhaps you’ll expand into sewer repair, and this will require a lot of advanced equipment that the normal pipe repair business doesn’t need. Acquiring tools over time, as needed for a new job, allows you to start accumulating an array of tools that will be able to handle jobs of all types and sizes.

Final Steps

Once you’re confident with all of the tools that you have, it’s time to start marketing your business. The most common way to gain initial clients is to use your network, including friends and family, to spread the word about your business. You’ll also want to promote via social media and the local paper to let the world know that your pipe repair business exists.