Have you been thinking about running your own business for a while? Maybe you're contracting and looking to grow, or maybe you're just sick of your boss. Whatever your reason for learning how to start an oil & gas engineer business, the first step is to get prepared.
Short on time? Skip ahead:
- Setting goals for your gas business
- A gas business plan
- Training and qualifications
- Finances for your gas business
- Marketing your gas business
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Learn from others in the industry
- Build your business
You'll always be in demand
The demand for gas engineers is always high. While there might be ups and downs in different local economies, the fact is that a global shortage of oil & gas workers means now is the perfect time to start a gas business.
Need a hand coming up with a name for your electrical business?
Try our Gas Business Name Generator!
The path to business ownership isn’t ever easy. You need to be prepared to put in the hard work, but it can be worth it. So if you’re ready to go solo, this guide is for you. We’ve covered everything you need to know about turning your existing oil & gas skills into a successful business.
1. Setting goals for your gas business
First, ask yourself this question: Why do you want to start your own oil & gas business?
- Do you want to grow your income?
- Do you want to work flexible hours and free up more time?
- Do you want to build an empire?
You need to be clear on your reason for starting a gas business because that’s the foundation on which it will be built. Once you’ve got your goals and objectives clear in your mind, it’s time to start thinking about the practical stuff.
Registering your oil & gas business
Time to make it official — the next step is to register your business. Read the points below for information on registering a business in your region. When deciding on your business structure, think about your goals for the future. Are you looking to grow, or fly solo forever?
- 🇺🇸 USA - you can apply for a sole proprietorship or form an LLC.
- 🇬🇧 UK - most people register as sole traders or limited companies.
- 🇦🇺 AU - you’ll need to apply for an Australian Business Number (ABN).
- 🇳🇿 NZ - you’ll register as either a sole trader (Ministry of Business) or a company (NZ Companies Register).
2. A gas business plan
Don’t expect to get your oil & gas business to lift off without a business plan. Yes, it takes a little time, but it’s time well spent. That’s because a comprehensive plan gives your new business structure, purpose, and a clear-cut strategy.
Read our guide to writing a proper business plan.
Your oil & gas business plan should include:
- Financial projections
- Growth opportunities
- Marketing strategies
- Financing
- Short/long-term goals
To make things easier, we've put together a business plan template!
3. Training and qualifications for gas
People don't hire unqualified gas engineers. Of course, you know this and likely have the necessary training, but it's important to consider what qualifications you already have and any you might like to get in the future. The minimum requirements are essential to starting a gas business while upskilling with further training is beneficial as you become more established.
Gaining further qualifications means you may be able to offer more services and ultimately make more money. When potential customers check you out online, credentials help build trust. Promoting your qualifications upfront will help you win more work.
It's also good for gas business owners to stay up-to-date with qualification requirements in case they bring on an employee or apprentice. Programmes vary not just from country to country, but also between states, regions and provinces. The links below should help you get started:
- 🇺🇸 USA - Gas qualifications
- 🇬🇧 UK - Gas qualifications
- 🇦🇺 AU - Gas qualifications
- 🇳🇿 NZ - Gas qualifications
4. Finances for your gas business
Starting a business doesn’t come cheap, and will almost always require an initial outlay of cash. As an independent gasfitter, your major costs will likely be investing in a vehicle and equipment. The scope of these will vary depending on what sort of market you intend to service.
You've got two options here:
- Fund your own venture
- Find cash from a third-party
Unless you have enough cash on hand to launch your business, you’ll need to approach your bank or other lenders about a small business loan. Almost all major banks have small business departments, and they provide a range of financial options:
- Business accounts
- Credit cards
- Small business loans
They often have small business experts who’ll guide you through the process and be available on an ongoing basis to give you advice and guidance when needed. Just make sure you take your well-thought-out business plan with you, because no bank is going to lend you a cent if you can’t show them you’ve got a plan.
Government loan schemes
Your local government might also have financial schemes set up to help new businesses. Find out for yourself by following these links:
- 🇺🇸 USA - SBA provides limited grant funding to eligible businesses.
- 🇬🇧 UK - Start-up loans are available to start or grow your business.
- 🇦🇺 AU - Check if you’re eligible for a variety of grants that vary between states.
- 🇳🇿 NZ - Government grants, advice, and mentoring are available, depending on your business type.
Angel investors
If the above isn't helpful, there may be other options when it comes to finance. Sometimes that might be family – and often that means no interest to worry about. But there are angel investors out there too — successful entrepreneurs in search of investment opportunities with promising businesses.
They’re looking for a piece of the action, but they also have their own investment criteria and expectations. Angel investors provide capital for new businesses and startups. They often receive convertible debt in return, or a percentage of ownership. They are often more willing to provide money than traditional lenders.
- 🇺🇸 USA - Angel Investment Network
- 🇬🇧 UK - Angel Investment Network
- 🇦🇺 AU - Angel Investors
- 🇳🇿 NZ - Angel Association
Purchasing oil & gas equipment
Unless you already have your own equipment, an initial investment in tools and materials is going to be your biggest cost. While the administrative costs of setting up a business are fairly low, you’ll definitely need to invest in a set of wheels if you don't have some already.
Typically, gas engineers need a van or ute that can house all of their equipment and tools. It’s a mobile business, and you want to have everything you need on hand as you travel around your customers’ sites. There are some great financing options out there, so you won’t necessarily need a huge stash of cash to drive away in a new van. You can even claim tax back on the purchase!
- 🇺🇸 USA - Business tax write-offs
- 🇬🇧 UK - Expense claims for UK contractors
- 🇦🇺 AU - Expense claims for Aussie tradies
- 🇳🇿 NZ - Expense claims for NZ tradies
Equipment costs will also vary significantly, depending on your needs and preferences. This isn’t generally the best place to cut costs, as cheap tools are unreliable, and will deteriorate much faster than better quality counterparts.
Did you know? Tradify offers digital oil & gas safety certificates to help eliminate paperwork!
Oil & gas stock
- Fittings
- Pipes
- Valves
- Tape
- Jointing compound
Gas engineering tools
- Spanners
- Screwdrivers
- Small hammer
- Pliers
- Saws
- Pipe cutters
- Power tools
- Diagnostic equipment
Costing up your initial outlay can be daunting, but remember that both your vehicle and your equipment are assets, not liabilities. All can be resold if necessary, or added to the total value of your business if you decide to source capital-based loans or funding.
We've created a handy Cash Flow Forecast Template & Guide to help you forecast your business's cash flow and keep all your jobs on track.
Accounting and taxes
Have you thought about how you're going to stay on top of financial admin? Will you hire an accountant, purchase accounting software, or both?
For an all-in-one fix that’ll cover your day-to-day quoting, scheduling, and invoicing processes into one streamlined system, Tradify is a must-have tool. Take control of your gas business with intelligent, trade-specific features designed to keep your business in top gear.
To make things even easier, Tradify also integrates with your favourite accounting software:
As a small business, the last thing you want to do is get on the wrong side of the tax man. Guaranteed, he will come knocking eventually. When he does, you could get hit with hefty back payments, interest rates, or fines that could cripple your venture. Avoid this by playing by the rules from the word go. Find an accountant, and cash in on big-time savings in the form of both time and money.
Find out if you need an accountant.
Government regulation
The other annoying thing you can’t afford to ignore are government regulations. They can be a chore, but if you’re not compliant it could cost your business big time. Make sure you get it right from the start:
- 🇬🇧 USA - Gas regulations
- 🇬🇧 UK - Gas rules and regulations
- 🇦🇺 AU - Gas regulations
- 🇳🇿 NZ - Gas legislation & regulation
Insurance
You’ll need insurance for your vehicle and equipment, as well as other essentials like general liability insurance. Depending on your priorities, you may also want to take out other policies like worker’s compensation, a general business owner’s policy and income protection insurance.
If you’ve got your very own small business expert at your bank, the package they set you up with will probably include insurance. But if it doesn’t, you’ll need to do your homework to find a reputable provider of business insurance.
Read our article on business insurance for tradespeople.
Learn more about keeping your tools safe.
5. Marketing your oil & gas business
It’s unlikely you will be the only oil & gas business in town. Scoping out the competition is not a sneaky task to keep on the down-low, it’s an important step you shouldn’t skip. It’s essential that you find out about their strengths and weaknesses, or else how will you know how to beat them? Have a look at their websites and see what they're about. The goal here is to find something that will help your business stand out.
Remember, there’s a big difference between imitation and inspiration. Hone in on a concept or idea that you love and find a way to make it your own.
How much should you charge for your labour/time?
Pricing up your service can be difficult, and the trick is to strike a balance between quality and quantity. Yes, there are clients out there that will always opt for the cheapest gasfitter, but competing on price isn’t always the best business model. Low prices will attract clients who want everything for nothing, while high prices may attract clients with high standards. Think about what you plan on delivering, and price your service accordingly.
To help you with this, we’ve developed a Charge-Out Rate Calculator that makes crunching the numbers super easy.
Growth opportunities
As a small business, you’re going to want to put yourself on track for growth. Especially if one of your goals is to get a cracker-jack workforce in place so that you can get off the tools. So how can you get there?
Do your homework about what the economic outlook for oil & gas businesses in your area might look like. For example, setting up a business in an up-and-coming neighbourhood or a new suburb will likely translate into increased demand a few years down the line.
To start with, at least consider:
- Building a website
- Google Business
- Photography
- Reviews
- Social media platforms:
- Listing with local business directories:
Where is your oil & gas business going to operate?
The nature of an oil & gas business means you’re mobile. When setting up your business, think about what areas you’d like to service, and how you can take a geographical approach to optimising business. For example, if you live in an area that’s saturated with gasfitters, but an hour away there’s hot demand, it could be worth the time and petrol to include that area. The trip will pay for itself with lots of new customers.
You can also factor pricing into the mix. If the market for low-cost suppliers in your local area is saturated, try opting for a higher price point, and ‘boutique’ service.
Finding your competitive advantage
You’re probably not going to be the only gasfitter providing a service in your local area. That’s why it’s important to differentiate yourself from other tradespeople. It's known as a competitive advantage.
A competitive advantage is what you do better than anyone else. The smarter you can be about developing and promoting your competitive advantage, the better placed your business will be to succeed.
- Do you specialise in a particular area? You might want to build a reputation for dealing with difficulties other gasfitters shy away from.
- What kind of guarantees can you offer?
- Is there a tech solution you could harness, something that no one else is using?
Whatever it is that sets you apart from everyone else — own it. It’s what will make you stick in people’s minds and help you win more work.
Get ready for launch
Now you’ve got all your tools and equipment ready to go, your business plan is looking robust and shiny, and that new work vehicle is itching to get out on the road. So what’s next?
Start by testing your plan, and working your way towards a business model that works for you. Go lean with your approach, and remember to spend less time planning and more time doing. This will allow you to test ideas quickly, build on your success, and learn from your failures.
Scoring new clients
When launching a new gas business, no network is quite as valuable as your family and friends. Pretty much all households need oil or gas work at some point, so make your inner circle your first point of call. Once you’ve got a bit of a following you can start to build clients via other channels. Word of mouth is invaluable, as are marketing channels like social media.
Check out our Marketing Plan for Oil & Gas Businesses that offers practical advice to building up your customer base, including examples of what other trades businesses are doing to generate more work.
Marketing channels for oil & gas engineers
6. Know your strengths and weaknesses
It’s important to be realistic and honest with yourself here. If you know that admin isn’t one of your strengths, look for tools that can help. In this day and age, there is technology and apps developed for every trade business. Make sure you check out the gas software available to help save you time and make your business more efficient.
If you’ve got the gift of the gab, make the most of it when you’re dealing with customers. Gasfitters sometimes need to solve problems customers might be embarrassed about (blocked toilet anyone?) so use your gift to put them at ease.
Whatever your strengths, work them to your advantage. Then identify weak points, and take steps to work on improving your own skills, or simply outsourcing to experts. We’re talking specialist processes like accounting and web development.
SWOT analysis
Finding it difficult to figure out where you smash it and where you crash it? Running a SWOT analysis is a great way to not only understand your strengths (S) and weaknesses (W), but also identify opportunities (O), and anticipate threats (T).
What is a SWOT analysis?
Usually, strengths and weaknesses are internal aspects of your business (what you’re good at, what you’re not so good at). At the same time, opportunities and threats are external forces (what is likely to impact on your business in a negative or positive way).
- Strengths – top strengths or benefits of your business, and how you can protect and enhance them.
- Weaknesses – your top weaknesses or issues, and how you can minimise them or do better.
- Opportunities – top opportunities for your business and how you can access and take advantage of them.
- Threats – your top threats, and how you can minimise them and do better.
Use this basic template to write them down – this will help crystallise your thoughts:
7. Learn from others in the industry
Hot tip: Join an industry association! Check out our list of the best gas industry associations!
Podcasts are a great way to listen and learn while driving to and from jobs. Tradify's own podcast is made specifically for tradespeople looking to start or grow their business. Most phones have built-in apps for podcasts, or you can try Spotify.
With 29 million podcast episodes available across all the different platforms, you’ll be sure to find something worth listening to. And, because it’s a growing medium for content, you won’t have to put up with too many ads.
Behind the Tools with Tradify
Tradify's Behind the Tools podcast is an inside look at trade businesses from all over the world. Each episode we bring on a guest to answer the real questions you have about life in the trades, running a business, and how to overcome the challenges that come with being a tradesperson.
You can watch the videos on YouTube or listen to our podcast on your favourite platform:
We asked one of our own clients about the most critical aspect of starting and growing a business. Here’s some advice to keep front of mind at all times:
“Stay honest and stay loyal with your customers. That way, you’ll always have repeat business and that’s a key goal ... If you’re dodgy and ripping people off, it will come back to bite you. If you charge fair and always do a great job, they’ll keep coming back and they’ll tell others about you. Repeat business – that’s the goal.”Tom - PipeFix
8. It’s time to build your business
For most tradespeople, running a business or working as a self-employed contractor is a tried and true way to live a better life. You’re calling the shots – the hours you work, what jobs you take on, how much you charge. It means spending more time with the family and doing the things you love. And while it’s not always about the money, making more money is a welcome side-effect of going out on your own.
Building a business from scratch isn’t a walk in the park. There’s a lot to consider, but just as you would tackle a new building project, a strategic, step-by-step approach will see your business up and running in no time.
Work your way through this guide and be sure to get your business plan sorted. Keep your goals and objectives in mind and continually hone your competitive advantage so that your reputation grows. Start right by setting yourself up with gas job management software that will scale with your business. It’ll pay off as your business grows and you begin to hire staff.
Already looking at hiring? Download our Gas Engineer Interview Question Template!
Bookmark this guide, keep your business plan on hand, and refer back to them regularly. They’ll help you take a strategic, step-by-step approach to starting and running your gas business. Keep your goals and objectives in mind, and continually hone your competitive advantage so that your reputation grows.
If you're looking for gas software to run your business try Tradify for free!
Download our free Gas Business Plan Template to help you get started!
