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How to succeed as a self-employed trader...

10 May 2024

How to succeed as a self-employed trader in the marine industry

By Paul Knox-Johnston Sales & Marketing Manager

A worker in a safety vest and helmet inspects a boat placed on a stand inside a warehouse with containers in the background.

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Thriving as a Marine Trader

Self-employment is the dream of many marine industry professionals and can be immensely satisfying if the correct groundwork and preparations are carried out.

Some individuals ease into self-employment while maintaining a ‘day job’ as they test the waters, while others will take the plunge and decide they want to work solely for themselves. Whatever the circumstances, having the right skills, experience, and attitude is essential to being successful as a self-employed trader in the marine industry.

Do your research

Researching and understanding the market you want to target is a priority. If you’re self-employed in the marine industry, you will almost certainly need to sell either your services or products as you won’t succeed unless your customers are buying. It’s crucial therefore, as a self-employed trader in the marine industry, that you understand who your clients and customers are and what their needs are. Questions to ask include: is there a gap in the market for your business or are there competitors? What will your unique selling point (USP) be?

Depending on your budget, you can pay a company to carry out a market analysis or you can carry out initial research yourself or with help from friends and family. Define the key features of your target market such as age range, gender and income, together with the size and location of your potential customer base.

It’s also worthwhile carrying out research into how much any potential customers are willing to pay for your product or service, so you can set your pricing accordingly. If you start out too low with your price, it will be hard to increase it and may breed resentment from your customer base. If you start out too high, you won’t get any interest. If in doubt, make use of a clearly advertised opening discount or offer when you start out, which will let you increase your prices back to full price without upsetting too many customers.

The competition

After carrying out initial market research the next step to succeeding as a self-employed trader in the marine industry is to find out as much information about any competition such as their strengths and weaknesses and the price they are charging for their goods or services. Ask yourself what sets you apart from your competitors? What can you do to make yourself stand out from the crowd?

A business plan

Writing a business plan will give you a clearer idea of the strengths and weaknesses of your idea and any opportunities and foreseeable changes. The plan should take into consideration any potential costs involved such as start-up costs, cost of premises and marketing. The business plan will also help you to set goals to ensure you will succeed as a self-employed trader in the marine industry.

Once you are set up as a self-employed trader in the marine industry, the business plan will also be an asset if you want to apply for a grant or loan.

Illustration of a person in a bright orange outfit standing on cracked ground with hands placed on the head.

A man in a striped shirt is inspecting and working on a boat engine. He is bending over, focusing on the engine components.

Invest in yourself

Even if you know your business inside out, it is always advantageous to keep learning.

This will involve keeping up to date with new ideas, trends and technology, and depending on the sector you are working in, there may be new regulations that are introduced.

Keeping on top of changing regulations can be difficult and time-consuming but subscribing to newsletters from industry associations and legislative authorities will provide updates and insights on any changes as they arise. These resources will provide information on how any new regulations will apply to your marine industry business, the requirements entailed and timeframes for implementation.

Are you tech savvy?

Technology is the foundation for most self-employed traders in the marine industry, and it plays a part in determining working practices, interactions with customers as well as helping businesses to keep on top of finance, marketing and HR. Technology is constantly advancing, whether its cloud computing, software development or hardware capabilities, and its crucial for those who are self-employed in the marine industry to keep pace and embrace the latest innovations.

Apps such as Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Zoom have made remote communication easier. These days you can easily connect with customers wherever they are based. There are also apps that enable the sharing of files and documents in real time and tools that can help a self-employed trader in the marine industry to plan, develop and deliver products and services with greater speed and efficiency. Keeping your customers updated on progress has never been easier, and it also allows customers to flag up any issues that they identify prior to completion of the job, which will hopefully reduce the likelihood of a negative review.

Person in a hard hat and safety vest holds a tablet, standing with legs slightly apart.

A person wearing climbing gear is ascending a tall mast against a backdrop of cloudy sky.

Get social

Technology also plays a part in providing an online presence such as with social media which will help a business reach new customers and grow sales. You may find the idea of having to keep your social media sites up to date a daunting and time-consuming prospect and one more item in a long list of ‘must-dos’. If this is the case, it will be advantageous to stick to one channel and not spread yourself too thinly. If you are more experienced at social media and have the time to have a presence across several channels – whether its Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tik-Tok, YouTube or any other platform – your brand will need to look consistent, allowing your customers to easily recognise your business. It’s also important to realise that different channels need different strategies to be successful.

Your website – your new shop front window

Another ‘must-have’ online presence for self-employed traders in the marine industry is a website. A clear and up-to-date website will help to build a businesses’ online presence and clearly introduce your work to your audience, acting as a shop window to show products and services. It will also increase visibility with search engines and help to improve lead generation and sales. Websites don’t need to be expensive, you can create your own using sites such as Wix, but they must be clear and easy to navigate. Remember that they will be used to compare your business to your competitors so should clearly explain what you so, and what is unique about your business.

When developing a website, relevant information about your business should be included together with clear photos illustrating your products or services and contact details.

Illustration of a marina with two sailboats docked, a building labeled 'Marine Supplies & Chandlery,' and nautical equipment on display.

Aim for word of mouth referrals

A website and a social media presence are part of the marketing mix to help make your marine business successful. Finding effective marketing strategies can be challenging if budgets are limited and instead, many self-employed traders in the marine industry rely on word-of-mouth referrals, a powerful tool which will bring credibility and trust to a business.

Existing and former clients are usually happy to recommend a business to prospective customers if a good service has been provided. This is especially beneficial as prospects tend to trust word of mouth recommendations over advertising or promotions.

Success of referrals can be difficult to measure but according to one brand development manager, there are metrics that can be implemented. These include monitoring customer comments to see if there has been an increase in positive reviews, keeping a track of enquiries and sales to see if there has been an upturn and tracking social media engagement.

Referrals don’t need to be purely restricted to word of mouth these days. Make sure you are set up on Google My Business so you can receive Google Reviews. A Facebook page will also allow users to leave real life feedback. On any platform, if a bad review has been left, it’s always best to address the issue, engaging with the customer to find out what went wrong and if applicable, rectifying the problem. A bad review dealt with well can sometimes be more reassuring to a prospective customer than a good review.

A person wearing protective gear uses a spray gun to paint a white boat on a sunny day near a body of water.

Is self employment for you?

There are many aspects to consider when deciding to turn self-employed in the marine industry and it definitely won’t be for everyone. Some will find the prospect of working without the camaraderie of others, daunting. There is also the added pressure of having asll the business responsibilities on their shoulders. For others, it is this autonomy, coupled with the flexibility and freedom that drives them, and they willingly embrace all aspects of the business including marketing, invoicing, finding insurance, keeping on top of their accounts and tax, as well as all the administrative tasks that are required.

It is not without risks; according to the FSB, the self-employed enjoy fewer rights and higher risks than those in employment. And there is also the lack of a regular monthly pay cheque to consider.

Where to get help and advice

There are support organisations that can help self-employed traders with planning, getting set up, funding and finance. And a search online will reveal an eye-watering number of checklists to work through. In addition, membership organisations can often provide support with aspects of training, legal advice and networking. You will also need to declare yourself as self employed with HMRC, and a phone call to them will help you with this process.

Financial assistance

Your business could also be eligible for financial help. The Government has a number of financial and support schemes for those setting up or running a marine business and it is worth investigating these.

To be a successful self-employed trader and run a successful business in the marine industry takes a visio, motivation, and the hours need to be put in. But for those who are successful, the rewards more than make up for the work involved.

Additional references:

https://www.quintech.co.uk/the-importance-of-keeping-up-to-date-with-technology/

https://www.gov.uk/set-up-self-employed

https://www.gov.uk/business-support-service

https://gosuperscript.com/news-and-resources/a-guide-to-going-self-employed-in-the-uk/

https://www.gov.uk/moving-from-benefits-to-work/starting-your-own-business

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Haven Knox-Johnston Commercial is a trading name of Howden UK Brokers Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority No. 307663. Registered in England and Wales under company registration number 02831010. Registered Office: One Creechurch Place, London EC3A 5AF. Calls may be monitored and recorded for quality assurance purposes