One RICS professional’s candid insights on starting and growing their own firm.
Thinking of venturing out on your own as a surveyor? We sat down with an experienced RICS-qualified surveyor who took the leap to independence. In this candid Q&A, they share their journey, from the initial spark of inspiration to navigating the challenges and triumphs of running their own firm. Whether you’re contemplating a similar path or simply curious about the entrepreneurial side of surveying, glean valuable insights and advice from their experience.
What inspired you to start your own RICS residential surveying firm, and what were the key factors that influenced your decision to go independent?
I’m an entrepreneur plain and simple together with identifying the failings of previous firms I’d worked for and the desire to do things better. An easy way to do this is to work as a consultant under a corporate’s PI etc but continued interruption in workflow due to political or accountants’ decisions within the corporate environment persuaded me to source my own work and take control.
Can you walk us through the initial steps you took when setting up your firm? What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the early stages?
Working as a consultant was relatively straight forward but working truly independently more costly and involved with input from accountants, solicitors etc in the company formation and allocation of shares. Securing PI and of course business and understanding how you may secure work, complete it and execute all necessary administrative duties – much easier with a wife who got involved after the first couple of years.
How did you go about building your client base when you first started, and what strategies have been most effective in growing your business?
As a small business it’s ALL about who you are so building the reputation and relationship with introducers, providing excellent service and open communication with all concerned. As you grow through organic growth and simply need more help you must impart the same ethos into both administrative support that my wife adhered to and myself in terms of service standards; this is a constant battle for me no matter what the size of the business if you want to maintain our standards. It becomes difficult as you progress because remember it was ALL about me then you have to convince potential clients whilst it won’t be me the standards and quality will be maintained.
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of running your own surveying firm compared to working within a larger organization?
This is very subjective and the two are chalk and cheese. Some can only work for corporate and need the comfort and reassurance it provides others see the negatives it can bring in terms of broad brush within a corporate environment and this makes it easy for me to sell against when for example interviewing someone in a corporate environment.
As a RICS-qualified surveyor, how do you ensure that your firm maintains high professional standards and compliance with industry regulations?
Appointing a ‘Head of Regulation and Compliance’, constant meetings and discussions and always being in touch with new requirements and trends. In short the Scafol APP does this for the user as we have already put the effort in here!!!!! 😊
What advice would you give to other surveyors who are considering setting up their own firms, especially regarding planning, financial considerations, and navigating the competitive landscape?
Firstly, an individual MUST ensure they are confident in the own competence and ability as a surveyor and to take an honest look at what you can honestly achieve in terms of the numbers of surveys in a week month or year given all the other considerations in running a business. Then consider down time with holidays, illness, statutory commitments with tax and national insurance and of course downward trends in business activity; not for the faint hearted!!!! In terms of competition, you just have to be better, constant monitoring and modifying what you do and always remain open minded and flexible and able to react quickly to a changing landscape.
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