.nl in the spotlight: deklusbaard.nl

Can you tell us a little about your business?

"Yes, I mainly do plumbing, but also provide general odd job services. I trade under the name De Klusbaard, which means 'the bearded handyman'. I try to keep a good balance between the plumbing work and the odd job work by learning as much as I can and sometimes tagging along with other tradespeople to watch how they do things. If someone wants some electrical work done, for example, I'll do things like fitting lights, fixing switches and wall sockets, or connecting domestic appliances, but I don't take on jobs like installing or replacing meters. I often tell my customers that, if they need a job doing, they can always call me. If I can't do it myself, I'll know someone that can."

What's important to you as a handyman?

"I work for a lot of different customers. Many of them are private householders, but there are also a number of construction companies who call me in to do things. I'm not the fastest worker around, but that's maybe my strength. I want every job to be done as well, as safely and as professionally as possible. If you do things too quickly, you're more likely to make mistakes and then get called back to fix them. That's a waste of time and money."

How important is online visibility to you as a tradesperson, and why?

"Online visibility is very important to me. I'm registered with several platforms where people can look for tradespeople. What people do is use a platform to identify one or two businesses or traders, then google the names to find out more about them. With that in mind, I built myself a website, so that anyone who googles 'De Klusbaard' can easily find my contact details. A bit later, I got a professional to freshen up my website by adding a nice logo, and to make sure that it's easy to find me under both .nl and .com. Having said that, it's clear that most of the jobs I get are the result of word-of-mouth recommendations. Recently, I've got a lot of business as a result of wholesalers where I buy my materials referring their customers to me."

Was the domain name you use for your website your first choice?

"No. But, although it wasn't my first choice, De Klusbaard has turned out to be a name that gets a great response from people when they first hear or see it. Mind you, coming up with a good logo wasn't easy. The first few versions mostly looked like barbers' logos. Finally, I asked a customer who is a designer to have a go at it, and they did the logo I've got now."

Do you have any tips for people just starting out in business?

"Yes, I'd say be open to feedback, but stick to your own convictions. You don't want to end up simply putting other people's ideas into practice. The other thing I would advise is treating your customers the way you'd like to be treated yourself: with respect and humanity. Get to the bottom of what your customers want by listening actively, and don't be scared to ask questions."