In the present, the capability to stay mobile is a vital skill. Clients can come from anywhere and may ask for services at any time. As long as you can go to a potential customer’s area anytime, with complete equipment and materials, you have an advantage over others in the same industry. You’ll be able to have a broader market and a better business overall.
The Importance of Being a Mobile Welder
As a welder, being mobile is becoming increasingly important. If a construction project needs a welder, the one who can easily reach the area fully prepared immediately has the advantage for the one requiring services. Being mobile also allows a welder to volunteer for projects that he or she wants to assist with. A freelance mobile welder can never go wrong with making his or her services portable. However, to become successful, there are several things you need to take care of.
What Does a Welder Need To Become Mobile?
To become a successful traveling welder, you have to be able to secure the following:
- Sufficient Training – To maximize your potential as a traveling welder, you must be skilled enough for multiple varieties of welding. Every situation you’ll encounter may need different welding styles; the more you can do, the better you can earn, and the more customers you’ll be able to serve. You have to know at least how to weld using MIG; you can eventually add Torch Welding and TIG to your repertoire in the future after that.
- A Complete Set of Tools And Materials – As a mobile welder, you have to be prepared at all times, especially if you’re able to perform more than one kind of weld. Each type of weld requires different sets of materials to be performed, so you’ll have to carry more than one set of equipment. Make sure that you list down all the variations so that you’ll always be prepared for any situation, since you may not always get the chance to go back home and replenish materials.
- A Mode Of Transportation – A traveling welder needs a vehicle to be able to travel around. It’s advisable to have something that can carry both you and all your equipment. For this purpose, you should look into either a large capacity van or a truck with a wide payload carrier at the back. It should also have a reliable engine, with enough torque and power to take you places.
- A Portable Generator – The last thing you would want to happen is for your welding work to be interrupted by a power outage. Welding requires a lot of electricity, so it’s crucial that you have a portable generator with you at all times. It will allow you to keep working despite outages. For a list of reliable generators, you may check this out.
Building Your Network
Once you secure all the items above, you are now ready to be a traveling welder. The next step is for you to look for potential customers to provide services to. Start marketing yourself by asking for referrals from friends and family. You may also ask them if they need welding services themselves. Aside from that, you should also take advantage of social media and the Internet by posting about your services online, so that you can reach a wider market quickly.
Once you successfully build a network of customers, your next priority is to build your reputation as a welder. Do this by performing each job with a hundred percent of your effort, so that you will be able to establish yourself as a reliable worker and will be referred by your customers to others. No person will refer a service provider that they were not happy with, so make sure that you can establish a good relationship with all of them.
Conclusion
Setting up a mobile business is challenging but fulfilling in the long run. To be a successful traveling welder is to be able to go from place to place while carrying a ton of equipment at the same time. This is on top of the already present risks that welding poses to workers, such as the safety and health hazards of being exposed to intense heat. However, for someone passionate about welding, these are easy to overcome, so long as you prepare for every situation and are aware of everything you’re getting into.
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