Lorraine Dotchin (49) - Now A Plumber

From IT to a successful plumbing business

Lorraine came to a firm decision that she wanted to start her own business after many years in the IT industry. Being a woman and over 40 many people might think that a major life change under these conditions was a tall mountain to climb. However not only has Lorraine managed to achieve her goals, but she has done it in record time.

Lorraine (49) lives with her husband Mike and daughter in Manchester. In her spare time she is also a member of the TA.

 

She had held a senior position as a network engineer for some years, but had grown frustrated with the lack of a challenge in her working life.

“I was very very fed up. There was no satisfaction at all in what I was doing. It seemed I was taking all the flack for things not being finished without actually being involved in any process. I had become completely office bound.”

So she decided to start her own business, but not in any of the more popular businesses amongst women like hairdressing or floristry. Lorraine decided she wanted to have her own plumbing business!

To achieve this she would first have to do some plumbing training. New Career Skills offered her the ideal opportunity. She could study in her own time, and complete the Domestic Plumbing course they offered at a pace that suited her. The training was first class and she found that she was learning rapidly.

It wasn’t long before she was well in to her course and thoroughly enjoying it. At last she felt as if she was actively involved in finding practical solutions, and she was no longer simply telling other people what to do.

Whilst she was doing her Practical Training, she was introduced to the services of New Career Search. New Career Search are a company dedicated to helping the students of New Career Skills to achieve their ambitions at the end of the course, whether it is to get a job or set up in business for themselves. As a New Career Skills student these services were now freely available to Lorraine.

She made an appointment to chat to one of the advisors, and was then given professional guidance on setting up her own business. The advisor also gave her a number of ideas to try out as well as a couple of books published exclusively by New Career Search to assist students in job searching and setting up in business.

“All their advice was excellent! I did what they suggested, and it worked!” said Lorraine. “I had a good read of the books and I have also used some of the templates.”

NCS advisors know that networking is one of the best ways to advertise a business, and Lorraine followed this advice too with great success. She began by talking to people in her neighbourhood and telling them what she was doing. In the course of her networking she established a really good relationship with a Corgi registered gas engineer who has been a tremendous help to her.

“I followed NCS advice about not being afraid to work with someone who knows more than I do!”

With his help she hopes to get her Corgi Gas Registration. It also has meant that she is able to take on much bigger projects than she would normally have considered.

Various marketing tactics were also suggested by New Career Search, along with tips about advertising and customer care. Lorraine soon picked up customers, and she hasn’t looked back.

“I remember only a couple of months ago we placed our first advert in the paper and I told Mike "I hope we are not wasting our money, what if the phone just does not ring?" Naive or what? Now its "Let's not put any more ads in, I cannot cope with any more work!"

When asked if she had found any barriers as a woman plumber her response was “Yes and no”. She explained how one male customer had cancelled his job when he found out she was a woman. With her inimitable good humour she remarked:

“He’s an old chap who obviously thinks that plumbers should have a flat cap and a blowlamp!”

On the other hand, she found that she was getting a lot of work from the Muslim community as the husbands preferred to have a lady in the house rather than a man, so there are some benefits to being a lady plumber. She also gets remarks from customers such as “I can’t believe you left everything so clean” and from other plumbers saying “I can’t believe how tidy your van is!”

“There is just plenty of work! It’s fantastic – day by day it’s incredibly good, enjoyable, hugely frustrating sometimes, but marvellous! I simply cannot understand why I vacillated about becoming a plumber for so long. I should have done it years ago!”

She has plans for the future too. She wants to take additional courses and qualifications which include Unvented Systems and Corgi Gas Registration. She is very proud to be the first woman to be registered on the Corgi Competent Persons Scheme. Her future is looking bright, and all because she had the courage to change her life.

So don’t let anyone tell all you ladies out there that it’s a man’s world. Lorraine has proved that, with courage and a positive frame of mind, the world is there for anyone who wants to take up the challenge!

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