Tripling My Market

Danno6102

I live in eastern Indiana & wondered to myself last night why I was not servicing a couple major cities in Ohio. Cincinnatti & Dayton are only an hours drive & Columbus is not too much farther. This would probably triple my market. Does anyone know if there are any restrictions that would keep an independant contractor from legally working in another state? I have no employees other than myself & I am fully insured, but not licensed as Indiana does not require it for building decks etc.. I plan on calling the county building departments in Ohio, seeing as how residential licensing is done at the local level, but wondered if any of you had any info.

Thanks,
Dan

Grumpy

Check with those states and local municipalities to see what licensing they require. Also check with your insurance to make sure you are covered to work in other states, I know that I am not insured to work in any state other than IL.

Danno6102

Never thought about the insurance. Thanks Grump!

Bone Saw

I regularly do this in NJ, being that I'm in PA, register in both states, lic in NJ, (no pa lic) and what grumpy said, make sure you factor in the (out of state) state income tax difference if any

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rservices

on occasion I work in Illinois, all though the work is done in that state the checks are cut from a totally different state. I never considered filing in that state, am I missing something

Susan Betz

I lived in Columbus from 1981 to 1991, and within an hour of the city for another 12 years. The traffic is horrendous. You will lose a lot of travel time in that city. It has an outerbelt that is as congested as any city street. I wouldn't consider it within commuting distance of eastern Indiana.

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Pearce Services

When ever I travel an hour for a project, I can't help but think about how many opportunities I am just driving by. The money spent on fuel could easily have paid for a better marketing effort to get jobs closer to the shop.

I think you should look around, and decide if you are getting your fair share locally first. A bigger local market share costs you less to maintain, and is more efficient than going all over the place, and never establishing yourself in any market.