Different ways of landing commercial jobs?

[ISaranWrapWindows]

Hey dudes, I just started a residential/commercial tint and blind business while in college. At the moment we just have two jobs lined up for replacing tint and doing roller blinds in a couple restaurants. We really just "Cold knocked" to get their business but I feel we just got beginners luck. Besides that are there any other methods to solicit business to restaurants, small office buildings, small commercial shops? Who else could I benefit from soliciting to?

Edited August 22, 2018 by ISaranWrapWindows

[Tintguy1980]

The sole hitting the pavement is one way. Joining networking clubs is another (e.g. Chamber of Commerce ... membership fee $$). Joining construction bid sites is another option (costs $$) that would help land some larger projects (e.g. schools, hospitals, bank locations to be built).

[ISaranWrapWindows]

2 hours ago, smartie2shoes said:

The sole hitting the pavement is one way. Joining networking clubs is another (e.g. Chamber of Commerce ... membership fee $$). Joining construction bid sites is another option (costs $$) that would help land some larger projects (e.g. schools, hospitals, bank locations to be built).

Any bid sites or networking clubs you recommend? thank you!

[TomTint]

Networking groups are all over the place. Any of them can either help or be a waste of your time. All of them will require time and effort to be fruitful. Think of them as a social environment where you will soft sell your goods and hope to build relationships for future considerations. ..not somewhere that someone is going to drop a 50k sf job in your lap. There are a thousand different bid sites for you to choose from. All of them  require a fee based subscription and pretty significant plan reading capabilities. If you are not familiar with the bid process of real projects or working with numerous different contractors and waiting to get paid for 60-90 days..then having a 10% retainer held back for 360 days.. you will need to adjust your expectations. Dodge reports is a very common plan room you can look into. 

 Before you start bidding anything..make certain you have substantial insurance coverage. 2-5 M liability , Umbrella coverage of 5M is also a common requirement. As well as 1M covered auto and Comp.