Chipping Norton Builders

Despite that, surely anyone who gets into the building game when the property market is in the doldrums has a screw loose?

Step forward Joe Johnson, who started Chipping Norton Builders last year, and has built up a steady stream of business. And at least some of the credit can go to Jeremy Clarkson.

"It all started last June. I went to an auction of promises and there was a website up for sale. So I bought the website, not having the name of the company, or anything like that, and it all went from there."

Graphic design agency GD Associates offers a website at the auction every year.

The event is a fundraiser for the Chipping Norton Lido and Mr Clarkson acts as auctioneer. The journalist and TV presenter lives near the town and has backed the Lido auction since it began.

The background Mr Johnson’s business start-up is a familiar one. He has been a builder since leaving school, serving his apprenticeship, then managing teams for construction companies like the Leadbitter Group.

In 2009 he became another casualty of the recession and, despite his best efforts, could not find replacement employment, so starting up on his own appeared the only option.

He said: "I spoke to another builder in the town about what I planned to do, asked him what he thought. He was very interested and wanted to be part of it."

That was Pete Woodward, who is now effectively a co-director.

The next step was to think of a name for the new company and they were both surprised that Chipping Norton Builders was available.

"I looked at loads and loads of ideas, then one day I just tapped that in to Companies House, thinking it was bound to be gone, but it wasn't," he said.

"Now some people are saying to me 'surely you can't just call yourself Chipping Norton Builders?'

“They seem to think that you have to register it specially, or something. But I've lived in Chippy all my life, we're builders, it was available, so that was that. It's a great name."

GD Associates worked with Mr Johnson to deliver a punchy web design and the branding and graphics follow through onto the company's vehicles and signage, giving a professional image.

He said: "I spent £130 on the website and it was probably the best £130 I've ever spent, as people refer to it all the time.

“If they want to see our work, pictures of how it's done, references — it's all there. I'm now getting two or three enquiries a week.”

But when it came to finding the first customers there was no substitute for leg work.

"I went to see probably in excess of 60 people who I'd worked with previously. Then I met up with John Hallam (of architects John Hallam Associates) and he put me in contact with someone for a small job, which turned out to be Four Pillars Hotels.

“Since then I've worked at several of the hotels. One of the jobs was painting the ceiling above one of the swimming pools,” he said.

“They didn't want to drain the water, and they wanted it done at night, so it didn’t get in the way of their customers.

“So we were able to put the scaffold up over the pool.”

Then the firm picked up a building job at Central Tyres in Chipping Norton, and that led to more work coming in.

Mr Johnson added: "In two years time, it would be great to have a full order book — people asking in March for us to do work in September, that would be great."

He continually emphasises that he has been very lucky, being in the right place at the right time, but it appears that he has created a lot of his luck.

He did his homework and has a quality website, and has also spent a great deal of time getting out and about to talk to potential customers.

For someone who feels he only set up in business because he had no other choice, Mr Johnson is not doing too badly.

Name: Chipping Norton Builders Established: 2009 Proprietor: Joe Johnson Number of staff: Up to ten sub-contractors Annual turnover: Confidential

Contact: 01608 641552 Web: www.chippingnortonbuilders.co.uk