I am a one man EC shop in Southeast Georgia. I do a variety of commercial and residential work including new construction and service work. I have gotten to the point where I cannot stay on the jobsite for having to go out and give estimates and sell other jobs. I have a small 20 room hotel addition starting in a week or so and an addition to a blueberry packing facility starting in approximately a month. I already have a hard time keeping up. What I feel that I need is an experienced individual that can work these larger jobs...under my close supervision of course...while I am pricing other jobs and catching small service jobs. I need someone in place so that I can leave the jobsite when necessary to continue expanding my business. I have been doing electrical work for 10 years but have only been on my own for 3 years. What do you guys think? I feel I am at the point where I have to turn down work or hire help. My goal is to expand at least somewhat.
i read the thread..... if it were me, i'd like the blueberry packing plant, and pass on the motel,
but you are down for both of them, and it sounds like you don't have the option of exiting
graciously.
the reason i say that, is for the points dan made, about it being a GC job. most of my experience
with GC's is sub optimal. i've found one excellent one, and four that sucked.
i've been doing this 35 years, and the small shop looks to me to be the hardest row to hoe.
all of the paperwork, without the volume to support the infrastructure, so you end up working
your butt off, doing it all. and usually crashing and burning.
back when, this is the sort of thing where a labor union shined. a pool of qualified people,
available with a phone call, for as long or as little as you needed them. need 5 people for four days
to get something done? they will be here by coffee time tomorrow. hand them checks when done,
no hard feelings.
that was the ideal. the reality differed somewhat, and on todays market, the new hiring hall
half the time is a home depot parking lot. :happysad:
if i was where you are at, i'd be going thru your phone numbers, looking for sparkies you've
worked with in the past, to see who needs some work. there is nothing better than a former
co worker to help you. you know what you are getting.
you *did* keep phone numbers of all the good sparkies you have met, didn't you?