A little overwhelmed

[Kdog76]

This is now my 3rd year in business. I count myself lucky because I've got way too much work to handle. I am a small two man shop, myself and 1 apprentice. I do not want to hire on right now, I don't want to work much more than 8-10 hours a day monday thru saturday. Still, I've got too much work. How do you handle getting totally slammed with work? I'm not lowballing, and I have already increased my rates. I can't handle this many service calls in one week on top of my regular workload!
Trying not to get stressed out, but I've never been this busy ever. For those of you with some experience here, I would love some input. Ive been keeping my regular customers happy, but I've had to tell them a couple weeks out on stuff that they want done right away. Afraid of loosing some work here also. I'm telling some people here a couple weeks out when maybe I should tell them a couple months instead!
How does one even keep a schedule with mostly unscheduled work that is coming my way, sometimes with only a day or two heads up?

 

[480sparky]

Hire a good mechanic, pair him/her up with the apprentice, hang up your tool belt and become a salesman/businessman.

It sounds like you should have no problem keeping the other 2 busy.

 

[mdprice55]

Agreed. There comes a time when you must stop being a technician within your own company, and take on the duties of being a manager. Although hard, it is necessary to do this. It sounds like you have the marketing/service/sales skills to really b successful. You can only do so much when you're in a crawl space helping your apprentice fish wire.

 

[Kdog76]

I did not have that really in my business plan, but plans change right?
All I know is it all comes down to the work load. I should (would) like to be able to adapt to the extra work, and so far about 90% of my work is word of mouth, so I can't talk them out of having me do the work even if I tried .
I could bring a journeyman on and see how it works out with my apprentice. It would really free up my time to advance the business.

 

[Buck Parrish]

I did not have that really in my business plan, but plans change right?
All I know is it all comes down to the work load. I should (would) like to be able to adapt to the extra work, and so far about 90% of my work is word of mouth, so I can't talk them out of having me do the work even if I tried .
I could bring a journeyman on and see how it works out with my apprentice. It would really free up my time to advance the business.

That is the key. Will they still want the guy you hire.
Good luck, and choose carefully.

 

[rt66electric]

I have your same problem -ALMOST-?

I have your same problem -ALMOST-?

Your scenario sounds familiar. -however- A competant out-of-work journeyman has found me and we have a loose partnership built up.. I have tried handing off surplus work ,to other contractors/jounerymen, but more often than not it has bitten me in the hinney, and have had to go back to cleanup their mess. Luckily this journeyman has been around the block a few times and would rather work a easy 30 hrs with me rather than 40hrs the hard way at large jobsites. We have agreed to pay according to "charged hours" rather than staight time.
More or less "sub-subcontracting" I pay him a higher rate, but only for time that I can charge a customer. It works out well for us.. Times are tough, good people are available. Lose the apprentice when a competant jouneyman becomes available. You will need to be able to work independently or together as circumstrances dictate. I have lost many a new customer because I could not get there soon enough. I have gained a few opportunities because I could get there tommorow.. WIN some Lose some..

 

[highvolts582]

I know how it feels

I know how it feels

im 1 and half years old in buisness when i got to busy. I was having small heart attacks but resisted hiring cause i know it can dry up in snap as quick as it rolls in. Make sure you have some bank to weather a storm when it comes to guys they get paid no matter what. sounds like your living the dream. stressful all the same.

Famous quote from an old boss who I asked why his sons are not getting into this. "Mike. I would not wish this upon anyone " .

 

[Sparky555]

I suggest you go with your gut on how long it will stay busy. I went through a long, slow winter. When it picked up in the spring and I got slammed in the summer, my gut told me I'd see another winter. Therefore, I worked quite a few 50-70 hour weeks and replenished the contingency fund that I'd used over the winter. It was a good decision as it's already slowed down again.

 

[ptonsparky]

Who is answering your phone? I paid my Mother for years to take the daytime phone calls. Cell phones are nice but I sure get a lot more done in a day when I "forget" mine or the battery dies.

 

[ishium 80439]

My general arc in the past 1 1/2 years has been flat w/ a recent uptick. Basically several jobs I had been "massaging" all hit at once. I've got a few weeks of work ahead of me and some other prospects on the horizon. The big problem here is that I'm looking down the barrel of winter which is traditionally slow.

I have been waking as early as 3AM to get paperwork done so I can be ready to go to work at 9. We work until about 6PM and start over again. Some people are OK w/ hiring and firing to handle work load as it fluctuates and there is no problem w/ that. However I look at it more like if I hire someone I want to make them part of the company. I wouldn't hire an additional hand unless I was confident about long term prospects. Right now I am not.

In your case if you see the same workload coming in over the next 6-8 months and beyond than hiring someone is the only way to go. As was said earlier, hanging up the tool belt and handing over the actual work load is the end goal. (I was right on the verge of this when things started to tank so I had to cut people and get back in the field- but that is another story).

Also if you have an apprentice that you know, like, trust- do not get rid of him. If you can bring him along until he turns out he will give you some of your best margins. Also he can "train" any J-men you hire as to company policies, work standards etc. Especially if you have him ride w/ a new hire. He can give you the inside dirt on whether or not the new guy is any good.

 

[growler]

I could bring a journeyman on and see how it works out with my apprentice. It would really free up my time to advance the business.

You can hire a temp journeyman through a staffing agency. You don't have to take just whoever they send out either. You can make a deal to send in the person of your choice to work through them. They normally will want a couple months contract before you can hire the person as a permanent employee if things do work out. You would need that long anyway to make a decision.

 

[highvolts582]

This was my move what good gut we must have.

 

[dbuckley]

You've only got two options - curtail the amount of work you accept to what you can handle, or expand.

To do the former keep putting up your prices.

To do the latter take on staff, but since your business relies a lot on your personal touch, apparently, you need to be picky about who you select. They need to be more than a bloke (or bloke-ess) who is handy wit' wire, they need to reflect whatever it is your customers like about you.

 

[mkgrady]

This was my move what good gut we must have.

What does this mean?

 

[Kdog76]

You can hire a temp journeyman through a staffing agency. You don't have to take just whoever they send out either. You can make a deal to send in the person of your choice to work through them. They normally will want a couple months contract before you can hire the person as a permanent employee if things do work out. You would need that long anyway to make a decision.

No I cannot. Our local AHJ pointed to a local city ordinance. They would have to be an employee OR part of an LLC. No temp agency EVEN if they are licensed. So today I lost two jobs because I couldn't get there in time. ..Oh well.

 

[ptonsparky]

I would not have even told them he was a temp. For all practical purposes he is working for you during that time. That's a bunch of hooey.

 

[cadpoint]

No I cannot. Our local AHJ pointed to a local city ordinance. They would have to be an employee OR part of an LLC. No temp agency EVEN if they are licensed. So today I lost two jobs because I couldn't get there in time. ..Oh well.

Is that available on-line to read? Did you ask where you could read that for yourself? Did you even research that "Rule" yourself?

I've never heard of such a rule? Is it one of those States thats they require some secret handshake to work ...

 

[benaround]

When working for yourself you stress with too much work or not enough work, I find that

too much work is the better stress.

 

[Kdog76]

Is that available on-line to read? Did you ask where you could read that for yourself? Did you even research that "Rule" yourself?

I've never heard of such a rule? Is it one of those States thats they require some secret handshake to work ...

Yes I've got a copy of the local city ordinances that pertain to electrical installations. It's not a state thing here, only in one city. We like to call it "russia".

 

[K8MHZ]

Is that available on-line to read? Did you ask where you could read that for yourself? Did you even research that "Rule" yourself?

I've never heard of such a rule? Is it one of those States thats they require some secret handshake to work ...

Michigan has a similar rule.

Electricians must be licensed and cannot do electrical work unless they are the employee of a Michigan licensed contractor. In order to be a licensed contractor, there must be at least one licensed master under the employ of the contractor that directly oversees all electrical work being done. We also have an apprentice to Journeyman ratio.

We have to renew our licenses each year and last year with our licenses came a warning about not being under the employ of a licensed contractor and flat out told us that 1099 work is illegal.