contracting work
- Thread starter edsparks
- Start date
- Status
charlie tuna
Senior Member
- Location
- Florida
Re: contracting work
sparks,
what part of the electrical industry are you set up for --- tools --investment money and knowledge? there are many facits in this industry -- you can't target service work without service knowledgible people and properly equipped trucks. you can't start out on a large job without the investment money to cover your overhead prior to your first draws. how much credit do you have at your local supply house -- you might need $40k or 50k for an office interior job?
sparks,
what part of the electrical industry are you set up for --- tools --investment money and knowledge? there are many facits in this industry -- you can't target service work without service knowledgible people and properly equipped trucks. you can't start out on a large job without the investment money to cover your overhead prior to your first draws. how much credit do you have at your local supply house -- you might need $40k or 50k for an office interior job?
jeff43222
Senior Member
- Location
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
Re: contracting work
You're in a lot better position than I was when I started out, and things have worked out pretty well for me. I'm a one-man shop, so I have no experience with having employees.
Before you do anything, you have to decide what kind of operation you want to be and what you are capable of doing. There aren't many ECs that try to be all things to all people, so you'll probably have to settle on a niche where you can be competitive. Smaller shops are better than larger shops for some things, and vice versa. As long as you don't waste your time chasing jobs where you aren't competitive, you should do OK.
Once you have that figured out, the main thing you need to do is get your name out there. Word of mouth is great (probably the best, actually), but it takes time to build that up. In the meantime, you need to look at advertising. What works is going to vary from place to place. You might want to ask everyone you know if they were planning on hiring an EC and were unable to find one through word of mouth, how would they go about finding one? That would give you a good idea as to what kinds of advertising are worthwhile. You generally won't be able to trust anyone involved in selling you ad space, though. They want your money and will always tell you how advertising in their publication is definitely the best way to go. I've been burned a few times by such ads.
But you'll probably have to do some experimenting and see what works. I've found that it's good to advertise from a variety of angles. I have a yellow pages ad, and an ad that runs in a couple of neighborhood newspapers. Put up some business cards on bulletin boards at various places; it's resulted in a few jobs for me. More and more is being done on the Internet these days, so you might think about putting up a Website.
Another thing that really helped me was when my friends broadcast my name far and wide through their networks. That resulted in a lot of good jobs for me. Ask your friends to do the same.
You're in a lot better position than I was when I started out, and things have worked out pretty well for me. I'm a one-man shop, so I have no experience with having employees.
Before you do anything, you have to decide what kind of operation you want to be and what you are capable of doing. There aren't many ECs that try to be all things to all people, so you'll probably have to settle on a niche where you can be competitive. Smaller shops are better than larger shops for some things, and vice versa. As long as you don't waste your time chasing jobs where you aren't competitive, you should do OK.
Once you have that figured out, the main thing you need to do is get your name out there. Word of mouth is great (probably the best, actually), but it takes time to build that up. In the meantime, you need to look at advertising. What works is going to vary from place to place. You might want to ask everyone you know if they were planning on hiring an EC and were unable to find one through word of mouth, how would they go about finding one? That would give you a good idea as to what kinds of advertising are worthwhile. You generally won't be able to trust anyone involved in selling you ad space, though. They want your money and will always tell you how advertising in their publication is definitely the best way to go. I've been burned a few times by such ads.
But you'll probably have to do some experimenting and see what works. I've found that it's good to advertise from a variety of angles. I have a yellow pages ad, and an ad that runs in a couple of neighborhood newspapers. Put up some business cards on bulletin boards at various places; it's resulted in a few jobs for me. More and more is being done on the Internet these days, so you might think about putting up a Website.
Another thing that really helped me was when my friends broadcast my name far and wide through their networks. That resulted in a lot of good jobs for me. Ask your friends to do the same.
bdarnell
Senior Member
- Location
- Indianapolis, IN
- Occupation
- Retired Engineer
Re: contracting work
If you are looking for residential work, i.e. service change outs, etc., try this. When I first started out, I put an ad in the local paper in the services directory where handymen & such advertise. It read simply "Master Electrician. I work alone."
I got at least 30-40 calls a month from that ad. People like the idea that you aren't going to gouge them with extra helpers, etc.
Worked for me. Good luck
If you are looking for residential work, i.e. service change outs, etc., try this. When I first started out, I put an ad in the local paper in the services directory where handymen & such advertise. It read simply "Master Electrician. I work alone."
I got at least 30-40 calls a month from that ad. People like the idea that you aren't going to gouge them with extra helpers, etc.
Worked for me. Good luck
JROD
Member
- Location
- North Carolina
Re: contracting work
I would check with your insurance agent before sponsoring an event. My insurance agent suggested that my carrier does not insure companies that sponsor sports teams and they could drop me.
electricmanscott
Senior Member
- Location
- Boston, MA
Re: contracting work
Exactly how does this indicate you are not going to "gouge them"?
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