How do you generator clientele for a electrical business

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dsjr114

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Warrington,Pa.,Bucks county
I'm interested in finding my own electrical work .I'd like to get my electrical license and insurance and keeping my self busy doing residential and small commercial work.I'm just uncertain how to generate a steady enough flow of work to keep myself busy.I live in south eastern Pennsylvania in the Philadelphia suburbs. I would appreciate any suggestions .
 
ok, if you're not currently licensed get that out of the way first. if you're working for someone in the electrical business, stay there while you do this. tool up. specialty stuff you'll need when you're miles from anywhere you can get it, things like cable cutters, a good hole saw kit, 1/2 drill, knock out kit ( i'd get a kit that goes to 2-1/2 inch, and when you need the bigger cutters, buy them as you need them and roll the cost into your job bid, a wrench type ko kit is fine, you dont need a pnuematic punch) a romex wheel, a wire stand (small one for 6 rolls of thhn, step ladders,hand benders up to 1", fish tapes, a small hilti with a ground rod driver head, and bits for drilling concrete. lots of this stuff you can rent if you know you'll need it, but i hate getting caught "with my pants down" in the middle of a one day job, to find i need to spend 3 hours chasing something i was unprepared for.if you have a truck, set it up, if you dont have one get one , or a van. set up racks inside, and think about what you'll need for mobile inventory. take some business classes. very inportant. you nweed to know what the market wil bear for pricing and what you need to make to break even and make a profit. ask lots of questions. get little side jobs and do excellent work. happy customers will send you 100, unhappy ones will kill 1000 potential jobs. think about billable hours vs non billable and how you will make up those dollars. non billable hours are hours spent on bids and looking at work you hope to get. biilable hours are those you are actually working and can bill for, non billable need to be covered by billable. just a few thoughts. go to vistaprint for business cards. good graphics, great value inexpensive
 
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It's tough out there for anyone starting out. I've been 4 1/2 years & struggling. If I had started 10 years earlier, I would be in a much better place.

The other guy is right about tools. Get as many of them as you can ahead of time. Also, learn all you can about job cost accounting, time management, purchasing, etc. Try your best to work up to foreman for your employer & get used to running jobs. When you do that, picture yourself as owner/manager, chief cook & bottle washer. Examine as much as possible the cost/income on jobs, if you have access to this info. A lot of guys think the boss makes a killing while paying out peanuts. You will quickly find out this is not true. The boss pays for everything, takes on most of the headaches and sometimes has no money left after paying salaries. I knew this better than most, as I helped 1 guy manage his business & worked for my BIL's firm a couple of years. I saw them do well & also saw them pay us when they had to borrow money to keep the business open. It was still hard for me to be on the hot spot.

Notice your boss's headaches & see if you can help with any of them. You will learn a lot that will help you later. Make a good name for yourself, with him & customers, suppliers, everyone you deal with. Boss may call you for help later when he is overflowing, may send jobs your way if he is not interested in them. My BIL's firm still calls me to help sometimes & that has helped me stay alive. Haven't worked for them in 10 years but they still call me when they need extra help. I send jobs their way too, that are too big for me. Also, if things don't work out, he may offer your job back. VALUABLE.

Get your license & start doing small side jobs nights & weekends. Careful not to take work from the boss. Do stuff he is not interested in. In fact, best to tell him about it so he knows up front. this helps you get your feet wet before diving.

Learn to think like an owner. You will see many things in a much different light.
 
dsjr114 said:
I'm interested in finding my own electrical work .I'd like to get my electrical license and insurance and keeping my self busy doing residential and small commercial work.I'm just uncertain how to generate a steady enough flow of work to keep myself busy.I live in south eastern Pennsylvania in the Philadelphia suburbs. I would appreciate any suggestions .
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Lets start by assuming your a great electrician.

What do you know about running a business?
 
Gold said:
Lets start by assuming your a great electrician.What do you know about running a business?
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:thumbsup::thumbsup: exactly.


Just because you are an excellent electrician you may not be a good business owner. Different mind set. Take business class at local college.

And all the good advice mentioned by others.
 
You may also need to know laws of your city, state, or other cities, states, etc. if you plan to work in them, anything from employment laws to sales taxes, liability insurance, workers compensation if you plan to hire employees, income taxes and how to handle certain aspects that will effect them.

You can save a lot in taxes by buying business items and writing them off as expenses, but if you have to borrow money just to purchase something so you can write it off, you then have an additional debt. Sooner or later you do have to pay some taxes (if you plan to have any income anyway)
 
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