MONEY- Small shops????

[Davebones]

Just would like to know ,I have a small electrical contractor , ( one man shop and his son ) that had done some little jobs for us .He claims he clears $ 200,000 + a year .I find it hard to see a 2 man shop making that kind of money .Is he BS me or is that possible ????

 

[mikeames]

Is that what his business does or what he makes..... Either way its totally possible, and possible respectively. It would be fair to say not many two man shops make $200,000 profit but its more than possible.

 

[Davebones]

He claims he clears that after ,expenses. Tax , tag , title , out the door .I used to contract years ago but now I keep it inactive . Just can't see a small shop clearing that kind of money ,unless they work 7 days a week !!!!!!!

 

[emahler]

it's possible.....if both him and his son generate about $250k/yr...and they stay busy with the same customers (less advertising)...and keep their costs down (older trucks, not losing and re-buying tools)...etc

and they operate at a 40% profit (including their wages)....

it can be done...if the kid is a helper, and they only work 1 truck, I call shenanigans...

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

A friend of mine has a small shop, himself and a journeyman. He inherited the business and has been at it for 20 years.

He works from 8am till 6pm, some days less and some days more. He will work on Saturdays, but not all Saturdays. I think it is rare he works a 60 hour week. He takes emergency calls when they come in, but that is not a large portion of his work.
He is involved with the local contractor association and the IAEI. He networks with other contractors through the association...one of the reasons for his success.
He nets about $175,000.

He prices jobs at a certain number and never comes down. He has built a certain number of clients and he performs when it comes time to work. His journeyman has been with him since day one and is one of the most reliable people I have ever met. His journeyman is also respected by his clients. I believe this is another one of the reasons of his success.

 

[brian john]

I always question when ANYONE tells me how much they make. I would NEVER DISCUSS what I make with customers. Heck I hardly like to tell the IRS (JUST JOKING)

 

[ohm]

I always question when ANYONE tells me how much they make. I would NEVER DISCUSS what I make with customers. Heck I hardly like to tell the IRS (JUST JOKING)

What did you say your taxpayer ID was? (JUST JOKING!)

 

[JWCELECTRIC]

At min $135-150 hour per crew and/or bid projects, I would say that is true, and that is not including 100% markup on product that he is probably charging.

 

[220/221]

A hard working productive two man crew could net 800 bucks a day. It's only $50 an hour.

Finding the steady work for them is getting to be the tricky part.

 

[Sparky555]

Just would like to know ,I have a small electrical contractor , ( one man shop and his son ) that had done some little jobs for us .He claims he clears $ 200,000 + a year .I find it hard to see a 2 man shop making that kind of money .Is he BS me or is that possible ????

Hard to believe. If you descibed the little jobs he did in detail with charges it would be easier to guess.

 

[Cold Fusion]

Having been an integral part of a family owned/operated general contracting business, for a lot of years, I'm right with brian. There is no way our owner would ever discuss any details about what we made.

I suspect any number an owner would give is really dependent on the context of the conversation.

As for us, we had a captive client list, did high end work and to quote my dad, "We can usually keep the bills paid."

cf

 

[Cold Fusion]

---.Is he BS me or is that possible ????

I'm curious why you are asking? If a client had asked me that (when I was working for the family biz), I'd be wondering what's it to them? Do they think we are making too much and want to chisel us down? I'd be giving them an answer I though they wanted to hear.

cf

 

[active1]

I would guess that is a gross sales number. Not proffit or personal income.

 

[wireguru]

depends on what he is doing. Does he have some niche where he is selling expensive gear with a good profit margin?

 

[Ohmy]

I'm curious why you are asking? If a client had asked me that (when I was working for the family biz), I'd be wondering what's it to them? Do they think we are making too much and want to chisel us down? I'd be giving them an answer I though they wanted to hear.

cf

When someone ask "how make do you make" the correct response is "as much as possible."

 

[Fordean]

Hourly Rate

Hourly Rate

Whats is his Hour Rate?

 

[petersonra]

I would not be too surprised. Some guys are very good at keeping their expenses very low and bringing in the business. Its a lot easier to make money when there is just the two of you. No worrying about unions, workman's comp, health insurance, and all the other things that suck the life out of other businesses.

I knew a fellow that had two guys working with him. They rebuilt old industrial furnaces. I don't know how much he made, but I know that he wrote each of the two guys who worked with him a check for $10-15 thousand each quarter as their share of the profits. And that was on top of them getting a draw of $2000 a month against the profits. If you think about it, even if it was only $10k a quarter, thats a net of $64,000 each AFTER taxes.

These guys did not splurge on anything. They worked as hard as they had to and made good money at it.

No reason an EC who was really astute could not make really good money too.

 

[hershey]

I actually made money like that before this ecomomy tanked, just me and one other electrician

 

[Rewire]

Of course you are going to end up paying 50% in taxes at the end of the year.

 

[RonPecinaJr]

If someone's going around bragging about how much money he makes, he's probably not making as much as he's bragging about making, that's why he has to brag about it, to feel good about himself.