New business and competition

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Tuggy

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pine island, fl
New to the forum, hello all.

I'm preparing to open my own electrical outfit in a fairly small environment where a couple of other people are already somewhat established. Does anyone have advice for interacting with the other contractors or horror stories about dealings they've had with competitors?
Thanks,
Tuggy
 
business is a war. do not expect them to behave in any way other than that and you will not be disappointed.

what makes you think there is room for another business? you are going to have to find a way to take business away from the existing businesses. they will not like that.

your very existence threatens their livelihood. how do you think they are going to react to the potential for their family to starve and be thrown out on the street in the cold in the rags they wear because they can't afford to buy clothes just because your business exists?
 
You need to separate your self from the competition. Is there some niche where you can excel ? Standby generators, low voltage audio, video wiring, alarms etc. It would be wise to have a three month cash supply on hand. Have you thought about inventory, insurance, vehicle maintenance, etc etc. 480sparky Ken in the past posted a list of things to consider.
Best of luck
 
Tuggy said:
New to the forum, hello all.

I'm preparing to open my own electrical outfit in a fairly small environment where a couple of other people are already somewhat established. Does anyone have advice for interacting with the other contractors or horror stories about dealings they've had with competitors?
Thanks,
Tuggy
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Welcome to the forum.........:thumbsup:

Start out with small jobs that you can handle on your own and grow from there ,,Don't let anyone convince you that you cannot do it,,,,because you can,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Good luck getting it rolling..:):)
 
First of all Good Luck. As for the competition it a free market and everyone is just going to need to sharpen their pencils. Don't go for the low price be fair make some money. Anyone can throw a ladder and a coil of romex in their car that does not make them a contractor. I have found that most other contractors that I meat at pre bids and bid openings are good people.

The only trouble I have ever had was a worker who worked for me and left me hanging on a job. He started his own business and we had issues over the years. Thank god he went bankrupt lost his house and all that other good stuff. I only say that because when he left me it cost me over $30,000.00 to get the project on track again.

In short I believe in KARMA. if you treat everyone fair same will be for you.


Steve
 
I wish you the best of luck. I had a business from 2004-2007 and ended up closing it down.

What I found was that
#1 I am a good electrician.
#2 I am not a good bill collector.

Therefore, I was always chasing my money and juggling accounts.

Also, your employees can be your biggest asset and your biggest liability. I had one guy rack up over 20 hours of personal phone time in one month. That was after taking out all business related calls and calls during break times and after hours.

He responded by saying sorry, i'll get my own phone!!

Anyway, it is possible to be successful Lots of guys are doing it but remember being a business owner is not the same as being a tradesman. You need to be honest with your strengths and weaknesses.
 
Tuggy said:
Thank you for the responses. I'm thinking that this forum is going to be a great asset.
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This is the best place to learn.

Make sure you do C.O.D there is no need to bill people.

You finish the job leave with the check in hand.:thumbsup:
 
LEO2854 said:
This is the best place to learn.

Make sure you do C.O.D there is no need to bill people.

You finish the job leave with the check in hand.:thumbsup:
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LEO2854 is right!
I have a customer I did a job for a few months ago that I've worked with in the past, so I trusted billing them NET 30. We are now at 90+ days and I haven't received a dime.
Won't happen again...
 
petersonra said:
business is a war. do not expect them to behave in any way other than that and you will not be disappointed.

what makes you think there is room for another business? you are going to have to find a way to take business away from the existing businesses. they will not like that.

your very existence threatens their livelihood. how do you think they are going to react to the potential for their family to starve and be thrown out on the street in the cold in the rags they wear because they can't afford to buy clothes just because your business exists?
Click to expand...

That's a little harsh, isn't it? I think everyone has the right to start their own business if they want to. You make it sound like he is going to be personally responsible for someone elses family starving.

If the other companies can't survive, that's their problem. If Tuggy thinks he can compete, I think he has every right to try.

If he doesn't, someone else will.
 
steve66 said:
If the other companies can't survive, that's their problem. If Tuggy thinks he can compete, I think he has every right to try.
If he doesn't, someone else will.
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If there is enough business to go around, no problem. If Tuggy can make a decent profit by having lower expenses than the existing contractors, etc. also fine. They might find their own ways to streamline and stay competitive.
But if he has to get a share of the available business by price cutting to a painful level just to break into the market, it could end up like gas station price wars and benefit only the customers.
And of course, regardless of the above, he has the right to try and the right to fail if it comes down to that.
 
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