What are one-man operations earning per year?

[hillbilly1]

If your a good troubleshooter, service can pay very well. Very little competition from the trunk slammers, and even the big companies. The company I just left, the owner hired me on my reputation. He said he needed to reduce call backs, and a project manager he hired was my old boss at another company. That was thirty years ago.

 

[James L]

If you take work from individuals, you're probably going to spend a lot of time driving, looking and selling work. This cuts into your billable time. Suppose you charge $130 per hour but you spend 1/4 of your time selling. That means you have about 1500 billable hours in a year. That translates to $195,000 per year if you only put in 40 hours per week. $130 x 1500 = $195k

If you subcontract, you will spend some time bidding. Suppose you have an average rate of $95 per hour, but you spend 5% of your time bidding from prints. That translates to $180,000 per year.

Not really substantial, imho.

 

[electrofelon]

..... I still got less than half the jobs I quoted.

And there is nothing wrong with that. You don't want all the jobs. It took me years to learn this.

 

[hillbilly1]

The rule of thumb used to be if you get 3 or more out of 5, you are probably too cheap.

 

[James L]

The best recipe for me is when every bid gets met with "dang that's higher than the other bid I got" then I sell it on my merits.

I'm usually not trying to sell on price.
I'll make an exception occasionally

 

[markebenson]

Can I chime in here? Think outside the box. Add low voltage to your electrical job. security camera runs, cat 5 /6 runs. Good money at an average of $100 per drop. It's easy to learn to terminate a cat 5.

 

[hillbilly1]

Can I chime in here? Think outside the box. Add low voltage to your electrical job. security camera runs, cat 5 /6 runs. Good money at an average of $100 per drop. It's easy to learn to terminate a cat 5.

Here, we need a separate license, but is seldom checked, as a lot of data is done after the final. Fiber termination pays good too. I’ve been certified three times over the past 30 years, but haven’t done the first one in the field. Now you just order it pre-terminated in the length you need.

 

[blueheels2]

I’m not making it yet but I think 250-300k would be the absolute max in my area. That’s total sales not bring home. I have a single man shop and I paid myself the equivalent of a 90k salary. Hope to push that up to 110 next year but we’ll see.

 

[JoeNorm]

I’m not making it yet but I think 250-300k would be the absolute max in my area. That’s total sales not bring home. I have a single man shop and I paid myself the equivalent of a 90k salary. Hope to push that up to 110 next year but we’ll see.

How many hours in the year would you estimate you're actually in the field drilling holes, turning a screwdriver, troubleshooting, etc.?

 

[ramsy]

I guess if there unmotivated and lazy then they should stay an employee

A seasoned Journeyman adapted to employment may appear limited, until you realize how quickly co-workers are terminated after attempting to work with them.

Adapting to office politics in the field, means you survive the selection process when everyone else gets laid off.

That is not lazy, its pro-actively reporting performance issues to management, and learning how to throw people under the bus.

 

[AC\DC]

I did not mean that for people that want to stay employed. A lot of people I know that start there own business thinks it’s easy and don’t relieve ,the extra time that is put in, dealing with people…. They were who I was referring to.

 

[markebenson]

Here, we need a separate license, but is seldom checked, as a lot of data is done after the final. Fiber termination pays good too. I’ve been certified three times over the past 30 years, but haven’t done the first one in the field. Now you just order it pre-terminated in the length you need.

"Now you just order it pre-terminated in the length you need." Oh no thats a Hanyman doing the work,The creates a rats nest of problems. It is imperative that the it stuff is terminated to the correct length, I have redone several jobs like this. You cant have coils of unneded wire in an i t rack and it can cause performance problems as well.

 

[ramsy]

A lot of people I know that start there own business thinks it’s easy

I am one of those fools. While never attempting employees, I can see clearly how its done.

* For customer service issues, keep voicemail options from connecting to a live person, except to the most illiterate person possible.

* When one illiterate employee learns to file unemployment, or Worker's Comp. claims, fire them all, file bankruptcy, and change corporate names.

* If you can't put the kids & wife to good use for free labor, get new ones.

* It doesn't seem very difficult, you just need to be ruthless enough to operate in this playing field.

 

[hillbilly1]

"Now you just order it pre-terminated in the length you need." Oh no thats a Hanyman doing the work,The creates a rats nest of problems. It is imperative that the it stuff is terminated to the correct length, I have redone several jobs like this. You cant have coils of unneded wire in an i t rack and it can cause performance problems as well.

I can tell you make your living from terminating fiber, so I can understand the disdain for the pre-terminated fiber. Extreme excess is due to poor installation practices, so you can bet the installer was dragging the fiber across the right angle edge of the tee grid, damaging the fiber which is causing the issues. Terminating fiber is tedious and requires good eye site.

 

[rt66electric]

I am doing WELL better as a one man show.....

When working for "the other guy" the best I could make in this area (at the time)would be $20-25/hr, or, $800 to $1000 a week before taxes.. After taxes and working on Saturday $700
In a good week working solo service calls, I could earn that in 2days and go fishing the rest of the week.
A LLc tax deductions are.... GAS.. TRUCK... TOOLS.... and lots more.

Having an accountant as a wife is VERY fortunate .

Another contractor once told me never go to more than one crew.. He is upto 4 crews and has trouble making payroll every-now-and-then. His life was also less stressful and more profitable when operating a one-man-show.

 

[ptonsparky]

I enjoyed having 4 or 5 guys and office help. Not sure if I made more money but it was a fun time.

 

[James L]

I am doing WELL better as a one man show.....

When working for "the other guy" the best I could make in this area (at the time)would be $20-25/hr, or, $800 to $1000 a week before taxes.. After taxes and working on Saturday $700
In a good week working solo service calls, I could earn that in 2days and go fishing the rest of the week.
A LLc tax deductions are.... GAS.. TRUCK... TOOLS.... and lots more.

Having an accountant as a wife is VERY fortunate .

Another contractor once told me never go to more than one crew.. He is upto 4 crews and has trouble making payroll every-now-and-then. His life was also less stressful and more profitable when operating a one-man-show.

I think +1 is the best way.

I'm always wa-a-a-y too busy all by myself.
I subcontract almost exclusively (soon to be completely exclusive) so I have phone time, drive-and-look time, loose ends to tie up, etc

So for me it's much better to have one good electrician who can show up and work all day on one job.

fwiw, I used to own a remodeling company, and had 6-8 worthless employees for a couple of years. Always working 80 hours a week, always struggling to make payrool, always worrying about my lights and water being shut off....no thanks.

 

[blueheels2]

How many hours in the year would you estimate you're actually in the field drilling holes, turning a screwdriver, troubleshooting, etc.?

1000-1200 a year.

 

[__dan]

A seasoned Journeyman adapted to employment may appear limited, until you realize how quickly co-workers are terminated after attempting to work with them.

Adapting to office politics in the field, means you survive the selection process when everyone else gets laid off.

That is not lazy, its pro-actively reporting performance issues to management, and learning how to throw people under the bus.

This ^^^.

This is exactly what I've been seeing at place after place after place. They're all the same like this. Know what your own claims are against their wrongdoing, for when you have to fight them for the UI.

Usually it's the butt kissing schmoozers who focus on being close to the boss's butt, have facility with or no compunction about lying, they are the survivors, while they turn over all staff regularly. The butt kissers usually are clueless about their own competence and are doing the terminating offenses themselves, so from their eyes it could come down to him or me.

What does one guy make ? If you're paying the mortgage and property tax on the house you live in, you're making it, doing very well. If you're making good money but paying a rent and carrying debt you cannot pay off, you're kind of peddling towards the goals posts while the posts are moved further from you (the house price of the one you see yourself buying is inflating faster than you can work the extra OT).

 

[AC\DC]

I like a one man shop but I don’t want to do physical work my hole life.
is it not the goal of a business to expand so even if you take a “ vacation” or start another business the other is still making money for you?
I know it will always have to be managed but should it not be from a distance.
I want several business not just one. I have ADHD and already bored with current job.