Starting an electrical bussiness

[Delta]

Thanks aplenty for the advice.
Sounds like you guys have really been around the block.

I will need to decide on a rate per hour I'm going to charge.
Hopefully I can get balance right.. Not overpriced but also not shooting myself in the foot.
Might have to go in slightly under average to find feet then when I'm running a bit better up the rate a bit.

I might not have the all round knowledge yet of more experienced guys but I know my workmanship is above the average contractor.. no doubt.

[ians]

As I read I think of my experiences ... so I do a job for a "christian family" ... everything goes according to plan ...we complete the project and send the bill ... it turns out its just another bad paying customer ... about 8 months later I decide to do a bit of debit collecting ... by this stage we dont waste time with lawyers and shyte ... I was riding a super bike back then ... enjoying bike rallies and stuff ... we make a list of people who havent paid members and get ready to go collect ... I call the customer to set up a meeting ... the wife answers the phone and I ask her what happened to my payment ... The husbands gets wind of the call and asks who is on the phone ... cut it short ...he comes on and starts telling me off because he paid the bill 8 months ago ... we didnt vist him ... it turns out he had given the money to his to pay the bill ... she blew it ... I collected the outstanding payment that day.

I get a call from a "builder" ... many years ago ... we meet on site to discuss the project ... he puts out his hand to pray with me ...etc etc ... we start the job ... get all the chasing done and request payment ... all the constractors are under the impression that this holy man is the building contractor ... he dumps a pile of junk on site ... promisses everyone the world ... requests an R80K progress payment from the customer (an elderly women using her retirement money to build a granny flat on her daughters property) ... nobody has every seen his since ... a little research reveals that he moves around the country from province to province scamming people in this manner ... turns out the buildng contractor had no idea who he was.

Beware of the devil in disguise.

I get a call to move a factory ... load up with bioplus ... switch the power off at 4.30 pm friday afternoon ... strip the old premises ... work the entire weekend non stop ... 7.35 am Monday morning I switch the power on and the factory starts production ... I go home to sleep.

A couple weeks later I have enough of the bullshyte excuses why payment is not reflecting in my account ... time to go debit collecting ... armed with my bolt cutter and big cable cutter ... I arrive on the promises and as I walk through the offices I warn the staff that I intend to start cutting and removing the cabling ... the police arrive remove me from the property ... it turns out regardless of the fact that the cabling should still be the property of the wholesaler because it hadnt been paid for ... as mentioned once installed you loose all rights to the equipment.

[ians]

Thanks aplenty for the advice.
Sounds like you guys have really been around the block.

I will need to decide on a rate per hour I'm going to charge.
Hopefully I can get balance right.. Not overpriced but also not shooting myself in the foot.
Might have to go in slightly under average to find feet then when I'm running a bit better up the rate a bit.

I might not have the all round knowledge yet of more experienced guys but I know my workmanship is above the average contractor.. no doubt.

If you sell yourself cheap ... it will become the norm and people wil always expect you to be cheap.

[Justloadit]

Another point to understand, the fact that a large, or well known company wants to contract you to do work, does not mean that you change your terms and conditions.
Get the deposit, or don't do the job.

They have very deep pockets to fight you legally when you try and sue them for your payment.

[Justloadit]

I still remember the words of wise old man from many years ago -

The only people who have taken me, are the ones I trusted

[ians]

"If you want someone done right ...do it yourself" ... I live by this ... in reality ... it is a fools statement ... if you want to be a one man band and work out the white bakkie for the rest of your life ... this statement could work for you.

If you want to grow and move away from being a one man band ... best you learn to employ and train people to be as good as you expect them to be ... employees make and break companies.

Take the time to figue out what employees thrive at ... and also the ones who bring the team down ... I believe everyone is good at something ... its up to you to figue it out ... if you think someone os "stupid" ... they probably doing a job they hate ...but neeed the income.

[ians]

This you need to write down:

Time management recording ... and product procurement ... these 2 things are a trademans worse enemy.

I am sure all the sparkies will agree that this is what gets us all ... we dont keep proper records of time on site and materials purchased ... these 2 items will break you.

Make sure before you even consider your very first site visit ...

You have a service sheet in place which records details of the time spent on site and an order number system for every single item purchased for the project ... no matter how big or small ... which is signed every single day or before you leave a site ... if jobbing (multiple sites in one day) ...get slack on this and you might as well throw money out the window as you drive ... its the same thing.

[ians]

The next thing is something I am busy trying to sort out ... a payment system ... a way for the customer to pay before you leave site ... there are many options ... its finding the one which will not cost an arm and a leg ... works efficiently and suitable for everyone

[Justloadit]

Or get a Cellphone credit card reader. Speak to your bank. Every one has either a Debit card or Credit card. Get the payment before you leave the site. Do a google search.

[Delta]

Why do some people not want to pay?
I mean if they accept the quote they know what they need to fork out when job is complete.

I don't understand some people.