Installations only

[Isetech]

Doing installations only, you will always be the the trady in the bakkie, chances are by the 3 rd install you would be one the best at it, because any fool can do the same thing over and over. I have been doing it for for almost 40 years, and people wonder why I am so good at what I do

If you stupid enough to be the signature on the document, taking responsibility for everything, well all I can say is shame on you.

Something I have learnt in the past 40 years, dont be the fool that allows the customer to buy the product you install, because then you are just a stupid fool being exploited by customers, main contractors and using wholesalers using you.

IF you are not supplying the goods you are installing at a mark up of at least 25-30%, dont cry when you get to 50 and wake up every morning thinking man I am getting too old for this crap.

I had a customer complain about my bill, saying he hadn't made a profit on a 5 million rand project. He indicated that I needed to cut my R30 000.00 bill because his profit margin was not were it should be. I pointed out to him that the profit margin on the R900 000.00 worth of panels that he supplied and I installed covered my my bill and some, not forgetting the rest of the profits from all the cabling and other elctrical stuff he supplied the customer

The money is not and never has been about the installation, its the profit margin on the product that separates the successful people from the fools on the tools.

The people at the bottom of the food chain are the sub contractor who do installations only. They install products supplied by a company which buys a product then adds a mark up, then use sub contractors to install the product.

Sub contractors should be the highest paid artisans or installers in the game, but because they have been exploited for so long they dont even realise it.

Just think using a subbie means you dont have to pay any extras other than a flat rate.

Imagine if you are turning over 1 million a month in product sales and you have a bunch of subbies doing the installations, that means the profit is straight in your pocket, no medical aid, no pensions, no sick leave, no unions and industrial councils and all that crap that just drains a business

[Isetech]

Working as a subbie for companies?

Something to consider when you get a call today to go install a system purchased by the owner/customer, at the end of the day you become responsible for everything. You sign that COC, the design the installation and the testing becomes your responsibility, not the customer saving thousands , not the company who supplied the equipment making a decent profit from the sale. You the trady/subbie at the end of the day become responsible for everything.

When you stop for lunch today, think about this statement.

[Dylboy]

I'm coming to learn the long hard way... Being a subby makes the main contractor think you are an employee...

So after this project no more subby for me unless it's on my terms and they won't agree to it I know it as there is other cheap labour around haha.

Another thing is when someone does not actually do the work anymore they lose the concept of how long things actually take and that snags can take a long time to solve.



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[Derlyn]

As far as the client supplying materials is concerned, this is how I have always operated and it works for me.

I tell the client that I only quote including materials. Hopefully they agree.

If not, estimate the amount your material markup would have brought you, double it and add to your labour.

Hopefully they accept the quote and you score.

Granted I do not quote on multimillion rand jobs, but I am not going hungry.

For those really difficult people that you would not want to work for anyway, I tell them to try walking into a pub with their own bottle of hard tack under their arm and see what happens.

[Isetech]

I'm coming to learn the long hard way... Being a subby makes the main contractor think you are an employee...

So after this project no more subby for me unless it's on my terms and they won't agree to it I know it as there is other cheap labour around haha.

Another thing is when someone does not actually do the work anymore they lose the concept of how long things actually take and that snags can take a long time to solve.



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I also find when you sub contract to big companies, the owner/manager feel they have the right to speak to you in the same manner they speak to their employees, I have dealt some real assholes.