Discuss Business Start-up Help in the Business Related area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

Reaction score
0
I have recently gone self employed, I am eager to get started but finding it difficult to drum up business. I have tried marketing myself on social media and local classifieds but haven't had much success.

just so you are all aware i have been fully qualified electrician for over 8 years and a member of NAPIT

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get started and generate business as a new electrical business? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Dont worry... it'll come.

I went self employed in 2017 after a decade away from the tools in a different career. Started off with local neighbours, family and friends. Slow to start, then Covid halted any momentum. I'm picking up again now, lots of EICR's on holiday cottages....

A website was a waste of money in my case, even though i kept it updated. A business facebook page has brought in quite a bit.... and Google... if you can get yourself listed in their business profile set up.... you'll appear on google maps as a local business.
 
It looks like you are in Thornaby?
Stockton has a branch of the Men's Shed charity.
Look to see if there's a branch even nearer you.
I do voluntary work for my local branch and the number of enquiries I get from that is amazing.
Ask if they need anything fixed or installed in the Shed, do it gratis, leave cards, members will be happy to contact you for their own work.
It might only be small domestic stuff, outside lights, extra sockets, fitting an induction hob etc but it's all good work and might give you a foothold...
My last enquiry was for a complete rewire on a Victorian 5 bedroom house...too big for me to do on my own, but it's getting done in collaboration with another electrician friend, and client happy to delay until late Autumn when we are both free. More than enough profit there to compensate for all the freebies, and for every good job, more enquiries appear.
 
Try and get into bed with a local kitchen guy or bathroom guy etc
If you can find a decent builder to work with then this is also good but most builders can be a nightmare so be careful.
Estate agents is another avenue , EICRs and small works etc
A website isn;t a bad idea but don;t need to spend the earth on a website with free social media being the way it is these days.

Oh have you made some YouTube vids ? start a YouTube channel
 
GET SOME LEAFLETS PRINTED AND DISTRIBUTE LOCALLY. GET SOMEONE YOU TRUST TO DELIVER.
 
Tap into the high end domestic market .Printing "flyers" is dirt cheap . Getting them delivered is not a lot to spend . I know one guy near me in North London who has 2 x vans parked all over the "best areas" .His wife moves them around . Good advertising as people tend to remember trades working near them etc etc . The vans are not expensive . nicely signed up etc . SFA inside ! So with his van he seems to many to be a very busy guy in a rich neighbourhood !
 
Tap into the high end domestic market .Printing "flyers" is dirt cheap . Getting them delivered is not a lot to spend . I know one guy near me in North London who has 2 x vans parked all over the "best areas" .His wife moves them around . Good advertising as people tend to remember trades working near them etc etc . The vans are not expensive . nicely signed up etc . SFA inside ! So with his van he seems to many to be a very busy guy in a rich neighbourhood !
If you are doing leaflet drops being specific and target posh areas with nice looking cars in the driveways etc
 
I tried and failed.

Did work for a bathroom/kitchen fitting company, which helped. But towards the end, I wasn't turning over enough, to pay myself a monthly salary, after all the bills have been paid. There's loads of sole trader sparks, and domestic customers seem to expect you to do work for pennies.
 
Customers can be divided into those who understand the costs of running a business, and those who don't.

You want to focus on those who do understand, and are happy to pay the going rate without quibbling. As mentioned in another recent thread, it can help to be flexible such as being prepared to work the odd evening or weekend, if that is all that is convenient for the customer.

You want to avoid those don't understand and think £40 or even £30 an hour is expensive. They are often getting several quotes and trying to play one off against the other, or even fishing for information so they can do the job themselves. I think social media can attract more of this type of customer.

It took me 2 years to go from nothing to a decent turnover that I was happy with. I used leaflet drops early on (first 2 years) with someone reliable who combined maybe 6 leaflets (but none competing) and was selective about the areas covered.

I know some people have good success with entries in local/community newletters/ magazines. But beware of people phoning you up offering you the only electrician's place in some local directory that most people don't know exists and hardly anyone will see.

You can get free basic entries in various online directories but they then usually try and sell you expensive premium entries or advertising, which I always regarded as a waste of money.

I have a basic web site, more as a presence if people want to look, helps show I'm a genuine business etc. It does bring a few enquiries, but it also brings lots of spam from people promising to get me a top google ranking or whatever if I bung them a lot of money.

As always, word of mouth recommendation is the best source of new work. I often do small jobs that come as a referral becuase they can lead to more work.

Oh, and avoid like the plague anyone who wants money upfront to give to X number of emergency call outs or EICRs a month, they will turn out to be a scam.
 
A word of warning about specialist companies that can get you work if you pay them. There’s threads on the forum already, but I’m not going to mention any names. (Just search for “scam”)
 
I tried and failed.

Did work for a bathroom/kitchen fitting company, which helped. But towards the end, I wasn't turning over enough, to pay myself a monthly salary, after all the bills have been paid. There's loads of sole trader sparks, and domestic customers seem to expect you to do work for pennies.
Its certainly not for everyone , I have flip flopped between employed and self employed and both have Pros and Cons

To be self successful as self employed you really do need to be a certain type of person Imo , relentless in chasing work , drumming up new leads and doing quotes at silly o clock etc
 
Admin side of self-employment can't be dressed up as anything other than the grind it is, but there's a certain freedom to self-employment that's worth an awful lot. It's might suit you or it might not, but there's only one way to find out.
 
Its certainly not for everyone
That's why I've never really been tempted to get off the permie treadmill (in IT) - someone else takes care of the bookkeeping, sales, invoicing, chasing slow payers, etc., etc., ... And I get to take home my salary each month. A few times friends have suggested I go off contracting, but I just don't have the right mindset to make that work. It's easy to underestimate just how much of your time will be sucked into all these "non productive" activities.
 
I have recently gone self employed, I am eager to get started but finding it difficult to drum up business. I have tried marketing myself on social media and local classifieds but haven't had much success.

just so you are all aware i have been fully qualified electrician for over 8 years and a member of NAPIT

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get started and generate business as a new electrical business? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Drop us a DM, I can line up some work for you in the area. It's temporary bits here and there, but would fit into what other works you have got going on.
 

Reply to Business Start-up Help in the Business Related area at ElectriciansForums.net

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock