Hello i have decided to set up my own Electrical business i want to mainly aim for the Commercial and Industrial market but my worry is i planned to join Elecsa to start off with and if things pick up then join the NICEIC as an approved contractor.
Is there any Electricians on here who are with Elecsa and carry out mostly Commercial and Industrial work?
If so, how did you go about getting work?
My plan was to get some letterheads and A6 flyers printed up and go and visit Factorys, Offices, Schools, Shops etc and contact Fire/Intruder companies asking if they need any spurs installing for their systems or emergency lighting etc.
Is this a good way of going about things?
I understand its very hard to start off by just doing Commercial work but im willing to slowly build up my contacts as i have another income to support me whilst doing so.
Thanks telectrix, the reason i want to join Elecsa to start of with is because i havent got 5 completed jobs to show the NICEIC so my plan was to join Elecsa get a few jobs under my belt and then when my membership is up for renewal jump ship to NICEIC.
I just wondered if there was any people out there doing Commercial work who are members of Elecsa and whether it is a hinderance at all?
Ive read on here some companys will only use NICEIC contractors.
way i done it was joined elecsa in 2005 then free transfer to NIC domestic installer scheme about 2009 then after a few years i upgraded to NIC A/C its only £290 + vat if you upgrade from DI and you can show them all domestic jobs if thats all you got for the first year, also you only have to show 3 not 5
However....if you are thinking about goin full NIC make sure its worth the cost and your business is in a place where its goin to be a benefit and not a hinderence as you will be expected to have all the latest regs and guide books of all kinds of work you install, and your certs and paperwork will have to be A1
it aint no elecsa assessment believe me! if your not on top of your game it could work out very expensive come assessment time!
i would consider self-certifying the jobs you get for a while until you have a business system in place and have built up a few clients, not everyone will specify ECA or NIC, and most of the time you should be ok, but make sure that they aint expecting a red NIC cert at the end of the job as that caught me out before!(and trying to get an A/C to cert one of your jobs so you can get paid is not an easy task and will probably cost you £££)
Even though Elecsa is only for Domestics really, as i am just starting out i still want to join a recognised body as im thinking if i go to price up a job in a shop for example, telling the customer i am an Elecsa Approved Contractor rather than saying i am not a member of any organisation, i think it would look better. Also i am not ruling out Domestic work completely at first.
Welchyboy, what you have done is something i plan to do join Elecsa build up my client list and jobs and then join the NICEIC.
When you were with Elecsa did you manage to get much Commercial work? And if so how did you go about doing that?
Elecsa and NIC are a massive waste of time for you at this stage. For the type of work where commercial and industrial clients only want NIC approved contractors (which I have personally never experienced anyway, and I have a lot of commercial customers) they'd be out of your league anyway. If you get to the point where you're doing a lot of commercial and industrial work I'd say your CHAS and Safe Contractor accreditations are more important than anything. Without these, you'll never even have the opportunity to tender for some of the more lucrative contracts.
One more final point. What makes you think that you can just set up business and get commercial/industrial work? You make it sound easy! I'd say it will be near on impossible unless you're in a cosy position within an existing 'major player' firm and can nick a few of their customers. To gain business this way, it's all about who you know, not what you know.
My assumption is that you're not in this position so my advice, cut your teeth house bashing. Slowly but surely, you'll get there. It's all about word of mouth and brand exposure. Trust me, if you start just turning up at firms offering your electrical services with absolutely no experience and no credentials, you'll get laughed out the door!
I understand it will be difficult to get into the Commercial & Industrial industry, my plan is to very slowly build my contacts up, i am in the fortunate position where i have another income so i dont have the financial pressure that i would if i was just starting up on my own with no other income.
My main concern was whether it was possible to get Commercial work without being NICEIC.
The way Welchyboy has set up is something i will be aiming towards.
Many thanks for all your replies, i really appricate it.
In short, yes, it will be possible to gain some smaller commercial customers without being a member of any scheme whatsoever. May I ask what experience you have? Maybe I could offer some advice on where you should concentrate your efforts at this point in time.
I dont intent to set up a large business so small commercial customers would suit me well.
I have 9 years experience of working in Domestic, Commercial & Industrial, mainly Commercial though.
Schools, Offices, Shops were mainly what i used to do for my old company. I left there in 2008 to join the Fire Service.
Since then i have worked now and then for a couple of company's, the problem is as i work 4 days on for the Fire Service and then have 4 days off its hard to find company's who are willing to accommodate this.
This is why i have decided to start working for myself, i know i will have to do some Domestic but i really want to try and get some Commercial work as its all ive done really and i enjoy this type of work.
Your first port of call should be a website. Then you need to pour pretty much all of your spare time into SEO, marketing and brand awareness. Commercial customers need to know that you are there providing a service no one else can. You need a USP, then build a business around that.
I'll tell you now that you will struggle a little as you wont be able to provide a 24/7 service. This is something that has attracted a fair few commercial customers my way and some have even said that that is the most important thing to them (apart from being a good spark that is).
I'm sure you will get there in the end but I promise you, for you to build a business worth talking about, the time you will need to spend on it will consume your life!
Oh, and top marks for being a fire fighter! It's all I wanted to be since I was a little lad! Just a shame I didn't tick the necessary colour, gender and sexual orientation boxes on the recruitment forms so I had to settle for the army instead. I still got to drive a Bedford Green Goddess though!
yes i agree with skelton i have had to put up with loads of domestic work for ages before i started to get my teeth into any proper jobs, and nearly all of the contacts that i have now, have come from smaller domestic jobs, mainly either peoples houses who have run or managed small businesses of their own or from builders/other contractors you meet along the way.
i think you would really struggle just cold calling companies as such, this game is all about word of mouth and reputation and theres only one way to get that, start at the bottom and work your way up!
if its the first time you have worked for yourself too it would be better to start small in the domestic market, as if your not clued up to how things work you can come unstuck pretty easily
A lot of industrial factories do use outside contractors for various installation works but I think the way these firms get in is through the old "brown envelope" most of the time.
Be aware in industrial environments if your in working in a strongly unionised business if your doing anything out of the box or even slightly naughty be aware you may well get forced off site etc,I've seen it happen many times in places.
Also be aware you won't be welcome if there's disputes in place and will find the atmosphere very hostile,do your homework.
Always carry a padlock/lockoff devices etc if your going industrial,it's second nature to us now but rarely used in domestic although it should be IMO.
Can't see why you join Elecsa you don't just join the ECA as well.
ECA are more for you, whilst I think the NICEIC are more for the customer. Gets lots of info and free help from ECA and if you want health insurance then through the ECA its very good value.
If I get anybody saying they want an NICEIC company only I just get the local ECA guy to give whoever a call and they put them straight. Never failed yet!
Can't see why you join Elecsa you don't just join the ECA as well.
ECA are more for you, whilst I think the NICEIC are more for the customer. Gets lots of info and free help from ECA and if you want health insurance then through the ECA its very good value.
If I get anybody saying they want an NICEIC company only I just get the local ECA guy to give whoever a call and they put them straight. Never failed yet!
As i see it, your going to be limited on the commercial/industrial and even on domestic, to work that will take 4 days or less!! Let's hope in that case, that you don't run into any unforeseen circumstances, that will take you over, without any chance of delaying completion for 4 days...
As i see it, your going to be limited on the commercial/industrial and even on domestic, to work that will take 4 days or less!! Let's hope in that case, that you don't run into any unforeseen circumstances, that will take you over, without any chance of delaying completion for 4 days...
He's a Fireman working 4 days on followed by 4 days off!! So he can only work for 4 straight days!!
That's how i read his post anyway!! lol!!
Had a relative who used to be a London Fireman at Algate fire station. As i remember his working patten was 2 days, 2 nights, 2 days off, but that was a fair while ago now!! lol!!
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