Is work slower than normal?

[Sparky's Auntie]

Gosh, I've been asking a lot of questions today, this one's a big ask.

I don't know about the peaks and troughs of working in this industry but it feels like things have slowed right down in the last few months, compared to last years work. It's slowly ticking along, rather than being swamped. I know holidays and costs have an impact, but is there anything I can do to help? Phoning up previous customers? It feels a bit cold cally

 

[HappyHippyDad]

If things are still 'slowly ticking on', I would enjoy the lack of stress by not having to juggle lots of jobs. If you have been used to lots of work then I guess you must have a good reputation, meaning it's bound to pick up again.

If you really want to get a bit more work then I would pop an add in the local paper, or local magazine. I tried a number of different advertising tactics when I started out and I found this the best. Although I did have to find the right paper/magazine as some were better than others.

Of course, you could go on to rated people and buy a few leads if you are getting really low on work. Not an ideal option, as I dislike the idea of having to pay someone just to quote, but it would get you some work. The one good thing about rated people is that it pops up in search engines and therefore the good reviews that people have left for you pop up as well, and are seen by other prospective customers.

 

[LukeD]

THings are fine... I only take the jobs I want . And work for people i like .Life is too short for anymore stress and trying to earn a lot but actually "burning out"

 

[Sparky's Auntie]

If things are still 'slowly ticking on', I would enjoy the lack of stress by not having to juggle lots of jobs. If you have been used to lots of work then I guess you must have a good reputation, meaning it's bound to pick up again.

If you really want to get a bit more work then I would pop an add in the local paper, or local magazine. I tried a number of different advertising tactics when I started out and I found this the best. Although I did have to find the right paper/magazine as some were better than others.

Of course, you could go on to rated people and buy a few leads if you are getting really low on work. Not an ideal option, as I dislike the idea of having to pay someone just to quote, but it would get you some work. The one good thing about rated people is that it pops up in search engines and therefore the good reviews that people have left for you pop up as well, and are seen by other prospective customers.

That's good advice. They are uncomfortable with ticking and not having lots of work planned. It definitely feels slower. Thank you

 

[Dustydazzler]

I price 'high' so never expect to win every job and to be fair some of the jobs I quote I don't really want so price extra high.
I happily fill 3 - 4 days every week and make more than enough money this way which affords me a day off in the week to do what ever I want at home.

There is plenty of building works going on around my immediate area , my parents live on a very posh private road and there has been 3 old houses torn down recently and a big new mwes of 5 or 6 multi million pound houses just being being buit. I know the spakrs doing the work there and he is flat out with new upper end work and can't get the staff other wise he would take on more work.

The SE is bristling along , not sure about other parts of the country thou

 

[happysteve]

For me, enquiries dropped off noticably in April, round about the time news of massive price increases for gas and electricity became known. I've had enough work to fill my diary, but that's partly because over summer I've been doing a fair bit of childcare + holidays.

It has picked up again in the last week or so. I'm currently booked up 2-3 weeks ahead (bear in mind most of the work I do is small jobs of a day or less), which is roughly where I like to be, and where I was pre-covid. For most of the covid period I was booked up 6-10 weeks ahead, even for short (1 hour) jobs, and it was a headache trying to fit everyone in, and often folks would (understandably) look elsewhere for someone to change their light fitting sooner than 2 months in the future!

So... yes, has definitely quietened down a bit, since April. I don't know many folk who aren't changing their spending behaviour due to the cost of living crisis.

 

[Sparky's Auntie]

I price 'high' so never expect to win every job and to be fair some of the jobs I quote I don't really want so price extra high.
I happily fill 3 - 4 days every week and make more than enough money this way which affords me a day off in the week to do what ever I want at home.

There is plenty of building works going on around my immediate area , my parents live on a very posh private road and there has been 3 old houses torn down recently and a big new mwes of 5 or 6 multi million pound houses just being being buit. I know the spakrs doing the work there and he is flat out with new upper end work and can't get the staff other wise he would take on more work.

The SE is bristling along , not sure about other parts of the country thou

Thanks. That's depressing.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Thanks. That's depressing.

I have always found the SE and particularly London to be very robust even when in a econominc downturn.
I worked for a big electrical contractor in London during the last big recession in 2006-2007 and we stayed busy through-out and they were still taking on new work and new staff.
It was all really high end stuff mainly domestic market for foreign owners who were buying up London property like it was hobby , gutting them , refurbishing them and then leaving them empty

 

[Sparky's Auntie]

I have always found the SE and particularly London to be very robust even when in a econominc downturn.
I worked for a big electrical contractor in London during the last big recession in 2006-2007 and we stayed busy through-out and they were still taking on new work and new staff.
It was all really high end stuff mainly domestic market for foreign owners who were buying up London property like it was hobby , gutting them , refurbishing them and then leaving them empty

I think we'll have to move!

 

[LukeD]

I think we'll have to move!

I have always found the SE and particularly London to be very robust even when in a econominc downturn.
I worked for a big electrical contractor in London during the last big recession in 2006-2007 and we stayed busy through-out and they were still taking on new work and new staff.
It was all really high end stuff mainly domestic market for foreign owners who were buying up London property like it was hobby , gutting them , refurbishing them and then leaving them empty

Ive seen many and many more ...ALL empty .The foreign owners are not even remotely interested in renting them out . This means no council tax paid etc .One block of apartments just off Abbey Road has 32 apartments . 5 have people living in them .Average price is £1.9 million an apartment .I russian owns 7. 3 x Iraqis own 4 . Nigerians own 4 .But they have not been around for years as the Police are after them for major fraud ! The reception guys just sit doing nothing .And also they dont like paying the service charge . Ive done lots of work for some of them .But I always get 100 % upfront . they are nice to me ..but i dont trust them

 

[Dustydazzler]

When I was doing work we did work for lots of the Russians and Arabs all around Knightsbridge and the West End. Obviously you never met the owners , you just met their PA , team of designers and main buildings Contractor.
These were beautiful houses over 4 or 5 or 6 floors , 18-20 bedrooms , fully re-wired , fully re-plumbed , top of the range bathrooms , en-suites all the bells and whistles. Just sat empty.
I would sometimes get sent back months after the job was complete to change a lamp and a security guard would let you in and see you out , not a sole living there.

My best guess is its some form of money hiding money. These places would be worth £150million on the open market today

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

It has gone a bit quiet here, a lot of what i do is ev charging but rather than wanting a charger next week people are booking me in for say 2 or 3 months time as the car isnt coming until then... prior to end of March it was mad dash to get one fitted to get the grant. Ev charger enquiries picking up again though.
I have just renewed my BPEC soalr quals as I am getting so many enquiries for pv and battery storage. I have in last fornight secured 2 x 10kwh battery storage jobs to retro fit to their pv.
I make a poitn of letting custoemrs know i am doign pv and storage.. a lot of people are thinking about it but unsure how to proceed.
I am fortunate in that I have contacts and have plenty of work from a builders, previously i was always too busy to help but his previous electrician has made a right mess of some jobs so i have been parachuted in to fix and get it all up to standard.
currently booked up until end of September with many jobs booked towards end of the year.

 

[mattg4321]

It's definitely quieter than it was. The coming recession is the obvious cause.

I've still got enough and doing well, but I'm no longer turning down masses of work all the time.

Various wholesalers seem to be constantly on the phone recently too. I'd not heard from them for years prior to a couple of months back!

 

[Rockingit]

I'm definitely seeing a trend in my clients (artists) that the money in events/ticket sales is far easier abroad than at home. My winter / New Year looks OK but it's all solidly overseas - zilch in the UK between now and early Dec.

 

[LukeD]

It has gone a bit quiet here, a lot of what i do is ev charging but rather than wanting a charger next week people are booking me in for say 2 or 3 months time as the car isnt coming until then... prior to end of March it was mad dash to get one fitted to get the grant. Ev charger enquiries picking up again though.
I have just renewed my BPEC soalr quals as I am getting so many enquiries for pv and battery storage. I have in last fornight secured 2 x 10kwh battery storage jobs to retro fit to their pv.
I make a poitn of letting custoemrs know i am doign pv and storage.. a lot of people are thinking about it but unsure how to proceed.
I am fortunate in that I have contacts and have plenty of work from a builders, previously i was always too busy to help but his previous electrician has made a right mess of some jobs so i have been parachuted in to fix and get it all up to standard.
currently booked up until end of September with many jobs booked towards end of the year.

What is the real impact for EV car owners and the surging cost of electricity ?? Could we see unit price per mile the same as cost of fuel etc etc

 

[Rockingit]

What is the real impact for EV car owners and the surging cost of electricity ?? Could we see unit price per mile the same as cost of fuel etc etc

You could work it out fairly easily.... p/kwh for a full charge on a say 60KW battery that will only do 300ish miles -v- 300 miles @ £/l/m

 

[davesparks]

I'm definitely seeing a trend in my clients (artists) that the money in events/ticket sales is far easier abroad than at home. My winter / New Year looks OK but it's all solidly overseas - zilch in the UK between now and early Dec.

The entertainment industry in the UK is a mess.
Some of the big-name west end theatres are having to advertise dep and chief roles multiple times before they even get one viable applicant, if they get any at all.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

What is the real impact for EV car owners and the surging cost of electricity ?? Could we see unit price per mile the same as cost of fuel etc etc

Its all about off peak charging or solar for ev charging
We pay 8.5p per kwh between 21:30-02:30
Our car has a 50kwh battery and is rarely below 10% range. Full charge range is 206 miles but city driving takes that to 250.
A full charge costs around £4.50 as the charge process is not 100% efficient.
Still much cheaper than petrol

 

[Rockingit]

The entertainment industry in the UK is a mess.
Some of the big-name west end theatres are having to advertise dep and chief roles multiple times before they even get one viable applicant, if they get any at all.

One of the problems that I think is happening with that is just simply the rates on offer - I'm seeing adverts for theatre roles paying a fraction of the equivalent freelance rates. It's always been that way, I know, but the gap is definitely widening. Be a theatre sound designer for £150/day or go and hang stadium delay towers on tour for £1k/day.....

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

When I was doing work we did work for lots of the Russians and Arabs all around Knightsbridge and the West End. Obviously you never met the owners , you just met their PA , team of designers and main buildings Contractor.
These were beautiful houses over 4 or 5 or 6 floors , 18-20 bedrooms , fully re-wired , fully re-plumbed , top of the range bathrooms , en-suites all the bells and whistles. Just sat empty.
I would sometimes get sent back months after the job was complete to change a lamp and a security guard would let you in and see you out , not a sole living there.

My best guess is its some form of money hiding money. These places would be worth £150million on the open market today

Had similar in Bath on Great pulteney Street, large town hosue plus mews building behind, installed a 22kw car charger. it still to this day has the bubble wrap on the lead plug unused. dealt with the 'caretaker' and his wife who had an apartment on the street as part of the job. its owned by the bahrain royal family. invoice was sent to the embassy in London and paid within the hour.
caretaker said he has to go shopping pretty much daily and get things like flowers etc. supervise cleaning just in case they want to stay there. he can be given as little as an hours notice the royals are on the way. they have stayed there less than a fortnight when some of the bahraini princesses if you call it that came to Bath.
Itsa completety different world.
Benefit for the caretaker of course is that he doesnt have to pay for much food!