Moving forward

gazdkw82 · Mar 16, 2017

Evening all,

looking for some advice on the most sensible way to move forward. Iv just passed my level 2 and have some experience. I eventually plan to go on my own when I feel ready and have enough experience to do my own business justice. However in the meantime I plan to do the odd job (weekends, evenings etc) to build up experience and hopefully clientele.

My first initial thoughts are to set up a few business pages on social media, get some business cards etc.... however I'm aware this may tip me into the boundaries of sole trading. I'm not sure what the best route is with this. Some advice would be really helpful.

Thanks

Richard Burns · Mar 16, 2017

As soon as you do a job for a customer for payment then you are starting your business and you are a self employed person, at least in the eyes of the HMRC.

I think many people start off in the way you describe and it does have some advantages, but some disadvantages as well.
Any business when you first start is likely to be very slow to get going unless you have a good range of contacts to supply you with business and services for you to offer.
Therefore it seems sensible to start off doing small jobs on off times.

However the down side to this is that say a customer thinks you are good and offers you a house rewire you are then a bit stuck for time and perhaps experience. There can be advantages to doing weekend and evening work as many people are working and would love someone to come over then, however if you are promoting this as a USP then once work gets going you will find that you are working 24 hours a day!

You would need to approach this with some transparency for customers, this can be difficult as saying, I am a trainee and not available during the week, may well discourage people from selecting you (though some will jump at the chance to be able to fleece you, unfortunately).
If you can present yourself as a starting electrician who can provide a good service for small jobs at times convenient for the customer then this could work.
Try and ensure that any work you do will be generating income, although some jobs may be done just for the experience it is not something that you should make a habit of. If you can find an electrician nearby (or even not so nearby to avoid them training the competition) who may be happy to pay someone to assist (on weekends?) on the odd occasion then this can be a good introduction. It would still be operating as a business but in a more limited way. If they were also amenable to providing advice for your jobs this would be a bonus.

You have a good understanding of the requirements of the regulations and you have some experience so it is probably time to start getting further experience in a practical manner but try and minimise the risk of delivering a service that is below par for customers.

I am just reminded (not that I think this is you at all) of going to a house where someone had wired the outside lights in white FP cable and used loop in wiring and really made a right mess of it.
It was clear from the customers description that this was a early trainee with some access to FP cable but no real knowledge of the possibilities for wiring or the standards to which to work. I recommended that they do not use this person again.
Obviously over time he will presumably get better but any customers he had at the beginning will not use him and will recommend against him in the future.

This is what you want to avoid, try and be clear about the range of operations you know you can do and do the best job you can (in the time) and ensure that you have prepared the sensible reasons why you would not take on the jobs for which you will need further experience.

Hope it all goes well and good luck.

gazdkw82 · Mar 16, 2017

Thankyou so much for this response, I found it really useful.

I always adhere to being as transparent and clear as possible. I have no problem in making it clear that I am just starting out but also reassure that all work is carried out to a professional standard. Iv done some shadowing with some local electricians and personally feel my work is of the same standard, the only difference is the time taken to do jobs.

I think for now I'll stick to my plan, get some social media pages, a website, some business cards etc. I won't be advertising for work but I'll make sure my friends and family know I exist I take it from there.

I am very aware of my limitations, iv wondered a few times about what I would do if one of my happy customers who I'd done some minor work for wanted a re-wire etc.... maybe I could Carry the work out with help from my local electricians that iv worked for etc... not sure how that will pan out.

Thankyou

D00DY_T00DY · Mar 16, 2017

gazdkw82 said:
Thankyou so much for this response, I found it really useful.

I always adhere to being as transparent and clear as possible. I have no problem in making it clear that I am just starting out but also reassure that all work is carried out to a professional standard. Iv done some shadowing with some local electricians and personally feel my work is of the same standard, the only difference is the time taken to do jobs.

I think for now I'll stick to my plan, get some social media pages, a website, some business cards etc. I won't be advertising for work but I'll make sure my friends and family know I exist I take it from there.

I am very aware of my limitations, iv wondered a few times about what I would do if one of my happy customers who I'd done some minor work for wanted a re-wire etc.... maybe I could Carry the work out with help from my local electricians that iv worked for etc... not sure how that will pan out.

Thankyou

Very good idea to let friends and family know you're an electrician.

Most of my little jobs in the evening/weekends is through word of mouth but not many know I'm an apprentice electrician(aware of it. Not that I tell them I'm qualified) but getting other bigger jobs through my brother who's a plumber but they tend to be larger jobs that I can't certify or that I don't have the tools to do.
But if you get the word out you always have the opertunity to say yes if you feel capable

Resu · Mar 18, 2017

Richard has hit the nail on the head.

Richard Burns said:
This is what you want to avoid, try and be clear about the range of operations you know you can do and do the best job you can (in the time) and ensure that you have prepared the sensible reasons why you would not take on the jobs for which you will need further experience.

This is probably the most important part if you want to succeed. Know your limit, this should stop you shooting yourself in the foot!

By the sounds of it you'll be doing this around another job so just take it easy initially and as you get more confident you can take more/bigger jobs on, this should avoid upsetting potential clients/your other half if you get snowed under!