National Work/Advertising

[DurhamSparky]

Hi Chaps,

I m just about to climb on board a national LTD company's band wagon and after some advice,

any ways, what i get / they get

I am getting LOCAL advertising 100,000 leaflet drops a month ,National Advertising in a Daily Newspaper alongside the Main Companys advert! 3 days a week

the guarantee of all electrical work and leads and potential to earn a alot of money, use of there Card Payment systems

what i have to do!!

Rebrand / Create a Trading Name along lines of there company name, have the ability to carry out works around the country with there fitter , have a positive input into the company and help it grow..!

the catch!!!! i got to pay towards my share of advertising costs currently 10% or work dependant!


the company is currently turning over approx 15k a week with 2-3k been electrical work!!



what's your input and advice

 

[calv68]

grow your own business mate, what if it turns out like mr electric.

 

[DurhamSparky]

underneath the advertising will be my business and it will be a separate company all together, the LTD company is ran by from same village as me and i did some work for him and he was impressed hence the offer.. the truth of the matter is that he was paying different sparks and could not gurantee quality at each job..! i got cold feet but it looks like he is pushing boundaries to really get me on board..!

 

[flukey]

im with calv, home grown business with your own client base is definitely the way forward. hang in there things seem to be improving now

 

[calv68]

i think your talking yourself into this one steve, then if so go for it and good luck, its sometimes better to regret doing something than to regret not doing anything at all.

 

[DurhamSparky]

sorry misquoted advertising costs figure. they currently spend 500 a week on advertising and want me to pay an input based on work from it! i.e if i get 2 jobs for 800 quid they would want 10% of 500quid..!= £50 if i got no work then i pay nothing...!!

i also get to KEEP my own company as well and bill clients seperatly for any works carried out..!


cold feet / warm feet lol.....

 

[cornburn]

Why not start off as a subby for him if work turns up and see how it goes, it obviously sounds very promising and is easy to get excited but in reality what is he going to be doing for you to get the work that you couldn't do yourself? Why can't you turn up at his jobs wearing one of his shirts instead of your own and he invoices the client for the lot and pays you? Maybe he's after someone to have more input and dedication to what he's trying to achieve, or maybe he's looking for a fall guy just in case.

If you know him and you see an opportunity though then might be worth a go if you get a good feeling, just be careful how involved in the running of the company you become and make sure it's worth it for the time he might be expecting you to put in. Also check that legally he couldn't stitch you up with it being a Ltd company and make sure your accountant's happy with you running 2 businesses like that.

 

[acat]

Providing you pay nothing if you get nothing then I dont see a problem unless you have to sign a contract if that is the case it would be worth the cost of a solicitor to ensure that you are not signing your life away and to ensure you know exactly what you are getting.

As the others have said continue to grow your own business, if he goes bankrupt tomorrow you are not going to be outside the local supermarket with your cap on the floor.

Chris









Chris

 

[m4tty]

im with calv, home grown business with your own client base is definitely the way forward. hang in there things seem to be improving now

I like home grown

 

[lee sandland]

This is very true of" acat "it sounds like a scam ,you never have to pay to work ,they pay you to work , is'nt that the way it works . Some ring you ,give them a quote ,get the job . Why do you need a middle man

 

[DurhamSparky]

bit more info... My Business will be LoveMyElectrican and will be an Advertising Name of Durham Electrics (every thing else will be Durham Eectrics, invoice/paper work and business details inc Elecsa Registration blah blah blah

he wants me on board as a Sub Contractor / (non contributory) Business Partner as (im been honest here) he dont have a clue when it comes to business workings and stuff he relies on his Wife to manage every thing and i been advising him on books/accounts etc...... he is a excellent sales man as thats his previous life in a nutshell..!

his electrical work ranges from all things loft inc lights to sockets and soon to be Garage conversions.

there is no contract to sign and im under no obligation to pay him any thing apart from a share of advertising which i don't mind as long as it works and i get extra work in..!

as said before he used differnt sparks depending on who was available in yellow pages at short notice so his quality of work / prices were constantly different and he never really had chace to build a relationship with the spark involved ... plus he was let down a few times by them sparks who obviously have so much money they dont bother coming to site or informing him they cant make it...

i done some work for him and hes sound guy / lives litterally round corner from me!

cant see what i got to lose here and im warming to the idea! but still have cold feet... but then again im not dropping any thing to soley just deal with him so hope all is ok.!

 

[Sparky Ninja]

If it were me I would be excited with the interest and opportunity. However I think I would suggest a 6 month trial working on that plan before you start commiting your own companies trade.
It's amazing how different people can appear when you go from dealing with them periodically, to relying on working with them successfully.

 

[DurhamSparky]

Thief!!!!!!!!

Get that avatar down now!!!

 

[Sparky Ninja]

Thief!!!!!!!!

Get that avatar down now!!!

Hell no


If you've had to put up with as much BS from them as I have, you would understand.

 

[DurhamSparky]

what bull did you have to put up with!!!

i used to work for one franchisee!! !

 

[acat]

I can understand your cold feet if you are under no obligation then neither is he, even husbands and wifes fall out so perhaps after a trial period you should have some form of written agreement then at least if he turns sour on you for whatever reason you have something in writing.

Good salesmen are also to a point very good conmen as well. From what you have said it sounds to good to be true and you know what they say if it sounds to good to be true it generally is.


Hope it works out for you


Chris

 

[DurhamSparky]

i know where he lives and i know how much he needs his 60amp Service fuse...

 

[Baal]

Any chance of an update to this thread? is it working out?

 

[DurhamSparky]

No i parted company as although yes the work was there i got to know him bit more as the job went on! turns out he is an ex con for credit card fraud, catalogue fraud, dodgy dealing and his shocking workmanship coupled no invoices and rip the granny off attitude was bit to much for me to stomach! in the end he refused to pay me 630 quid as i told one of his customers that his building work was not in accordance with building control...! I had to use Thomas Higgins solicitors to reclaim my money + Charges!

any way customer was happy i told him about the work and stopped paying him..! he paid me in full and gave me extra 800 quid of work in his house for my honesty..! we now get along very well and as a result i can get my van/cars serviced at a main stream garage for £30 plus parts..!

 

[Baal]

It's amazing how many of these types exist but at least you got what was due and retained the ability to sleep at night!
Every cloud......