Being your own boss and living your life on your own terms - Comes at a cost.

Not Money - Thats the aim to get

No skills - There are plenty of great electricians working for a boss

Not time either, there are electricians with busy families and hobbies they take up all their time.

So what is it that so many people have that makes them able to build their own business and earn good money to upskill and spend on their family?

That is what we are about to find out.

Tool box talk for electricians, helping electricians reduce stress, gain back time and earn more money.

Welcome back to tool box talk for electricians podcast, my name is Ben Poulter, your host and I have been running my own business as an electrician for the last 20 years.

I always remember how long it has been since I started because it was the year my daughter was born, and she was 20 this year.

Becoming a dad was one of the reasons I started my own business.

You see so many other people running a business, and as an electrician - you work for quite a few too.

Some of the people you work for, make you think “I could do what they're doing, that person and an idiot”.

That thought sits with you for a few years until you finally decide to start up on your own, or until work dries up with that company and you're forced to.

I would say that's the worst position to be in, being forced to start up on your own, I'm not saying it can't be done - anything can be done.

And that's the attitude you need to have starting up on your own.

However easy it sounds, if you haven't done it before, there will be a few lessons you need to learn fast in order to be a success.

Something that sticks with me for anything I do is Fail to Plan - Plan to fail.

I make a plan for everything. If I want a new bike, I will put an amount aside each month to save up for it.

If you really want that bike you will work hard to get there. It's having something to aim for that drives you to do better - or even turn up some morning.

It could even be paying off a credit card or a loan early, something that is going to benefit you in the long run, something to look forward to - A holiday is a good thing.

That way you can google things to do in Mexico to get you excited.

The kind of people who start up their own business are risk takers, you must have heard the term More risk - more reward, that is so true.

If you speak to an older electrician in their 60s who has run his own business, they will tell you the tough times they had to start it all up.

The loan they took on the house to start the business and the only reason they had to make it a success was because the wife would kick their ass if they lost the house.

These days things are different. If you have worked for a boss for 10 years I wouldn't jump straight into getting an office, stores and employing 10 electricians straight away.

A business that grows fast overnight will struggle to last.

There are so many people who have been offered a contract with a huge company and started up on their own - went all out and bought the tools and vans to do the job.

Only for a few years later the bigger company to go under, that contact is gone.

However fantastic you have been for that company, once the money is gone - your not getting paid.

This scenario has happened too many times to smaller businesses.

It's called having all your eggs in one basket and trusting people far too much.

This can happen so easily, if someone wants you to do the work they will tell you just what you want to hear.

It happened to me, I was the main contractor for a big company. The building work, plumbing and groundwork all used to go through me.

Times were so good I was giving the director a fantastic deal on work in his own private house.

One day I turned up and the business was under new management. I didn't even know, I was there to do the maintenance on the emergency lighting.

I was told I would have to tender for jobs in the future - the good days were over.

I never won another job at that company.

Sometimes it's all about who you know - not what you know.

I never even saw the old director of the company again. I suppose he wanted another electrician who could pay peanuts.

You learn this overtime running your own business, every customer is your best mate when you're working for them - but would they pull over if you broke down in the pouring rain?

This is something I believe a lot of tradespeople struggle with, the separation between friends and customers.

Some customers do become friends where you can drop in for a cuppa every now and again, that's not a bad idea, because there's always a little electrical problem that needs your attention, and a good customer will ask you to send an invoice for the work done.

Others will ask you over for a cup of tea and drop it on you - they will make it seem like they are asking for your advice - but the amount of time it takes to explain it all you may as well just do it.

When you're employed, the time you're on a job doesn't really matter - you get paid for the time you're there, it's when you know how much time is in for you to get the job complete.

It feels like you're on a timer, you know you have 2 days to do the work and if it doesn't get done, it will throw you the whole week out of sync.

This will add stress to get the job done, make you rush, mistakes will be made.

So if a job looks like it will take you a day and that's cutting it fine, put 2 days in for it.

When a person is under pressure it can go either of 2 ways - Sink or swim.

Being the boss this will happen a lot. Pressure from other trades to get a job done, Wholesalers sending you invoices for materials you haven't even installed yet…..

All you need to do is remember, it's all part of running a business - everyday you need to do what is at the top of the list, prioritise what is most important.

Even if this does mean pushing a job back, I worry all the time about letting a customer down to do a job, but when I call up to cancel - it works in their favour too, some have even said “sorry I completely forgot” So it works out perfect for both parties.

How do you deal with stress? If you let it affect you to the extent you worry about money, time and letting people down.

Work on that, I'm not saying dont care at all, but don't take your work home with you.

You need to be able to separate work life and family life.

The way I do this is to have a hobby, I used to get stressed and worry about everything - I even gave up being a spark for a couple of years.

The hobby I took up was motocross - when I'm on a bike at a track, I need to concentrate on holding on and catching up with the rest of the lads, apart from Sam he's usually behind me.

Ha he is going to hate that I said that.

The thing is you may think you haven't got what it takes to be your own boss because of the stress and things you have to do.

But you can teach an old dog new tricks, you can become a boss a lot easier than you can go back to being employed.

I have reached some points where I have thought - Screw this, I'm going to go get a job and just get paid a wage, but never gone as far as doing it.

Give yourself a day off because you can, or even a couple of weeks because you have some money in the back.

Then you come back recharged and ready to do it all again, with a stronger attitude to what stressed you out in the first place.

So if you're ready or really thinking about becoming your own boss and working for yourself, check out the other podcast How to Start Up On Your Own.

It may just plant a seed in your head to make a plan to go it alone.

It is a risk, but you only live once and you never know until you try.

Let me know what you think

Until next time