Speaker 1 (00:00):

So what makes a successful electrician? Is it that maybe you got a distinction in your last exam at college? Maybe you might have spent thousands of pounds on the best equipment and the best tools to work with. And everyone that you've ever worked for says that you're great, you're a great electrician. So they've got to be right. The thing is, if you don't work on what makes a successful electrician, you're going to be stuck with thousands of pounds worth of tools, fantastic bits of paper that say you are great and you've got a distinction in your last exam,

Speaker 1 (00:34):

and a few people that said, yeah, it's fantastic spark. And these are the things that don't necessarily pay the bills. I think having the work makes you a successful electrician and having a constant flow of work that also makes you basically successful. So in this podcast, I'm going to talk about what I think makes a successful electrician. Well, it's proved to what makes a successful electrician really, because you don't necessarily have to be any good because I've met plenty of electricians that are rubbish, to be honest,

Speaker 1 (01:07):

and they've got plenty of work. Toolbox Talks for Electricians, helping electricians reduce stress, gain back time and earn more money. Hello and welcome back once again. I'm your host of Toolbox Talks for Electricians, Ben Poulter. So what does it take to actually be a successful electrician and run your own business and not necessarily run your own business?

Speaker 1 (01:32):

Just be good at your job, maybe a good employee for somebody else and just to be able to make a good living out of being an electrician. So let's start with the skills. The first thing, the main thing you're going to need is skills and you've either got to be done an apprenticeship somewhere where it takes you around three or four years maybe to do an apprenticeship or some sort of college course just to get that paperwork, that piece of paper that's sitting in your qualifications or relevant qualifications to say that you are actually capable of doing that electrical work.

Speaker 1 (02:02):

So, yeah, I do think the skills is the first is the first protocol sort of thing to be able to get that bit of paper just so you can show other people when you maybe applying for a job or applying for your Part P registration, anything like that. So, yes, I have sat the relevant exams and qualifications to be able to do installations of electrical work and I know how it works. I'm safe at doing it. But with these qualifications, I don't think it necessarily means that you can be a successful electrician.

Speaker 1 (02:34):

It does, however, prove that, you know, the fundamentals, you've done the training and you know the fundamentals of how electricity actually works. But putting it all into practice, yeah, that's a different story. It is completely different seeing a wiring diagram on a bit of paper to actually go in on site and actually installing it. There's obstacles you've got to overcome, a bit like maybe containment,

Speaker 1 (03:01):

what you've got to put it inside. And also what right size materials you've got to use because of obviously outside influences, whether you're going to use armored, fireproof, twin and earth, flex. There's so many different things that obviously you need to know that they're probably, yeah, on paper. They teach you that at college, but it comes with a bit more experience actually being on site. So to start off with, yeah, having a qualification to say that you are a qualified electrician is definitely the best step to start with and the step in the right direction.

Speaker 1 (03:33):

But does it make you successful? So what if you do have all the latest tools, the best equipment, the most expensive equipment, the branded equipment, everything is top notch, what you've got in your van. Every one of your tools is maybe a top brand that cost a small fortune. And the one thing I will say about these expensive VDE insulated tools is that they protect you up to a thousand volts.

Speaker 1 (04:01):

So if you're not 100% confident in what you're doing, then yes, spend your money on all this expensive kit because you don't want to get shot or worse still, you don't want to kill yourself. So yeah, have these tools that are going to be insulated and protect you while you're at work. But one thing you will need as an electrician is insulated screwdrivers. That is the one thing that I can think of that I use near enough every job sort of thing that you sometimes you do tighten up a live terminal. You don't want to go in there with a normal screwdriver that's going to well, if you just accidentally touch that shaft, yet you're going to get a shock.

Speaker 1 (04:36):

You want insulated screwdrivers. So the main thing I think you put in your kit that you will you you've got no option but spend money on is a decent set of insulated screwdrivers and a little added bonus would be to get insulated cutters and spanners. But in my knowledge or my experience in a domestic environment, how many times do you work live with a spanner or cutters? You don't want to use your cutters to cut live cable because as soon as you do cut live cable pop it goes at 60 pound pair of cutters that you just spent on them VDE cutters that protect you.

Speaker 1 (05:10):

Yep, they protect you stop you getting a shock. But this is why we test we test it. So we don't have to blow a hole in our cutters and we don't have to go out and buy a new pair every week. I've had it before I went out and bought myself a nice new pair of cutters. I think fantastic. They're great but accidents. Yep, they do happen and I didn't test it. I admit it. Yeah, these facts that happen. I popped it. It was a shaver point.

Speaker 1 (05:31):

I thought it was dead. I thought the line circuit was dead. So yet in my head, I'm ripping it out the shaver points dead. It wasn't dead. It popped it. It popped a little nick in them blades and then cutters erect. It is not like you can send the banger. Yeah, I chopped a live cable without making you replace them because they're blown up. They're no good. They're just scrap. I've tried to file them down. I've tried to make them better, but they're not. They just scrap after that. You just got to throw them in a bin and having some good kit. Yeah, it does make the job easier like them super rods or CK rods.

Speaker 1 (06:02):

There's a lot of different brands. You put them rods across the ceiling. They make your job or make your life a little bit easier when wiring in any premises even in domestic and commercial or industrial. They come in handy everywhere and there's so many tools I can think of. I've done even a podcast on it. There's some great tools that electricians use for making their life a little bit easier. Some of the some are quite expensive, but they do save you so much time in the long run. But having all these fancy tools, does it necessarily make you a good electrician?

Speaker 1 (06:33):

So what we've got, we've got Hager, Schneider, and we've got MK. They are the only brands which I will install. They are the top brands, the most fantastic equipment and the materials. The only materials that I buy that I install in people's premises. Well, that's what some electricians are like. And if they've got the money in the job and they can afford to do that with a job, fantastic. Why not? I do think these brands are great brands. They were approved over time. They've stuck the test of time out.

Speaker 1 (07:01):

They do the job and they last very well. But saying that apart from MK, once I am installed, there must have been about 25 boards. There was a deal going on. So I bought all these split loads boards. That's how long ago it was. They installed all these boards. But then a year later, there's a call back. And they say you got to check that product number on the isolator. So I had to go around to every job and check the isolate because the 100 amp isolators were faulty. So you had to change them out. They send you the isolators for free.

Speaker 1 (07:31):

But I had to go around to the job. You couldn't send someone else to do it. You can pay someone else to do it. It was a nightmare. So this is steered me away from putting in MK boards. But if you install like all the top brands, you've got Hager, Schneider, all the top brands, the best equipment, the most expensive equipment, does that necessarily make you successful at being an electrician? Because if you're just using them boards and them known brands, then yep, they are fantastic all the time. And you don't give these other ones a go. Maybe like Fusebox that's out or Verso are bringing some great boards out,

Speaker 1 (08:05):

which I know with these two companies that they listen to customer feedback and they sort of adapt their equipment to suit the electrician's need. They are electrician. Is this any good? Do you find it fantastic? Do you do do you enjoy working with this? Why do you install it? What do you like? What don't you like? They listen to that feedback and they tweak it. They were a smaller company so they can afford to maybe tweak or change it. I'm not even sure whether Hager do that.

Speaker 1 (08:32):

I don't think they do. I haven't heard of it. But I know that Verso and Fusebox they do. They've changed it over the time. This is like an up-and-coming brand. They're getting better and better all the time. Back in the day when I first started out, I used to love working on Crabtree Fuse boards. I thought they were fantastic. They were solid. They did the job. And they were just they worked well. They were nice big and the RCDs were were just functional. And then they never went faulty. They were good pieces of kit. But these days I haven't been to a wholesalers.

Speaker 1 (09:01):

They actually stock Crabtree Fuse boards these days. I think Crabtree maybe was a big brand back in the day, but it's being left behind. And if you look to what happened to blockbusters, they have the opportunity to buy out Netflix. They said no, that's fine. Thanks. They don't want it. Well, they're not around anymore. Are they didn't work out well for them. I think maybe giving these new brands on the market ago and installing them maybe if you've got a job and you think I'm going to test this out, give it a go.

Speaker 1 (09:31):

And you might find that it's better than the previous brand that you used to use. Sometimes being an older guy, definitely I stick with Apple phones these days. I've tried to go to Samsung because in my eyes, yet Samsung is a better phone. But I've tried to go to Samsung phone and I'm stuck in my ways. I know how Apple works. So I put myself off from changing and it's similar to the way we use refuse boards. If you used to Hager, Hager has been around forever. So you used to install in Hager, you know exactly how it works and you're comfortable with it.

Speaker 1 (10:03):

But what if there is a better solution or a better product out there, but you're too stuck in your ways to give it a go. Give these brands a go. Give other brands a go and try them out because you might just think that a little bit better. But one thing you will find out is not if it's no good, then you won't use it again. You won't you just try out. You'll give it a go. But nine times out of ten, I've tried a different brand than thought and about yeah, this new technology. This is a little bit better. So I'm going to start using this and installing it and a lot of the time is a little bit cheaper.

Speaker 1 (10:35):

But then thinking about it, do all these top brands Hager, Schneider and all the fantastic top names, do they make you be a successful electrician if you only install that? So let's say you've got a shedload of mates and you're in the pub every night and in that pub is your local. So, you know, everybody in there and 90% of them, they're in the same boat as you. They're tradesmen. They're either builders, plumbers, carpenters, labourers. They do all sorts.

Speaker 1 (11:01):

Well, if you think about it and you're the only spark among them in that pub, you're in prime position. One thing is common is that tradesmen always get asked for other tradesmen. I've been on site before where not just on site, but on people's building sites or domestic premises, all sorts of sites. Well, they said, you know, a plumber, you know, a carpenter. Well, yeah, you do know because a lot of your friends that you maybe know from back in the day that are plumbers and carpenters and you keep their number in the phones and you pass a number on.

Speaker 1 (11:31):

So if these people in the pub, the tradesmen, the builders, the plumbers, the carpenters, they all do the same with you and that's going to help you massively. I think a lot of the guys that I still know to this day they've still got me in their phone as Ben the electrician. If you think about it, each tradesman, they'll pass your number on to other tradesmen that they know, they meet on site, they'll pass them on to customers, they'll pass them on to family and friends and this is what will keep your phone ringing continuously. But having all these contacts and having all these people have your number to call your work when they want electrical work doing,

Speaker 1 (12:06):

does that make you a successful electrician? Well, if you're constantly getting phone calls from maybe other tradesmen, the builders, one electrician on site or customers or even builders that are passing numbers on to family and friends, I'd say you're doing pretty well. So what are you like with customers? Yep, I know the ones that you've maybe known for a little while that you get on well, you know I'm as friends really, end of the day, they're not necessarily customers anymore.

Speaker 1 (12:31):

You get on quite well, you can go around and have a cup of tea and biscuits just on the off chance. Sometimes you can pop in even if you're in the area. But what about the new customers that you meet? The new customers that you go around to give them a quote. What are you like with them? Because these customers also can become part of your sort of network of customers that could possibly keep you going in work for years. In my opinion, when you meet a new customer, you cannot by any means be a moody git.

Speaker 1 (13:01):

You need to turn up at their house happy as Larry like you've just won the lottery. Well, maybe not that excited, but you know what I mean? Because I've sent tradesmen around to people's house before I've been around to a customer's house. They said, oh, do you know a Tyler? I said, yeah, no worries. Give this guy a ring. He is fantastic. I've seen all his work. He is a best Tyler I know. But he's gone around there and maybe give them a quote, but it was a moody git. And they said, yeah, he was a bit grumpy. So we didn't want to go with him. Bit grumpy,

Speaker 1 (13:31):

in my opinion, it doesn't matter if you're grumpy or not. If you do a good job, then you do a good job. But this guy was a little bit grumpy. So he didn't get the work. I don't know whether he didn't want the work or he didn't want to do it or anything like that, but it looked like it was a new build. It was fantastic. A few tiles in a kitchen. I thought it would have done a great job. But because that customer didn't get on with him or didn't relate to him and didn't feel comfortable leaving him in the house, didn't feel comfortable around him. Yeah, they chose to go with somebody else. So when you go around there, when you go around to initially meet the customer for the first time and just to give them the quote for the work and obviously see what they want doing to start with,

Speaker 1 (14:08):

take your time. Have a little chat. If you get offered a cup of tea, have a cup of tea. I guarantee you, if you go into that house, you take your time, you'd be nice, polite and happy and you sit down, maybe have a cup of tea with them. I can guarantee you that you've already got the job before you've even left the house. So being friendly with customers, is that gonna make you a successful electrician?

Speaker 1 (14:32):

Hell yeah, the customers are what pay you their money. They pay you the hard earned cash. They pay you to put the lights up. They pay you to wire the kitchen. They pay you to do the work. So take your time and be nice. If you make a great impression on that customer, no doubt that customer is gonna go to work the next day. They're gonna tell everyone about it. This electrician come around, he did a fantastic job. He recommended these lovely LED lights, these beautiful sockets that we put on in the kitchen. They're gonna tell their friends and family and work colleagues and everyone about it.

Speaker 1 (15:03):

And that's gonna 10 times that meeting of your sort of customer base. It's gonna grow it even bigger. And this has happened to me a few times. I've done a lot of work for people around in my area but they had a mum and dad that lived in Scotland and they said they can't find electrician. They can't find a reliable electrician to turn up. So I was asked to go to Scotland to change a fuse board. Obviously I had to stay the night because it's a long way up there and I'm glad I did because his dad liked a bit of tipple. So we had a few drinks at night.

Speaker 1 (15:31):

But yeah, I went that far and charged a decent amount of money to go and change a fuse board in Scotland. Just because I was a friend of the family. I did all the electrical work for their family and friends around here. So they obviously up in Scotland were on the phone to them. They asked, they said, oh, do you know a decent electrician? Yep, Ben. So they didn't even have for a quote, which was pretty lucky. So they didn't wanna have to travel up there and give them a quote or over FaceTime or anything like that. It would have been a nightmare. They just told me exactly what I wanted doing. So I knew there was a local wholesalers in that area.

Speaker 1 (16:01):

So I thought, right, yep, I'll get up there. I'll give it the day and go out and change a board. So networking with other tradesmen and customer relations skills. I think that is what makes a successful electrician. And when I say successful electrician, I'll tell you don't necessarily have to be any good. I know electricians that are rubbish. They'll sit rack and they'll say, I'm rubbish, I'm 16th edition qualified. I haven't done an upgrade in years. They're still just tottering around on their 16th edition because they know the basics of electrics and they're running a business as electrician.

Speaker 1 (16:34):

Now, I know a lot of people out there, a lot of sparks, a lot of guys, a lot of girls that are sort of shy of social media and putting themselves out there on camera, anything like that. But just for once, get out your comfort zone, leave a comment down below telling me a little bit about yourself and what you do for a living. Maybe even how long you've been an electrician or your idea of what makes a successful electrician.

Speaker 1 (17:01):

So pop it in the comments down below. And until next time, I'll see you soon.