With so many electricians starting up on their own and building their own business.

Some find it scary starting out, Because you have to:

Meet the customer

Go through what the customer wants

Explain to the customer how it will be done

Then give them a price.

Once that price is accepted - You actually have to go in and design the install and do it.

To many electricians this just comes naturally, but what if you haven't ever done it before?

In this podcast I'm going to go step by step on the process of what electricians do to complete a job.

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

Hello and welcome back once again, My name is Ben poulter your host of tool box talk for electricians.

When starting up on your own it can be challenging to go out and price jobs for yourself, then you have to carry out the work in order to get paid what you quote too.

I decided to explain just how I do it, From getting a call from the customer to getting paid!

The job I have chosen is for someone who I have worked for over the years on many different projects.

You will find, if a customer is happy with your work, they will get you in for everything they do, even if it is changing a few sockets.

I knew this call was coming, One of the other guys that I had been working with told me about the customer purchasing a property to flip.

When people are flipping houses, its a tight time schedule, they want in and out.

So on Friday the customer got the keys. They texted me in the evening.

Can I pop over on Saturday because they are there all day ripping things out!

SATURDAY - The Weekend I don't work on saturdays GET LOST!

This particular customer has become a friend, I reckon I could have said that back in a text and they would have laughed.

As it happened I wasn't doing much on Saturdays so said i would give them a call when i'm on my way.

I turn up and there ripping the house to bits!!!

To be honest, that's what I like to see. It means I make a load of mess myself with chases and getting floorboards up.

Right what am I quoting for?

I don't know, Just the electrics.

I would have suggested a full test to see what condition the property's electrical installation was in.

But each room needed extra sockets and they wanted down lights in the bathroom and kitchen too.

The fuse board was easy access so I took a look inside. RED and Black cable - With an earth mind you.

My first thought was, this property isn't in too bad of a condition.

I suggested a day rate. I will come in and install new sockets and downlights, if anything needs replacing I will.

Deal - Don't rip me off they said - No promises.

The only thing I needed from the customer was the drawing of the kitchen, I needed to make sure all the sockets were in place.

Other than that, I booked in a day to come and get started.

It's always a pain to know where to start on a house renovation. Sometimes the plasters want to get in and get the kitchen ready to be fitted next week.

This one I decided to start with the upstairs sockets, which were on a ring circuit.

3 bedroom house with 4 double sockets in each bedroom, split that ring into 2 radials straight away.

The board was a wylex, so getting hold of mcbs for the 17th edition dual rcd board wasn't a problem.

I know what your thinking - Upgrade the board you tight ass.

This house is being done up for sale. If the board still meets current regulations, I'm not going to rip it out just to make more work for myself.

When I had the upstairs floorboards up I also thought I would stick an outside front light in too. Just reminds the customer why they hired you - You're better than the rest.

The lighting circuit needed rewiring upstairs, the feed from the board was in the middle of the wall for some reason, so we ripped that out too.

With a new customer it would have been a good idea to ask the budget of what they had down for the electrics and then let them know if the work was going to go anywhere near that, most of the time it goes over.

On this particular job. I have worked with the same customer on a number of jobs and they trusted me to do what was needed.

When you get to a position like that with a customer, it makes this so much easier.

A few days later my work was complete, all I needed to do was go through with the customer and explain what I had done and give the whole house a test.

As the customer wasnt sure if they were going to rent the property or sell it, either way a test certificate on the electrical installation would be needed at some point.

Then comes the part of the invoice.

Every time I went to the wholesalers for materials I asked the address of the property to be put as the reference.

This was when it came to doing the invoice. I know just what materials I have used on the job.

Of course there was some material like screws, wagos and clips I already had in the van, this goes down to a standard price for sundries.

I may have already had them, but I paid for them once upon a time.

On the quote I details what work was done, for example -

Install 6 x LED downlights in kitchen area

I don't mention any materials or separate the cost for each job.

If it's 6 downlights installed at £300, that cost is for the job to be completed.

If you start to detail:

15m of 1,5 cable

1 x backbox

1 x 1 gang switch

It's going to take you too much time, also some customers will go on the screwfix website and find the cheapest switch - then ask you why yours is 50p extra.

When a customer does that, it's the last job you do for them!

Also with a domestic job I want paying within 7 days of the invoice being sent.

Some electricians send the test certificate along with the invoice, if it's a new customer - I hold on to that certificate until the invoice is paid.

Just in case - You never know.

In the email I send to the customer, I also put if there are any problems to let me know.

Everyone will be more likely to email you back with any concerns, rather than call on the phone.

Although you really just need to be paid, you also want to make sure the customer is 100% happy with the work you have done.

This way they will recommend you to family and friends and are more likely to leave you a good review.

Remember, a reputation can take a lifetime to build, but 5 minutes to ruin.

This is typically how most of my jobs work these days. The more customers you have - it's less likely they will ask you for a quote.

You are just asked to get on and get it done.

If you're a one man band running your own business, this makes things a lot simpler.

I must say though, you need to go through a good amount of customers to have a handful that treat you like this.

I have tried to simply explain how easy it can be to run your own business, when being an electrician.

I dont think its that hard as some electricians make out, it does get a lot easier the more you do it - like anything in life.

All you need to do is have the right tools and learn how to use them.

There is a link to a few in the show notes, check them out to see if they can help you in your business.

Until next time