Electrical Contractor Business Ideas

By DonShook

I would like to share with you some electrical contractor business ideas.

I will be sharing some ideas that you may want to think about if you are currently in business as an electrical contractor. Or if you plan on going into business in the future. Electrical contractor business ideas are just that, ideas.

But what about the electrical contractors that have followed proven methods for profitability, time freedom, and business systems. We could say that those business principles are ideas. But at some point when company after company after company create success, with those business systems. Those ideas become solid business principles that are proven to work time and time again.

I would like to go over some of those electrical business principles with you. Here I will list in bullet points some of the electrical contractor business ideas that I will be going over.

I wish I could just write one article and cover all of the basis that you need in order to have a solid foundation for your electrical business. I will list out the items I will cover. Check back often, as I will go through each one step by step.

I already know that almost everyone reading this, that owns an electrical contracting business will want to know what are the secrets to marketing.

How do I get the phone to ring?
How to get more jobs?
How do I find the best electricians?
How do I make higher profits?
How do I control labor and material cost?
How do I market correctly to increase my call volume during the slow time?
What is the silver bullet? Just give me the silver bullet.

These are all very good questions, and I will answer all of them. But what a lot of electrical contractors don’t understand or simply refuse to address is that it’s what you do that makes all of those things happen in your business.

So if you are someone who thinks that you can skip the small stuff, bypass the systems, ignore business numbers and systems then reading this is not for you.

But if you are tired of –
Feeling like you’re going in circles.
Tired of not having time to do much of anything outside of your business life.
Tired of not making the profits you know you should.
Tired of feeling like you are all alone in getting your business to that next level.
Tired of having huge gross profits, but small net profit.

Tired of being the marketer, book-keeper, electrician, call taker, etc etc.

Then read below and let me walk you through the first part of the system that has worked for so many other electrical companies.

Electrical contractor business ideas

Here are the subjects we will be training on and going over, in no specific order.

Marketing plan specifically for electrical businesses.
Understanding, tracking, and using your business numbers. (The 11 numbers you must know.)
Examining the health of your business as it is today. (The 20 vital statistics.)
How to increase profit in your business.
How to get more business because of your price increase. (I know that one sounds crazy.) Just wait!
Planning for growth
having a specific business plan that goes from where you are to where you want to be.
Managing employees.
Proper steps to go from a 1 man shop to 10 and maintain a very high profitability.
Daily performance reports
Developing a training plan.
Analyzing how your local market thinks about your business and what you offer.
Developing operational excellence.
Developing an exit strategy to sell or hand over your successful operation.
And much more…

Today I would like to start by asking you. When was the last time you sat down and seriously thought about what you want your electrical business to look like? And how much would you like to make in pure profit 5 years from now.

This is where I like to start, because I’m sure we all know of those electrical contractor business ideas or plans that went something like this.

They started their business 25-30 years ago. They are still working out in the field. They have to be there every day and are tired of dealing with putting out fires all day. Their bank account goes up and down just like their call volume does. They have very little or no retirement and drive a service truck that doubles as their personal vehicle. They have no idea who will buy the business after all those years of hard work and dedication, because without them the company will fold.

I could go on but the point is that regardless of where you are at today, you will only get to where you want to go if you know exactly where you want to be.

I will get to the meat like marketing etc, in another article but for now just take some time, sit down and think about how much money you would like to make. Is it 200,000 in pure profit? maybe it’s 1million in profit. What do you want to make? Write that number down.

Next think about how often you would like to come in to the office 2 hours per day, 1 time per week, 1 time per month, one time every 3 months. Even if you are there 12 hours per day now. Even if your current office is your home. It does not matter. just picture what and where you want it to be. Write down how much time you would like to spend working in the business.

If you do or don’t have a commercial office location, then what will that office look like? NOTE!!! on the office. Most electrical business owners do not see their business office as an asset. The electrical business will pay off this commercial property and you will be able to sell it at a profit when that time comes. Some people split up the building and rent out multiple commercial units for long term income month after month. Write down what that office building will look like.

Think about how well your business is running with systems. Even if you are currently are a 1 man shop. Think about and picture your electricians coming in the morning. How well the operations manager gets them in and out. how well the president that you put in place to do your task runs the company. think about how you can pull up any data that you want about your business numbers and operation on the internet from anywhere in the world. Write out exactly how your business flows and operates like a well oiled machine.

Now that you have a thought about how you want your company to operate and have your 5 year goals written out in detail. We can move on to the next subject. In my next article I will be discussing if you should go up in price and the common misconceptions that are associated with your product and service pricing.