Electrician Talk - Professional Electrical Contractors Forum - Business, Marketing, and Sales http://www.electriciantalk.com The business of contracting discussed here. Everything from starting up a new business to expanding a successful one. en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:48:17 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.electriciantalk.com/images/misc/rss.jpg Electrician Talk - Professional Electrical Contractors Forum - Business, Marketing, and Sales http://www.electriciantalk.com Are You Still Estimating Jobs? http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/you-still-estimating-jobs-10049/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:06:38 GMT I am just curious how many others are feeling the same way. With this horrible economy I am less and less willing to bid or quote jobs. It has gotten... I am just curious how many others are feeling the same way. With this horrible economy I am less and less willing to bid or quote jobs. It has gotten to the point where I do not want to waste my time because I know there are on average 7 or 8 other contractors chasing the same job. For the commercial guys out there, I am sure you are aware of how much time and effort it takes to bid some of these jobs. I used to bid alot of jobs when the economy was good,however, less and less with this economy.

As far as homeowners go, I will not even waste my time if I feel they are price shopping, because it is so cut throat right now.

It is really sad what this once great trade has come to. ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales gptechelec http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/you-still-estimating-jobs-10049/ EBM, Master Builder Software http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/ebm-master-builder-software-10017/ Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:13:35 GMT Hello everyone: I need some advise on estimating and accounting software. I guess you can say I like gadgets. I recently did a demo on Sage Master... Hello everyone:

I need some advise on estimating and accounting software. I guess you can say I like gadgets. I recently did a demo on Sage Master Builder and loved it. I am currently using Quickbooks Contractors Version. I am a small shop doing well under 1,000,000 a year. I do both commercial & residential. Am I wasting money spending 6-8K on Master Builder considering my size? Quickbooks does do a good job so far.

Also, same holds true for estmating. I have been using EBM for many years now. I am very good with it and program has won me a lot of work. I did a demo on Con Est, Accubid and McCormick recently. I really liked Con Est. Again, considering my size should I save money and stick with EBM.. I have estimated some large jobs with EBM without any problems. I am using EBM Pro with every speciality database they make. I also would like to mention that EBM had "creeped" up in price more and more every year with yearly support, and are really not much of a bargain anymore. This is what is making me consider other software.

Finally, any thoughts on Estimation by Maxwell. Have heard good and bad?

Thanks ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales gptechelec http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/ebm-master-builder-software-10017/ Fixture Counts http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/fixture-counts-10012/ Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:41:27 GMT I have a question for my fellow estimators. When we estimate jobs we really only use one light fixture rep. You guys may roll your eyes and laugh... I have a question for my fellow estimators. When we estimate jobs we really only use one light fixture rep. You guys may roll your eyes and laugh because we only use one rep but the reality is in our market there are approximately 3 other companies that rep other manufacturers but these companies are quite simply snakes. In the past when we have done jobs with them their service is so incredibly poor that we have zero desire to ever do business with them again. The one rep who we solely use has been doing business with us for the past 15 years and we have absolutely no complaints with him. When we are bidding a project the rep will do all the fixture counts for us, gaurantee the counts, gaurantee approval and do the job as we expect. While we have no desire to go to any other of the reps who we feel do not deserve our business, we do have concerns that possibly we are paying to much to our loyal rep not only because he knows he is the only one quoting us but also because he has an extra margin figured in to cover missed fixtures.

I know one question people may ask is why don't we do our own counts. The vast majority of our jobs are large schools with often 25-30 different type fixtures and usually well over 3,000 fixtures total on the job. Yes we could do our own counts but we just feel safer having out rep do the counts and gaurantee them. The problem is with the job market as it is now we are concerned that the extra margin he has pumped in his quote is hurting us getting jobs. Or are we overreacting and most likely the margin he is putting in his quote to cover his missed fixtures isn't that much?

Any Thoughts?? ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales 3rdgeneration http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/fixture-counts-10012/ Vehicles http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/vehicles-9994/ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:52:43 GMT hi guys, just wondering, how many guys are running multiple trucks/vans fleets? We currently have about 25 vehicles on the road, service... hi guys,

just wondering, how many guys are running multiple trucks/vans fleets?

We currently have about 25 vehicles on the road, service vans, minivans, cargo, etc. some come back here to the yard, others go home with the guys. Some are well maintained, others don't see the inside of a shop until something breaks :censored:.

The whole issue has been a real bear over the years. Jealousy, seniority, vehicle abuse, "why does so&so get a truck and I don't?" Sometimes I have to wonder if it's worth the bother.

how do you guys approach company vehicles? Do you have Vehicle/use policies? anyone using GPS on the vans? ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales Thomps http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/vehicles-9994/ sales tax http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/sales-tax-9946/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:18:42 GMT Lazy today,I'm sure it's been asked here.

Do you tax labor? I got a quote in the mail and something didn't look right.

Thanx :whistling2: ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales leland http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/sales-tax-9946/ Just passed NC state exam..need advice http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/just-passed-nc-state-exam-need-advice-9925/ Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:58:06 GMT I have recently passed the nc state electrical exam and I am filling out the paperwork to activate my license. I was planning to activate my license... I have recently passed the nc state electrical exam and I am filling out the paperwork to activate my license. I was planning to activate my license as a sole proprietorship for side work at first because I work for a large electrical contractor now. But if I do decide to later on (within six months) decide to take on a full time electrical business will my decision become difficult to modify into a corporation?

Next question is choosing a license name. I know that if I use anything other than my own name i will have to get a fictious name certification, is it worth the trouble of having to get a seperate bank account and all just for side work or should I just get the license in my own name for now and change when I go full time?

Last question. When naming my company will the name have to be my exact full name or would first and middle initials work before my last name followed by electric. ex J.D.Klennon electric. I just want to look at every angle before filing a dba. Thanks alot

jesse ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales jklennon http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/just-passed-nc-state-exam-need-advice-9925/ How is work going? Up, down, or the same? http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/how-work-going-up-down-same-9923/ Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:09:55 GMT Just an informal poll.... Is work lately been on the rise for you, stayed the same as the last few months, or is it still going down? Just an informal poll....

Is work lately been on the rise for you, stayed the same as the last few months, or is it still going down? ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales 480sparky http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/how-work-going-up-down-same-9923/ Slow in Raleigh http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/slow-raleigh-9898/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:07:39 GMT So I've worked for the same company for 4 years and we are the slowest my boss has ever seen it . The past 2 weeks have been 25 hour weeks and looks like the rest of the month could play out that way as well. Anybody know anyone hiring in the Triangle area. Also, I heard you could go to trade companies or staffing companies and pick up a day or 2. Anybody know anything about that? Right now we are working T,W,TH taking Monday and Friday off so if that was the case I might could pick up days there. Thanks for reading! ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales blueheels2 http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/slow-raleigh-9898/ Logos http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/logos-9862/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:23:54 GMT I am in the process of opening my own buisness, I have the money (Which is very tight right now) and I am forming my LLC, But I am trying to figure... I am in the process of opening my own buisness, I have the money (Which is very tight right now) and I am forming my LLC, But I am trying to figure out a logo. I believe a logo is what the customer (s) see first in the phone book, Ad's, etc. Did you guys pay a company to make yours, or did you make your own? ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales thekoolcody http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/logos-9862/ Getting your name out there, door to door http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/getting-your-name-out-there-door-door-9820/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:42:05 GMT The old saying is..... "if at first you fail, try and try again"

Well..... I'm definitely trying. This morning while waiting to hear about how much and how long it'll take to repair my van (front end, ball bearing and alignment issues), I decided I would go door to door to some businesses in the area to introduce myself and tell them a bit about my electrical contracting small business. I handed out my card to a few places like a liquor store, furniture store, a coffee place, and a woman's clothing store.

I also pass out door hangers when there's nothing to do (like today) and when I am done working for a customer so their neighbors who might have seen me working there know how to contact me if they need to. So far, zero calls from any of the door hangers and very little from the business cards I've passed out.

Last week I spent $700 on an internet Contractor Marketing company who provides a service so that people can find me when they do an internet search. They're also going to fix up my website and give it a more professional look to hopefully attract more business. It's also another $99 per month for the service. I hope this works because I'm reading some other EC's are really busy right now and can't even keep up. I wish I had that problem and I'm sure I will soon, but waiting for that to happen is something I've been waiting for all my life. ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales Magnettica http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/getting-your-name-out-there-door-door-9820/ Need Franchising Advise http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/need-franchising-advise-9804/ Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:49:30 GMT Hello everyone: I could really use some good advise from my fellow electrical contractors. One and half years ago, I purchased a franchise (Mr... Hello everyone:

I could really use some good advise from my fellow electrical contractors.

One and half years ago, I purchased a franchise (Mr Electric/ Mr Sparky, etc) which one I will not disclose. It seemed like a realy good investment at the time. However, business has been horrible to say the least. It does not seem to matter how much advertising we do, calls are stil very slow.

I probably have well over $40,000 tied up in this franchise. This is not as much of a problems as the fact that they are sucking the blood out of me with royalties and loan payments. Over the summer, it was not a problem, as we did have enough calls to break even. However, who wants to work for free, just to support franchise.

I keep thinking that I can weather this economic storm a lot better if I was an independent electrical contractor, and cut my losses with this franchise. I also resent some of their ideas about how my business should be run. They seem to be out of touch. Or should I hold out, as this poor economy will inevitably turn around soon.

I would really appreciate some good intelligent advise from my fellow contractors. Thanks ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales gptechelec http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/need-franchising-advise-9804/ Jobs http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/jobs-9768/ Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:50:17 GMT We're making more stuff with many fewer workers

The biggest economic news this week isn't that the unemployment rate rose from 9.8 percent to 10.2 percent in October, or that the economy lost another 190,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department. It's that labor productivity for the third quarter rose at an eye-popping 9.5 percent annual rate, according to another report.


Of course both reports paint different parts of the same picture, but the productivity figures are remarkable for what they say about the divergence of hiring and economic output. The government previously reported that GDP rose at a healthy clip in the third quarter. The productivity figures show that was accomplished with even fewer workers than economists had expected. We're making more stuff with A LOT fewer workers, and that's contributing to the high unemployment rate and continuing job losses.



In the long run productivity growth is great. When workers can produce more per hour of labor, their incomes rise, corporate profits rise, standards of living rise etc. Productivity growth kills inflation. Technology-enabled productivity growth essentially explains why Americans are rich and cavemen were poor. A hundred cavemen working for one hour could catch a bison, if they were lucky. A hundred Americans working for an hour can produce a Toyota. (I'm simplifying here and leaving out non-labor inputs like investment and natural resources, but you get the idea.)



But in recent decades corporate profits have grabbed a huge share of the gains from greater productivity, at the expense of workers. In theory profits from productivity growth are supposed to be shared with a company's work force or redeployed in other areas of the economy to employ displaced workers. But it's not happening so far in this recession.
Brad DeLong was shocked at the 3rd quarter productivity numbers and explains why what's going is prompting a rethinking of conventional wisdom.




DeLong:
Back in the 1930s there was a Polish Marxist economist, Michel Kalecki, who argued that recessions were functional for the ruling class and for capitalism because they created excess supply of labor, forced workers to work harder to keep their jobs, and so produced a rise in the rate of relative surplus-value.


For thirty years, ever since I got into this business, I have been mocking Michel Kalecki. I have been pointing out that recessions see a much sharper fall in profits than in wages. I have been saying that the pace of work slows in recessions--that employers are more concerned with keeping valuable employees in their value chains than using a temporary high level of unemployment to squeeze greater work effort out of their workers.


I don't think that I can mock Michel Kalecki any more, ever again.
]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales BryanMD http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/jobs-9768/ Uniforms http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/uniforms-9737/ Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:55:48 GMT Shopping at Working Gear this evening for a 3-season jacket, Navy blue with "CLASSIC ELECTRIC" in yellow embroidered on the left front chest and US flag patch on the upper sleeve, got me thinking. Should I buy button down "****ies" work shirts? I like the way they look. They show to a new customer that I am a professional and that I am serious about the business I'm running.

However, I can't imagine ever changing from carpenter jeans to ****ies style pants. I'm just too used to this style and the side pocket used for my lineman's pliers. Is wearing jeans and button down shirts still okay?

What's your opinion? ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales Magnettica http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/uniforms-9737/ Any Complaints? http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/any-complaints-9719/ Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:55:00 GMT What are some of the most common complaints that builders and homeowners have about electricians? I am trying to help some of our customers become... What are some of the most common complaints that builders and homeowners have about electricians? I am trying to help some of our customers become better business people and overcome the problems that their competitors have caused in the past. ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales jmdcnc http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/any-complaints-9719/ Property maintenance Companies http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/property-maintenance-companies-9638/ Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:07:14 GMT I am starting my own business but I'm only doing nights and weekends. For those who get peeved about that I charge the same thing you charge so I'm not cutting guys throats to get jobs. I think we all should be paid extremely well to do what we do. Any way my question is has any one done work for these companies. I have heard they don't pay fast. I was thinking that they would not mind my hours since most retail type places are open during nights and weekends. I thought this might be a way to get a little money flowing in the bank account. What say you?
My boss that I work for now does work for Emcon and DWM (i think that is right), so I have seen the type of work to be done. Also does anyone know what they require insurance wise to work for them?
Thanks ]]> Business, Marketing, and Sales blueheels2 http://www.electriciantalk.com/f15/property-maintenance-companies-9638/