Electrical Wiring Business in Canada: There comes a time in the life of every electrician when your boss is more attractive than working for someone else. Your boss sounds ideal, doesn’t it? Many people train in hopes of one day opening their electrical wiring business.
Electrician students are no different. There is tremendous opportunity in specialized contracts, and if you have the right skill set, there is no limit to how successful you can be as an entrepreneur.
In addition to training and experience, what would you need to start and grow an electrical wiring business? What should students already know about pursuing this career path?
In this post, we break down some of the pros and cons of starting an electrician business – and the major steps involved in making it a success.
Four things you need first
First of all, find out why you want to start your own business in the first place. Do you aim to increase your income?
Maybe you crave flexible hours that are free from long hours with your family? This may sound a bit strange, but at the end of the day, a personal understanding of what motivates you to kick-start your entrepreneurial journey will create a strong foundation for building your business.
Going down about the facts – here are four things you need to start an electrical wiring business in Canada:
1. Training and Qualification
The necessary first step is to obtain education and training from a certified trade school or apprenticeship program. It doesn’t matter whether you’re shedding ‘free gung ho’ or building a house for free, official certification is important – you can’t do a business from the ground up without it.
If you are not qualified, you will work hard to secure customers, and you will also protect your customers and employees at your own risk. Programs vary not only between countries but also between states, regions, and provinces.
2. Finance
Getting serious about resources and capital is the next big factor. Starting any new business is not cheap, and will almost always require an initial outlay of cash. As an independent electrician, your major cost will be the investment in a vehicle and equipment.
Their scope will vary depending on which type of niche market you want to serve. You have two options here. You either fund your enterprise or want cash from a third party such as a bank, investor, or business partner.
3. A clear business plan
Don’t expect to land your electric business without a polished business plan. Yes, it takes time, but it is well spent. This is because a comprehensive plan creates your new business structure, purpose, and a clear strategy. It should include all key business details, such as financial projections, growth opportunities, marketing strategy, financing, short/long-term goal outline, and so on.
4. An entrepreneurial state of mind
When it comes to fixing up an electrical business, it is all about including the entrepreneurial state of mind. Success is about your attitude, so try to switch to the right mindset as you make your way to small business ownership.
Starting a Power Distribution Business: Benefits and Challenges
The biggest benefit of starting your own electrician business is obvious: being your boss. You will set your standards of excellence, decide how much work to do, create your schedule, and set your own business goals. Best of all, you will get all the benefits of your hard work.
On the flip side (ironically), these main benefits of entrepreneurship are often the biggest sources of stress! Being in charge means taking too much responsibility, and transferring your skills far beyond what is required for electrical work.
The electrician who goes solo must take a risk and create a new skill set that includes marketing and communications, business strategy, accounting, and more.
Maintaining and growing a new business is a challenging task. There will be fluctuations in terms of profitability, especially when you compete with other electrical contractors, and deal with the eBay and flow of the construction industry.
The truth is that you will spend hours and hard work for someone other than your boss. However, if you have leadership skills, a willingness to learn, and are ready for a challenge, starting your own electrical business may be the best career move you’ve made. Think about what have you got?
Important steps to Building Wiring Business.
First, you must complete compulsory power training and certification even before starting a contracting business. Underline some form of pre-apprenticeship training, complete an electrician apprenticeship, pass a certificate of a qualification examination for an electrician, and register in college.
But before you consider going out on your own, it is advisable to get some years of experience working for a contracting business or construction company. In this way, you will continue to build your skills while learning some of the logistics of business management.
Once you are trained, certified, and have a few years of experience under your belt, you will be ready to go alone. These are some important steps that you will have to deal with further:
- Decide whether you will buy a franchise or build your brand from scratch
- Determine which federal, provincial, and municipal permits and licenses you will need for your business
- Create a business plan (which will include both short and long-term goals, a budget, strategies to attract customers, where the financing will come from, and information on your target market)
- Develop a marketing strategy (you will need a website and one or two social media profiles, maybe some online advertising and an email communication strategy)
- Find electricity suppliers that provide quality products at reasonable prices
- Get insurance for your business
This is a difficult task for any new business owner. Therefore it is necessary to get some help. Talk to other successful contractors before taking steps to start your own electrician business. Take their advice, learn from their mistakes, and make helpful contacts.
Ultimately, you may need to hire someone to help with the marketing side, especially when it comes to setting up a website, social media presence, online advertising, and other digital strategies.
Most importantly, make sure you have close friends and family support. Entrepreneurship sounds like a solo effort – but it is a team sport. To make your new electrician business a success, you will need good people behind you.
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