Case Studies...
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A Shop, Workshop or Work from Home?
When starting your electrical business you need to have a base to work from. This base needs to reflect the service you are offering and must have room for tools and materials....
Advertising Your Electrical Business
Hospital radio and also regional stations associated with national radio there is a lot of air time to be filled. It is possible to purchase advertising time on these stations or even sponsor a progra...
Alarms and Safety at Your Workshop
When setting up your electrical repair business in your workshop you must make sure that you have a good alarm system and that your property and its contents are protected....
Call Out Fees
An electrician visiting customers in their home to carry out installations or repairs is a normal part of the daily routine. How about the charges for visiting a customer’s home, what should you charg...
Call Outs v Workshop Servicing
When starting your electrical repair business you must decide whether you will just do repairs in your workshop or whether you will offer call outs as part of your service....
Charging Customers a Deposit
When starting your electrical repair business you must decide whether you wish to charge customers a deposit when they leave an item for repair....
Dividing Work and Home Life
When starting your own electrical repair business you may find yourself working all the hours under the sun. At first finding the right work life balance can be difficult. Your home life may suffer an...
Electrical Business Trade Associations and Clubs
Being part of trade associations and clubs can help your electrical business. Shared knowledge, meeting colleagues and enjoying discounts on goods and materials are just some of the benefits....
Electrical Safety when Working from Home
Electricians should always be conscious of electrical safety in their work but more so when working from their home. Safety regulations must be observed under all conditions particularly if there are ...
Employing Casual staff
When starting an electrical repair business you have to remember it is no longer possible to pay a person as a casual worker. There are rules to follow and paperwork to complete when taking on any for...
Employing Family in Your Business
When starting your electrical repair business money could be tight and you may not be able to afford full time staff. Perhaps you have family that have helped you set up your shop or workshop and will...
Employing Office Staff
When running your own electrical repair business there will come a time when you need to employ office staff. Working in electrical repairs you may find the thought of office staff as alien to your wo...
Employing Your Family in a Business
Running a new business can be very daunting so to have a few family members as employees can make the whole experience less frightening to begin with. However, family members can sometimes cause probl...
Female Staff in a Male Environment
In these days of equal opportunities you must interview women as well as men for all positions in your electrical repair business. These days you are as likely to see a woman repairing a television or...
Find the Right Location For the Business
When starting your electrical business it is imperative that it is the right location. Setting up close to a major repair company or in an isolated place can really damage future business prospects. D...
Finding Good Suppliers
When starting your electrical repair business it is imperative that you have reliable suppliers from whom you can purchase your stock....
Following a Loss Leader
Sometimes things go wrong and a repair costs more than originally estimated. How does the owner of an electrical repair business recover from such a disaster?...
Get Start Up Finance
It may be that you are qualified in your electrical trade, have a very good head for business and have spotted a gap in the market where you could set up your own business. However without finance you...
Having a Sleeping Partner
When starting your electrical repair business you may feel that you do not want to run the business alone. One way to run the company could be with a sleeping partner....
Having Customers in Your Home
When working from home there will be times when your customers visit to avail themselves of your service. You should decide how this is going to impact on your home life as well as your business....
Health and Safety for Staff
When the time comes to consider employing staff for your electrical repair business you must consider the health and safety aspect of their working conditions and how you will be training them to be h...
How to Find a Workshop
When you start your electrical repair business you have to choice of working from home, purchasing a shop or having a workshop. For many engineers a workshop is ideal as they can go out to visit custo...
Insurance on Your Shop Premises
When you own a shop for your electrical repair business you must have relevant insurance cover. Without it you could lose your business overnight....
Is Home Insurance Enough to Cover your Business?
When you have an electrical repair business you must make sure that you have adequate insurance cover. To be under covered could be disastrous for any business let alone a newly formed one. As to whet...
Keeping Business Accounts
When starting your electrical repair business you must set up a reliable accounts system. Whether it is hand written or a complex computer program you will need to be aware of your business accounts s...
Neighbours and Your Home Business
When setting up an electrical repair business from your home you will have a lot of organising to do. Work space, family life, customers will all have to be considered. However there is one thing you ...
Networking for Your Business
Business networking is where you meet up with people within your own trade or other business owners who can further your own business. A network of contacts can be beneficial to your business and gain...
Parts and Spares for your Electrical Business
Parts and spares are an important part of an electrical business. Knowing where to find them and what to pay can make the difference between a profit and loss....
PAT Testing Saved My Life: Case Study
Mike Evans dreaded the future, like many people his business was not doing as well as he wanted it to. When a colleague mentioned PAT testing he realised this could be just what he was looking for....
Relevant Qualifications for Aerial installers
The days have long gone when anyone could climb onto a roof or into a loft space and install an aerial to receive television and radio signals. Although it is possible to do so - and many householders...
Relevant Qualifications for Alarm engineers
There are many types of electrical work and alarm engineers is just one. Alarm work can be fire, intruder and other types of alarm work but one thing is the same, the engineers must have qualification...
Relevant Qualifications for Electricians
When employing an electrician for your electrical repair business you must make sure that he or she is suitably qualified. Remember that these people are going into homes and if they do not know what ...
Relevant Qualifications for Medical Repairs
Another way for electrical engineers to diversify is by going into medical repairs. This can be part time for a supplier or by moving from television, satellite or white goods repairs into a new busin...
Relevant Qualifications for Pat Testing
For anyone either wishing to work in portable appliance testing (PAT testing) or wishing to offer PAT testing through their electrical repair business it is imperative that the person undertaking the ...
Relevant Qualifications for Radio, Video and Hifi Engineers
When setting up your electrical repair business it is important to have your workshop staff trained and also hold relevant qualifications for the repair of video, radio and hifi equipment....
Relevant Qualifications for Television Engineers
For anyone wanting to repair televisions for a living they must train and gain their qualifications before even attempting to work with electrical goods in people’s homes....
Relevant Qualifications for White Goods Engineers
Engineers that repair washing machines, fridges and other white goods must have the relevant and up to date qualifications. They are working with items that if repaired badly and by people with no kno...
Rent or Buy a Workshop?
When starting your electrical repair business you will need a suitable workshop as your work base. You will see many advertisements for work units, some will be the size of factories with large yards ...
Repairs from a Shop: How to Charge
When repairing items from a workshop or shop the business owner needs to know what to charge his a customer in order to remain competitive but to also make a profit....
Running a Greener Business
Every person should be aware of the environment and that includes the owners of businesses. By becoming a little greener and encouraging your employees to think green you will be doing more for the fu...
Safety at Your Shop Premises
When starting your electrical repair business you must make provisions of the safety of your customers and employees in your shop or workshop....
Selling and Repairing Sewing Machines
Diversifying within the electrical trade could save the business of many electricians. One choice is to move into the repair of sewing machines and the supply of peripheral items and services connecte...
Service Calls When Only a Child is at Home
It is surprising how many times you will arrive at a customer’s home to find that after booking a call they are not home and there is a child in the house alone who is supposed to let you in to carry ...
Setting Call Out Charges
When running an electrical repair business call outs to customers will be a large part of your business income. Call out charges must be set along with labour costs and charges for other items such as...
Shops: Health and Safety
When starting your electrical business and purchasing your shop you need to consider the health and safety aspect of your business and what you need to do to keep both staff and customers safe in your...
Should You Purchase or Rent Your Shop?
When starting your electrical repair business you may have decided to work from a shop. However, will you rent or purchase your shop – what is the best option?...
Staff Safety and Your Business
Staff safety in any business should be of paramount importance but within the electrical repair business there are other considerations to think about....
Staff: PAYE or Self Employed?
When owning an electrical business of any sort you will no doubt need to hire staff. You need to decide whether to pay them by the PAYE system or hire them as self employed contractors. There are lega...
Supermarkets Ruined My Business: Case Study
Dave Green’s small repair business was floundering due to cut price electrical goods being sold in high street supermarkets. He could not compete with knock down prices on televisions and computers so...
Taking on an Electrical Apprentice
Once your electrical business is up and running you may consider taking on additional staff. Have you thought about employing a younger person and training them as an electrical engineer?...
The Shop Fittings You Will Need
You may have purchased or leased a shop for your electrical repair business, collected the key and declared the shop open but what about shop fixtures and fittings? Do you have any in the shop if not ...
Training Staff in the Electricals Business
When you own an electrical business you should ensure that your staff are well trained and know their duties. Training will reap results with efficient staff and a smooth running shop or workshop....
Using Older Employees
When starting your electrical repair business do not dismiss the idea of taking on older employees. Apart from it now being illegal to discriminate against older employees they have a lot to offer you...
Using Sub Contractors
When setting up your electrical repair business consider the benefits of hiring sub contractors....
Vehicle Safety at Your Workshop
When running an electrical repair business from your workshop you should consider the safety of your vehicles that are parked nearby. You should consider the safety of not only your own business vehic...
Vehicles for Electrical Repairs
When running your electrical repairs business you will need a vehicle that will carry your tools and materials to your places of work....
Visiting Customers in Their Homes
Visiting customers in their own house to carry out repairs is a big part of the electrical repair trade. The common names for this service are ‘call out’ or ‘house call’ and there are certain observat...
What Business Skills Do You Have?
It’s all very well to want to start your own electrical business however do you have the relevant business skills to run this type of business? Come to think of it do you have any business skills at a...
What Electrical Skills Do You Have?
There is nothing to stop you starting and electrical repair business but do you have any skills or experience in this trade or are you starting your new venture purely on a whim?...
What Overheads to Expect from Your Shop
When you decide to set up your electrical repair business and rent or purchase a shop you should be aware of what overheads you will incur while running your business....
What Stock to Hold
When running an electrical repair business you will require a stock of components and materials in readiness to carry out a repair for your customers. However, what sort of stock should you keep and w...
What to Do When a Customer Will Not Pay
When running an electrical repair business your main income will be from customers seeking repairs. Unfortunately, there will be times when a customer does not pay their bill and for these times you m...
What to Repair at Your Shop
When starting your electrical repair business you need to know what type of equipment you plan to repair in your shop. Your staff will need to know and so do your customers so they know what to bring ...
What to Sell from Your Electrical Repair Shop
When you own an electrical repair shop you have to generate as much income as possible. Having a shop window means you can display items and should consider selling other items to entice buyers into y...
Will Your Electrical Business Survive If You Work from Home?
Running a business from home rather than a shop or workshop can mean compromise so that it fits in with the family and does not become a problem....
Working Around Your Family
When running your own electrical repair business you may find yourself on call many hours each day and seven days each week. You have to decide your work life balance before something breaks....
Working from Home Didn't Work: A Case Study
Jason Brown thought he was doing well when he first started to work from home but unfortunately his wife and children thought otherwise....
Workshop Work Experience
The time will come once your electrical repair business is up and coming when someone will ask you to take a young person for work experience. You may have had experience of this yourself – it may ha...
Your Workshop Fixtures and Fittings
When starting your electrical business it is important that your workshop is fitted out correctly in order to optimise your time and work potential....