It is obviously not obvious. I teach a lot of people how to estimate electrical projects. I also teach or at least share my experience of running an electrical contracting business with many new people with little more than a dream. You would think if you are starting an electrical contracting business that a few things would be obvious like: Having a name for your company.Having the correct license.Having employees.Having a way to get your employees to the job.Having enough tools to get started. Cords, ladders, drills, benders, etc.Having enough working capital to pay your employees.Setting up an account with an Electrical Supply House.Having a few customers willing to give…

Making your 1st Million as an Electrician Dan Jackson AKA Dans the Engineer I am borrowing this post for Dan. There are some good lessons here and I have added my take. Since entering the electrical trade, I have always heard people say that electricians are loaded and they earn loads of money, but do they really earn that much? I have read in media articles that electricians are earning more than £100k, but can you become a millionaire as an electrician?100 pounds is like $130K so obviously England pays more than the US for electrical contracting.The average rate in TN may be $25ish and the average rate in California…

How to Run a Successful Electrical Business Becoming a successful Electrical Contractor does not just happen. You aren’t born with Electrical Estimating skills or knowing the perfect electrical estimating software. The good news is there are people that are willing to help. Check out bestbidestimating.com. Many electricians decide to go into business for themselves. After all, they’ve mastered the trade, created relationships with loyal customers, and developed a good sense of the rules and regulations. However, knowing how to run a successful electrical business requires a different skill set than that of a first-rate electrician. I spend hours each day talking to electricians that are taking the step to become…

A customer calls me and says man my company is having all kinds of issues. Everything is going wrong. We are losing money and I can’t keep employees on the job. Covid is making everything harder than it use to be. I really need some help. I need some kind of estimating program, bidding software, one of those electrical cost estimation software things that you guys sell. I have been thinking about buying the Best Bid Hybrid Pro. I have been looking at it and talking to you on and off about it for about a year or so but I got to do something and stop talking about it.…

This could be the most important article that you will ever read pertaining to your Electrical Contracting Career. After all you will fail or succeed based on your ability to estimate.Your ability to estimate will large be accomplished by what electrical estimating software you use. Why should you purchase the Best Bid Hybrid Pro? When you started your search for electrical estimating software you thought it would be easy right? Just Google “electrical estimating software” and “vwah-LAH”, issue solved? Well you may or may not know the top (4) spots and the last (3) spots on the first page of Google are paid possessions and may not even apply to…

Get your pre-game together This post is for electrical estimators that may be just a little nervous when they start to price electrical work. That can be a good thing, at least it means you care about the results and quality of your bid.Ok you have electrical estimating software and you have on-screen takeoff software to fall back on but electrical cost estimation is a little more than just the electrical estimate.  Electrical bidding software with programs for pricing electrical work is a must but electrical cost estimation just starts with the electrical parts, pieces and labor to install them. Good electrical estimators pricing electrical work with the best electrical estimating software like the Best Bid Hybrid…

A customer calls me and says man my company is having all kinds of issues. Everything is going wrong. We are losing money and I can’t keep employees on the job. Covid is making everything harder than it use to be. I really need some help. I need some kind of estimating program, bidding software, one of those electrical cost estimation software things that you guys sell. I have been thinking about buying the Best Bid Hybrid Pro. I have been looking at it and talking to you on and off about it for about a year or so but I got to do something and stop talking about it.…

Best kept secret of being a successful Electrical Contractor. There are many things that have to come together to take your company to the next level. We have experienced them all. At Best Bid. We have lived through times when  business was  good and we have seen it when business was bad but there is one thing that gets you through all seasons of you Electrical Contracting Career and we will give you our secrete later on in this post. When you are just starting out in business you may not understand the basics of how things work. Getting projects to bid on may be one of them.Most areas have…

What does it take to be a successful Electrical Contractor?  When owning and running a successful Electrical Contracting Company you learn to wear many hats. Being a great electrician does not prepare you for owning your own company. You will need to learn many new skills. There are so many things that go on behind the doors of an Electrical Shop that you never see as an electrician in the field. One lesson that you learn quickly is winning jobs doesn’t equal making profit. Another lesson that you will learn is working hard does not necessarily equal making a profit either.You can work yourself to death and still go broke.…