Discuss Fairly making money by sub-contracting - New Business Startup in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

I try things no matter if someone says it's a waste of time.

Like trying to break through a brick wall by running at it head first.... I bet you luv my posts....
 
And NASA's pen failed because they tried. I have not. Big difference. I try things no matter if someone says it's a waste of time. I'm not re-inventing any wheels here.

I'm not knocking you for tying, but going against what you've been told on here is akin to the Russians knowing that a pencil will work, ignoring advice, and spending millions trying to reinvent the pencil.

I wish you well, I hope you have very deep pockets, or are lucky enough to find someone daft enough to fund you.
 
I'm not knocking you for tying, but going against what you've been told on here is akin to the Russians knowing that a pencil will work, ignoring advice, and spending millions trying to reinvent the pencil.

I wish you well, I hope you have very deep pockets, or are lucky enough to find someone daft enough to fund you.
Actually 15 customers (home owners) told me it's a good idea plus two well-known companies said the same. Now 15 customers are good to start with.

I'm a developer myself and I have little cash for server hosting and that's all I need along with those 15 customers.
 
Why don't you make an app that checks if a house has had a survey. If it has then you can view it for ÂŁ1.

The reason why I say that is the first house I had a survey done on has faulty foundations. I kicked off at the estate agents cause they must have known this before I spent hundreds of pounds getting the survey done.

I wish I could have send the survey so someone and then the next person who wants a survey on the house will not waist lots of money like I did.
 
Why don't you make an app that checks if a house has had a survey. If it has then you can view it for ÂŁ1.

The reason why I say that is the first house I had a survey done on has faulty foundations. I kicked off at the estate agents cause they must have known this before I spent hundreds of pounds getting the survey done.

I wish I could have send the survey so someone and then the next person who wants a survey on the house will not waist lots of money like I did.

Not.....really what Im after. Just to be clear, Im creating an interactive website.
 
Actually 15 customers (home owners) told me it's a good idea plus two well-known companies said the same. Now 15 customers are good to start with.

I'm a developer myself and I have little cash for server hosting and that's all I need along with those 15 customers.

Hosting, so ÂŁ10 a month - where's the money for all the tee-shirts and advertising going to come from ?


About the business

We advertise heavily. We give you t-shirts and mobile app.
 
Hosting, so ÂŁ10 a month - where's the money for all the tee-shirts and advertising going to come from ?

Hosting for web apps ranges from ÂŁ35+ a month. I have x amount of cash for tees. Advertising: facebook and trade shows. I know where my targeted audiences are.

Hope it does go as planned, but personally I cant see it working, the way you have described it.

I feel I have not worded properly. I'll have a re-read of what Ive said later.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This is just another typical example of someone trying to get involved in something they obviously know nothing about. Most bigger domestic customers/jobs DO NOT work in a such a set way, and most of them want and appreciate a personal involvement and willingness to discuss things ON THE GROUND as jobs progress. As someone said at the beginning, this is just rated people.
It goes like this for your information: Customer rings sparky, sparky goes round to customer, discusses job, agrees a price. Sparky does job, along with any other "while you are here" bits, makes customer happy, gets paid, goes back next time, simple. Everyone is happy. If it ain't busted don't try and fix it, that's what wrong with things these days.........
 
Last edited:
And also, what you probably don't realise, is that a lot of our work will be word of mouth from other customers who have used a certain spark before and know they do a good job, rather than using some faceless company who rely on apps and a bunch of subby's with no idea of what they actually do. You will never have time to vet them and even if you did how would you do it??
 
This is just another typical example of someone trying to get involved in something they obviously know nothing about. Most bigger domestic customers/jobs DO NOT work in a such a set way, and most of them want and appreciate a personal involvement and willingness to discuss things ON THE GROUND as jobs progress. As someone said at the beginning, this is just rated people.
It goes like this for your information: Customer rings sparky, sparky goes round to customer, discusses job, agrees a price. Sparky does job, along with any other "while you are here" bits, makes customer happy, gets paid, goes back next time, simple. Everyone is happy. If it ain't busted don't try and fix it, that's what wrong with things these days.........

sounds like he's not prepared to do any jobs that are under ÂŁ3k and he has 15 of them up to now...... we will see how things go....
 
OP I've only skimmed over your business proposal, but apart from you making money (and no one can be knocked for that), you seem to be trying invent a solution for the age old problem for customers finding a reliable tradesperson, or selling that to your customers.

There are several business out there at the moment trying to do the exact same thing, and you'll find little support here for that here, I feel. Some of these business, are government approved schemes, which I and others here pay handsomely for the privilege of being a member, so I can't see another being a viable goer, IMO.

Perhaps you could direct your IT skills in another direction?
 
Again, just skim read.
I can't figure out how you're "fairly making money from sub-contracting" when you haven't been awarded any contracts to sub out.
 
No decent, self respectable sparky is going to give you 10-15% of their profit!

decent tradesmen really dont need setups like this, they are so few and far between they are usually turning work away

all youll get is muppets signing up like all the other lead generating sites !

, and your going to have to spend a pretty penny in advertising to compete in that already over crowded market!!

amazes me how everyone wants to be a middleman nowadays and skim off the top rather than doing a bit of graft themselves!
 
Last edited:
OP I've only skimmed over your business proposal, but apart from you making money (and no one can be knocked for that), you seem to be trying invent a solution for the age old problem for customers finding a reliable tradesperson, or selling that to your customers.

There are several businesse out there at the moment trying to do the exact same thing, and you'll find little support here for that here, I feel. Some of these business, are government approved schemes, which I and others here pay handsomely for the privilege of being a member, so I can't see another being a viable goer, IMO.

Perhaps you could direct your IT skills in another direction?

Not sure what other people are doing but they are going at it wrong. There will be some who agree while others don't. Let's look at ratedpeople. Good business model but bad for contractors. My business model will be bullet proof. I think most of you feel that I'll be picking up random subs to do the job etc. No. I'll have a hand selected of subs for the jobs in every city eventually.

It's not about me making money, I'm going with the flow of advance technology where someone can request these sort of work with just few clicks of a button, subs know what work is required, get job done and we all are happy.

I cant build this website in a day or two. Research is needed and those feedbacks come from reputable companies like you. Members on here style sparks as if they dont know what they're doing or assume everyone are "school kids" that knows jack. I was once on a swa installation and one of the guys treated me as if i dont know what 1 + 1 is or whats a "grips". We compete with each other too much in this business. It's pathetic. Arent we grown *ss adults?
 
15% is unreal ! All that is going to achieve is making it a nailed on certainty that the customer will have to pay more for using your service as the shortfall in the contractor's pocket will be passed on directly to the customer.

Are you aware of the business overheads currently experienced by contractors and the margins they work to? If you are you should know that asking as much as 5% and still expecting the contractor's quote to be competitive in the local market is bordering on the unrealistic.

A customer of mine is building a similar service and has the right idea. It's free for contractors and customers to use. They take voluntary donations from satisfied contractors.
 
Here's a novel idea, people could go here: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=r...ndroid-google&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

And get their work done 5/10/15% cheaper because there doesn't really need to be yet another middle man. If you look beyond the various sites in that link that basically offer a very similiar service then there is competentperson.com, trustmark etc.

Also a lot of people are using social media now to get word of mouth recommendations from friends etc. Nothing personal, but I hope your proposed venture never finds wings.
 

Reply to Fairly making money by sub-contracting - New Business Startup in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Similar Threads

An Invitation to Retired Electricians anywhere except the UK with Four Days a Month for a Niche Opportunity That Can Earn 15K a Year. There are...
Replies
0
Views
110
I'm delighted to announce that some time in the next few days / weeks, BBC Breakfast will be airing a short piece about MEET (The Museum of...
Replies
35
Views
5K
Renewable energy startup is seeking a Technical Co-Founder to help create a company that is both socially and financially rewarding. The...
Replies
0
Views
1K
  • Locked
  • Sticky
Beware a little long. I served an electrical apprenticeship a long time ago, then went back to full time education immediately moving away from...
Replies
55
Views
5K
I thought that I posted this in the DIY part of the forum but I believe I did not. I am sorry about that. I put in a 10' x 20' metal shed about...
Replies
2
Views
1K

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

Electrical Forum

Welcome to the Electrical Forum at ElectriciansForums.net. The friendliest electrical forum online. General electrical questions and answers can be found in the electrical forum.
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock