Discuss New business start up; a few questions. in the Electrical Testing & PAT Testing Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

OK, last post on this,

Q1: how long is a piece of string?
Q2: I could teach Trev's dog appliance testing.
Q3: see Q2.
Q4: Yes, but it may take a while!
Q5: Soaking bleeding wet.
Q6: Buy the latest ISI&TEE book.
 
1 Far too many variables for a meaningful answer to be given.
An independent retailer, for example, independent of what? All businesses are independent to some degree.
A family run shop, how many people are in the family, what are they selling?
How small is this small office? What is done in there?
A used car lot/beakers yard, have you ever been to one of those places? Heater, kettle, radio. that's about it for a lot.
Nursery, plants or children? How big?

2 Is the DvD enough? Enough to do what? To carry out isitee? If I could get our dog to read and write I could get him to do this mate. It's not rocket science.

3 You need to be working in the electrical field to complete an NVQ3

4 No idea, ask them. You might get the answer you want, some members of here are in the IET so one of them may be able to help you more.

5 Answered in full

6 What has affected the tester's job is the race to the bottom as has been described above.
 
OK, last post on this,

Q1: how long is a piece of string?
Q2: I could teach Trev's dog appliance testing.
Q3: see Q2.
Q4: Yes, but it may take a while!
Q5: Soaking bleeding wet.
Q6: Buy the latest ISI&TEE book.

Thank you.

Five down, one to go. Now I only need a sensible answer to Q1.

Anyone?

Honestly, this is like trying to get a quotation from a sp... oh, wait... :p
 
I forgot to ask, have you just been on some kind of small business course?
Your original post just reeks of the lingo they'd fill your head with.
 
No, I did a module on Business Studies in uni a few years back. I did a lot of research during my dissertation on SMEs from a Web Development perspective. I do a lot of network consultancy and systems analysis, bringing businesses networks, hardware, software and website up to date and secure. That's where the Social Engineering comes in, with Information Security. I've been doing this for a while now as a not-for-profit business and I'm now branching it out into a for-profit venture. I would like to offer PAT Testing as a part of the Systems Analysis package, with follow up appointments for aftercare.

I do take the non-flippant feedback to mind though. I'm used to forums where you ask a question and people answer the question you asked, rather than strawmanning the whole thread. I never thought I'd get this reaction, I assumed this was for people to get support and advice.
 
I agree that my wording for the strapline needs work. My main line of expertise is in computing and at least within that field, a distiction is made between small, medium, large and enterprise level companies. Essentially, the larger the company, the better the support. As a 5 user licence holder, the support you get would be pretty minimal, but it you've paid for 15,000 licences then you get round the clock support and are on first name terms with your dedicated advisor.
 
No, I did a module on Business Studies in uni a few years back. I did a lot of research during my dissertation on SMEs from a Web Development perspective. I do a lot of network consultancy and systems analysis, bringing businesses networks, hardware, software and website up to date and secure. That's where the Social Engineering comes in, with Information Security. I've been doing this for a while now as a not-for-profit business and I'm now branching it out into a for-profit venture. I would like to offer PAT Testing as a part of the Systems Analysis package, with follow up appointments for aftercare.

I do take the non-flippant feedback to mind though. I'm used to forums where you ask a question and people answer the question you asked, rather than strawmanning the whole thread. I never thought I'd get this reaction, I assumed this was for people to get support and advice.

Yeah but you are gong on about computers and the Internet (don't get me started on the Internet as I promise I know more than you on that) and then say you want to make a business out of PAT testing when up pearly have no knowledge whatsoever of testing and wouldn't have a clue what the readings mean or how to interpret them other than pass or fail.

Strawmanning? Is that kind of like a scarecrow?

Oh you will never in a million years make a profitable business out of pat testing. I get my pat tester out every now and then, as it happens I'm doing some tomorrow along with an EICR, but hardly ever get it out, I've probably only made enough money to cover the cost of the power supply for it.
 
but it you've paid for 15,000 licences then you get round the clock support and are on first name terms with your dedicated advisor.

We are on first name terms here, MDJ, Trev, Archy, Murdoch... I don't recall having to even pay for one licence?
 
No, I did a module on Business Studies in uni a few years back. I did a lot of research during my dissertation on SMEs from a Web Development perspective. I do a lot of network consultancy and systems analysis, bringing businesses networks, hardware, software and website up to date and secure. That's where the Social Engineering comes in, with Information Security. I've been doing this for a while now as a not-for-profit business and I'm now branching it out into a for-profit venture. I would like to offer PAT Testing as a part of the Systems Analysis package, with follow up appointments for aftercare.

I do take the non-flippant feedback to mind though. I'm used to forums where you ask a question and people answer the question you asked, rather than strawmanning the whole thread. I never thought I'd get this reaction, I assumed this was for people to get support and advice.

Fair enough, I think I understand now (I'm an optimist!)
If you're providing hardware, it'll be proven fit for purpose once it leaves your hands.
This PAT stuff is a red herring! :)
 
I put some handy examples up in the OP. :D



Hi, I'm a trainee. I've placed a few questions at the beginning of this thread. Would you be able to walk me through some answers to my queries? They're not difficult questions, and I've given examples to clarify my question where they are needed, such as in Question #1. I'm not interested in making a lot of money from this one line of work; as I have said in my opening remarks, this is only one part of the business plan I am writing, but it is just as important as the rest of it. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Look now fella how many times do you want an answer, we have told you some Companies are charging 50p an item, we have told you large Electrical Contractors have cornered the market, we have told you a small business of 10 or less people will have between 15-30 items which will need testing, we have told you anyone can pat test, we have told you to forget specialising in it as the market is dead and you will have to work 18 hours a day 7 days a week to earn 30k after tax, what else do you want to know?
 
Look now fella how many times do you want an answer, we have told you some Companies are charging 50p an item, we have told you large Electrical Contractors have cornered the market, we have told you a small business of 10 or less people will have between 15-30 items which will need testing, we have told you anyone can pat test, we have told you to forget specialising in it as the market is dead and you will have to work 18 hours a day 7 days a week to earn 30k after tax, what else do you want to know?

Its obviously a trait of youngsters today, ask a question, ignore answers, ask again, ignore answers.............
 
I suggest some primary research is in order, so ... go out to some of these businesses yourself and count them, you could say you were doing a survey, and if you find any correlation between a business type / market / size / blah blah and number of items please let we know.
 
1. How many items, on average, would you expect a small business to have? I know this varies from business to business, but I'm just after a very bal park figure to use for my pricing strategies. For instance:




  • Independent Retailer (Tech)

they don't give a damn or will have a retired sparky doing it for them for years in case they need it.


  • Family Run Shop (General)]
they don't give a damn or will have a local sparky doing it for them for years in case they need it. you may get business in case he retires.


  • Small Office
they don't give a damn or will have a company doing it for them in case they need it. dropping leaflets or business card may work...


  • Used Car Lot/Breakers Yard
they properly don't care.


  • Nursery
  • Community Centre

those will have some big boys doing testing.


5. How saturated is the PAT Testing market at the moment? I know the changes made in 2012 have put some people off starting up or carrying on with PAT Testing. In my immediate vacinity, there doesn't seem to be anything, but I'm not sure about the North West. I'm looking, realistically, in a 25 mile radius of Chester.

see above.
 

Reply to New business start up; a few questions. in the Electrical Testing & PAT Testing Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

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
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