Originally I planned the opening of my doors as an electrical contractor with soliciting the advice from every ear i could bend. The SBA , SCORE Legal Resouces Local & other Chambers as well as some regional development guru's.
I had accumulated a wealth of info....seaching for that certain influence.

One day i happened to strike up a conversation with one of the local lawnmower jockeys. A good fellow, yet far from the sharpest knife in the draw, he said;
" Well I just don't work for people i don't like"

For all the spreadsheets, charts & 5 yr plans this K.I.S.S. method has been my primary doctrine..
{yes, i'm aware it works 2 ways..}

So...am I a minority here???????????????

Steve, you look just like Forrest Gump!



I'm finally getting to the point that I can choose a little... My trouble is not wanting to burn bridges of loyal customers, but also wanting to get into bigger jobs... Someday I may wish I'd made time for the little customers...

LOL!

well he did make good in the movie...

I have been in business for about 10 years.
I started out helping my dad who did electrical work on the side and discovered that electrical work is something that I wouldn't mind doing for free and I could make a living at it.
I started doing residential work,then started doing maintenance work for a mall.
Pretty soon the mall put me on their contractor's list and I started wiring stores. We have done all types of work now including stores, small factories, hotels, high school sports fields, etc.
I averaged 1 or 2 employees over the years but have been up to 10.
While we were doing the "contract" jobs we didn't have time to do the residential jobs or the little jobs. The mall manager got angry with me because she wnted something done "immediatley" and we didn't have time.
Now my overhead is high and we hve to persue commercial work because residential costumers can't afford us. (In our area electricians or contractors do not have to be licensed and there are a lot of 1 man operations that do residential work that we cannot compete with.)
Now, I'm very much in debt and considering bankrupsy.
I never really had a plan and my business grew uncontrolled due to my inexperience at business practices.
I also talked to S.C.O.R.E. and they didn't have anyone that could advise a contractor.
If you can't find a mentor that has CONTRACTING experience - do yourself a favor and work for someone else.
If not, set goals and find a way to meet them and consider ALL of the consequenses of ALL of you decisions.
Good Luck!

I say the most important thing that a person can do is count all of the costs. If you can determine how much it will cost you to be in business, you will know how much to charge. Determining the cost is the most difficult part because there is always something that gets left out.
Once you determine your cost, then you can set sales goals that you must meet, or you won't have enough money to make ends meet.
Read a book called "Mark Up and Profit in Construction" by Stone. It will help.

Best Regards,
Doc