With that kind of overhead you are going to need to focus on larger jobs.
What do you mean? Are you saying a 40K truck and 20K in inventory is a high overhead?
He said $20K in tools, not inventory.
Schlepping around $20K in tools to do ceiling fans is never going to pencil out, nor is using a $40K truck to schlep them in. Ceiling fans and the like just aren't profitable enough justify that sort of investment. Too much down time (driving around, permits, cleanup), little or no material markup, too many risks, not enough work time to justify the expense incurred to get there and do the work. Even at $350 per a guy is likely to make more money just parking the truck and staying home.
Unlicensed contractors irritate me just as much as they do the next guy, and the fact the CSLB won't do anything about it irritates me even more. Even if they all disappeared tomorrow however, you can't make enough money doing ceiling fans to support $20K in tools and a $40K truck, along with all of the other business expenses you're going to incur when you run a legitimate business.
