Whether you already have a commercial electrical contracting business and you want to expand or you’re considering starting one up, you may be wondering if there’s anything you can do to make it more successful. With so much competition in the industry, straightforward and clear business strategies can help to give you a head start. Here are some of our top tips to help you to grow your commercial electrical business:
1. Hire the Right Employees
Lots of business owners don’t spend enough time interviewing potential employees. Remember, your employees represent your business, so you need to make sure that they’re trustworthy and competent individuals. Businesses who are more cautious during the hiring process will avoid having to fire and find new employees. This can save you both time and money in the long term. Once you have a good team of electrical contractors working for you, make sure that you look after them well. A happy team is more likely to be a loyal team.
2. Improve the Technology in Your Business
Technology has improved a huge amount over the last few years, and new innovative apps and tools are being released on a daily basis. Small business technology can enhance a businesses productivity and personal safety. Whether it’s software for improving customer relationships, bookkeeping or electrical estimating software, it’s all available to purchase and it’s getting better all of the time. This estimating software from ENSIGN is a great place to start. Their software allows electrical contractors to price up jobs faster and it’s super simple to use. Their software is a definite must have for electrical contracting businesses.
3. Keep Your Business Plan Current
If you don’t already have a business plan, then now is the time to create one. In order to run a successful electrical contracting business, you’ll need to have a plan in place which shows how you’re going to reach your goals.
Most businesses already have a business plan, but even if you have, it may need updating. Circumstances are continually changing, e.g. there may be a new housing development starting nearby or maybe another electrical contractor has started completing work in the area you are in. Whatever the circumstances, it’s important to change your business plan to meet them. You should complete a SWOT analysis each month. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This is a brilliant place to start.
4. Know Your Customers’ Needs
Lots of businesses struggle finding new customers, so it’s extremely important that you take care of the ones you already have. If you have any spare time, then it’s a good idea to give past customers a call to make sure they’re happy with the work you completed. Happy customers are more likely to recommend you to their friends. This will help your business to grow.
5. Optimise the Size of Your Business
Many businesses expand too quickly. If you want to run a successful electrical business, then you’ll need to work out how big your business is. You should consider the Goldilocks principle. You don’t want your business to be too small as you’ll spend all of your time doing the administrative tasks and you won’t have enough time to do the work, but you don’t want to make it too large either, as your business will have greater capacity and larger expenses than the amount of work available. It’s important to find the middle point and build your business slowly.
Whether you’re ready to tackle all of the pieces of advice at once, or you want to start small and build your business slowly, it’s important that you remember to spend time thinking about your business practices and planning for your future expansion. You also need to remember that building your commercial electrical contracting business will take time, effort and determination on your part.
