Which way to turn?

[Dadbod3000]

Hi guys,

I never really come on here to be honest, but I thought I’d get the opinion of a world of unknown to me electrical contractors because why the hell not.

Even though the position I’m in drives me up the wall, it’s one of those “good problems to have”.

I’m spoilt for choice, I can take my company whichever way I want, I have a vast array of experience in plenty of different areas of electrics. Industrial is my favourite but commercial is what I’ve done most of.

The last two years I’ve turned over 350k and this year turned over just under 600k. It’s quite a lot for me as it’s only myself and a third party construction specialist admin / accounting company that assist with the day to day… other than that it’s just me and anything between about 4-12 subbies at any one time. My GP was about 40 so not too bad.

I’m 37 years old and am questioning which direction to head in. I’ve proved to myself I can make money on a heavy workload (after a couple of years of not doing so well in that department), but the workload takes over my life and I can’t think of anything but work all the time and it really gets in the way of all the other things in life like diet, exercise, friends, family, hobbies and anything else non-work related!! So work life balance is massively out of whack.

Anyway, as far as I see it, I have 3 options in front of me….

1) carry on full steam ahead as I am at the moment - I’ve pretty much decided this is not the way to go for me.

2) a merger with a bigger company has become a potential option, I’m not sure how much bigger, but more established. This seems like it could work, as I would be a contracts / project manager and my new partner would be in sales, and they have an estimator on board so I would basically be a shareholder that has a job to do - rather than run my whole company on my own and worry about running out of work when coming to the end of big projects but not having the time to look for more! And all the other things that need juggling. The only thing that worries me here is the potential partner wants an exit in 5 years time…that would leave me back in square one all over again!

3) stick to my own company, take on one big job at a time and get all my best workers along for the ride and drive that GP up to around 65 / 70. Less work, less stress, more control, more time spent focussing on one job at a time rather than 3 or 4 and a load of other business related problems to tend to behind the scenes. I know the one big job at a time is unrealistic on a constant basis because I will feel obliged to say yes to jobs that will stretch me to coming back off the tools again to oversee everything…but I know I’m equipped to be able to handle that if it does get out of hand from time to time!!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has ever had similar predicaments, what path they chose and whether they have tried them all and now have the answer?!

37, male, and fully stressed most of the time on the inside!

 

[plugsandsparks]

Thats a tough one, i think you will find the answer will be very personal to you and how you deal with work and everything else that also matters but does not satisfy clients or put food on the table.
All i can add is that i have chased the money at the expense of other matters and have some regrets. I have managed a large workforce and both enjoyed it and was frustrated by the fires that happen when mistakes are made and i can only hold the fire extinguisher.

There may be a 4th way, one i had considered for myself, to bring in a partner (share the profit) and go for the higher GP. Thereby you get the benefit of an extra pair of management hands and your take home money will largely be the same with hopefully less stress. My issue was finding the right partner... lol

 

[littlespark]

This;

37, male, and fully stressed most of the time on the inside!

….. could make the decision for you.

Be careful health wise.

 

[diditrain]

work can easily take over your life if you allow it to. I’m sure there are many who frequent this forum who have been or who are in a similar situation, myself included. Quite often, the realisation only materialises when something goes wrong.

 

[LukeD]

Ive witnessed the results of guys taking on too much , stress and this all affecting their life at home etc etc .Its NOT worth it

 

[Mike Johnson]

Sitting in the bath with tears rolling down my cheeks made the decision for me, I walked/ran away to France to a better life style and practically no stress, for the same relative income, but the price/cost difference between the UK and the EU has gone mad since then, currently French tradesman can charge what they like, but never lower than 100% more than in the UK if you can find one that is available within six months.

To cut a long story short, think of your health first, the stress is not worth it.

 

[DyFamCont]

This;



….. could make the decision for you.

Be careful health wise.

As someone who had to take several years out of work, don't underestimate the effect stress can have on your life. Everything becomes ----, literally everything.

 

[GBDamo]

Not being critical at all but it sound like you're too cheap.
7.5% GP seems a lot of work for little return.
In an ideal world you should be squeezing your less stress jobs and whittling out the high workload-low return ones.
Easier said than done though.

 

[nicebutdim]

Not being critical at all but it sound like you're too cheap.
7.5% GP seems a lot of work for little return.
In an ideal world you should be squeezing your less stress jobs and whittling out the high workload-low return ones.
Easier said than done though.

OP quotes GP of 40%, with one option aiming for an increase to 65-70%.

7.5% on quoted turnover would be the brink of bankruptcy.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Where did the 7.5%GP come from, I don't see that in the OP's post?

 

[Dadbod3000]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. Most veer towards the take it easier route! It’s nice that you all genuinely care for each others mental health.

After thinking about it today, I’ve decided to carry on as I am. This is the first year I’ve turned over a fair bit and made decent GP and NP (20%). I’m not sure where the 7.5 GP came from.

My priority for this year is to put as much effort into my personal life as I do my work life, hopefully if I can achieve a better balance I won’t feel as stressed.

I like my job, I’m happy with my ability and performance, and I’m hoping over the next couple of years I’ll have honed my skills and have put systems in place to cope with the demands as much as possible.

If I’m just as stressed at 40 as I am now, I will consider a change again.

Not looking forward to hitting the gym at 5am next week but health comes first

Thank you all so much for your responses, I’m not ignoring the advice, I’ve listened to it… I’m just going to try to reduce the stress in other ways than not taking the work on.

 

[GBDamo]

OP quotes GP of 40%, with one option aiming for an increase to 65-70%.

7.5% on quoted turnover would be the brink of bankruptcy.

My bad eyes read it at 40k

OP should crack on then, jammy sod, and stop his whining.

 

[KungFuTurkeyLeg]

I went with a partner. We're able to support each other and take time off knowing the other is at the helm. We split all profit 50/50 whether we have time off or not. We have our moments when we don't agree but we usually find a way to compromise with each other.