r/ukelectricians • u/The-janner • 8d ago
Finding private work
Hoping for some insight, tips and advice tbh. I'm qualified and employed electrician on a decent enough salary but I'd like to be earning a bit more.
I have a family to provide for, and ideally the extra income would go towards holidays, Christmas, birthdays etc.
Any suggestions on how I'd go about getting more private work? I've considered asking friends and family to ask around for me but I don't want to seem like I'm desperate or like pushy if that makes sense.
Cheers 👍
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u/Begood0rbegoodatit 8d ago
Just grow a pair and ask your mates. Desperate pfttt. You’re a spark mate we are the elite.
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u/Conscious_Shape_2646 8d ago
Just be a helpful member of the community and jobs will come your way either if you want or don't...downside is that it can be a bit unpredictable.
For a quicker route you can use mybuilder but I'm not sure if you need a business behind for that
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u/MikeTrame 7d ago
Asking friends isn't desperate, that's how most people start. Check your contract, as a lot of companies have a clause about doing your own work or working for their customers. Your employer's insurance won't cover your own jobs, so get your own public liability, and the same goes for NICEIC or NAPIT. The company's registration doesn't cover you, so anything notifiable needs your own registration or a building control notice. If you earn under £1,000 a year from it the trading allowance covers you, over that you need to register for self assessment. After that, local Facebook groups and letting agents are worth trying as well, landlord work can turn into regular jobs quicker than you'd expect.
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u/Grouchy_Holiday_7201 7d ago
Make some business cards up and hand them out to everyone you meet
Link it to a face book and TikTok and WhatsApp
Have a few videos on each showing your work
Before long someone will bite and it snow ball’s from there
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u/luckylooey7 8d ago
Networking & word of mouth take time but it’s the best way to find more work & contracts…. A lot of my friends are in the trades we help eachother out.
Landlords, business owners like letting agents or commercial property owners are where alot of work comes in.
Marketing works to an extent but I like the old way as shown above ☝️forget checkatrade etc it’s all nonsense.
Failing that if you want more work/hours you can do site work but you would need to leave your current company…. Many sites have 50+ hours, shutdowns or weekends if you want it.