Your Business

 

 

Articles in this section are intended to help electrical contractors grow and improve their businesses, from financial and legal advice to creating a service and maintenance department. You’ll find articles on estimating projects and more below. 

More than 174,000 workers in the electrical contracting industry—including the most-skilled electricians, linemen and technicians in the world—are covered by pension plans that are financed through contributions from them and their multiple employers, without costing taxpayers one cent.

When I started to write this article, it came out as a rant, which seemed unprofessional. Assuming I should be professional, I pared the rant down to a summary of the way I feel about the current state of engineering practices.

It was an online phenomenon that went viral.

The past two columns have covered issues related to your most important asset (and the most difficult one to measure): your employees.

More on Your Business

 
Conventions on the Cheap Thanks to Uncle Sam
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Although the cost of just about everything has gone up, attending a convention, meeting, or trade show need not be that expensive—thanks to the many income tax deductions available.

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Manufacturer Training Programs Deliver Flexible Educational Options
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In today’s highly competitive voice/data/video (VDV) industry, the proper training is essential to the success of any electrical contractor. This month’s column will present an overview of the training opportunities from Ortronics and Hubbell Premise Wiring.

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(Almost) Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
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In this PDF file, (Almost) Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS, Joe Salimando tells you just that.

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Scheduling for the Estimate
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Worrying about scheduling when preparing the estimate may seem superfluous. But a bid price based on a hypothetical rule of thumb can be dangerous.

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Landscape Lighting Provides Security, Safety, and Aesthetics
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Landscape lighting can be an added revenue source for electrical contractors at many project sites. While not cut-and-dry, it can be a manageable and profitable way to increase the scope of work at a site where you already have a good working relationship.

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Bidding Telecommunications Cabling, Part II
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There is not an exact science to bidding a telecommunications cabling project. As you review several, you will also notice there are no standard bid formats. The range goes from cabling a building to a division done by a professional engineer.

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The 2000 Profile of the Electrical Contractor
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In this PDF file, The 2000 Profile of the Electrical Contractor, John McKenzie tells you how "A new contractor evolves to meet the challenges of the new millennium".

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