Cheap refer cheap! | 74

This week, I’m unpacking why starting out with mates’ rates and cheap jobs can come back to bite you. If you're an electrician trying to build a real client base, this one’s all about charging properly from day one and avoiding the trap of working for free.

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Transcript

Birds of a feather, we flock together.
Welcome to Simplified Sparky Marketing.

Many people start their business without a clue, and undoubtedly, the biggest fear is: Where am I going to get leads or work? More importantly, how am I going to get consistent work?

I can’t stress this enough—many people will advise you (usually the ones who don’t own a business) to "work for friends and family." Honestly, that’s horrible advice. The issue is, when you start doing work for your friends and family, you tend not to charge what you should. And worse, if you do charge them correctly, they think you’re ripping them off.

They’re trying to do you a favour, and you’re trying to make a living. It’s just a huge contradiction. Unless they’re happy to pay what they’d pay someone else—fantastic. But the majority of the time, they think they’re doing you a favour, and you owe them one back. So I tend to draw a line in the sand with friends and family.

I’ve spoken about this in many podcasts—especially the one about websites, the Oz vs Hilti website. The gist is: tradies spend thousands on tools that sit idle in their van because they don’t have enough work—yet they won’t spend on a proper website.

"SexySparky69@gmail.com"—that’s another one. It's about not having a professional email address. Just cover the basics. Get your uniform made properly. Look the part. Wrap your van. That’s it. Get a few reviews. Suddenly, you look professional and established.

These little things go a long way. Way better than rocking up to a job in a Kmart fluro with a beat-up HiAce dripping oil on the driveway.

Let me tell you two stories.

Story one: I was in Aldi maybe four years ago, browsing the middle aisle like all Aussie tradies do—scoping out some dodgy German drill bits. They had ovens on special. A woman asked the staff if there were any left. The staff said, "No, just sold the last one."

And the woman replied, "Oh, that’s a shame. I know a really cheap electrician."

How embarrassing—for the electrician. The woman knows he’s undercharging. But he probably doesn’t. Maybe he's a good cheap electrician, or maybe he’s not. But he’s cheap. That’s the takeaway.

Story two: A year and a half ago, I got a call from a lady who had been referred by a local light shop I used to do work for. She had a faulty ceiling fan. At the time, I was new to residential work, didn’t carry parts, wasn’t prepared. Went to the job, diagnosed the receiver as faulty, then left to get the part. Came back days later to fit it.

I charged her about $150.

Back then I thought, "Is that too much?"

Fast forward to last year. Same lady calls up—same issue, same fan. I remembered her right away. This time, I quoted properly—maybe four times the price—because I know what I’m worth now.

She said, "That’s a rip-off."

But the truth is—I set the bar. I undercharged the first time, and now she thinks that’s the going rate.

That’s the problem. You set expectations early on. And those clients will keep searching for that cheap sparkie. It doesn’t matter that the one they’re quoting from undercharged himself. The client doesn’t see that.

When you start building a client base, don’t aim for cheap clients. Cheap clients refer cheap clients. Before you know it, you’re surrounded by tightasses expecting bottom dollar.

Instead, put a marketing plan in place. Just a simple one. Even jump on my emails. You’ll get the nine-day series—nine steps to building a marketing plan, totally free. The link’s below. They’re bite-sized steps you can implement straight away to start attracting better clients.

Because what’s going to happen is this: after two or three years, you’ll look back and realise your whole client base is redundant. You’ll want to raise your prices, but your existing clients won’t cop it.

As I mentioned last week, the Simplified Sparky Mentorship kicks off early next month. People are already stepping in—and I’m bloody excited. There’s a YouTube video explaining everything, and the email link is below. Check them out, have a scroll, and I’ll catch you next week.