The poverty mindset keeping sparkies broke | 114

Cancelled jobs, and why work “comes and goes.”

I break down what’s actually happening behind the scenes, and why this thinking keeps trades stuck in feast-or-famine cycles.

If your workload feels unpredictable, this episode will make a lot of sense.

🚀 Rocket your electrical business marketing in 9 minutes 👉🏼 HERE

🤔 Questions? Ask me on Instagram 👉🏼 HERE

🤝 Work with Alan 👉🏼 HERE

🎥 YouTube 👉🏼 HERE

Transcript

Slap the grout to your uniform, scrape it off, and put it behind the tiles.
Welcome to Simplified Sparky Marketing.

I stumbled across this clip on Instagram the other day, and it triggered me a little bit. What annoyed me most is the mindset behind it. It’s something that, if somebody’s in a similar boat to this person, they’ll relate to it and go, “You know what? It is quiet.”

It is quiet. Work has ebbs and flows. It’s not coming in the door consistently.

But you get out what you put in.

I’m going to play you this clip now, and then I’ll explain afterwards.

I made £9,000 last week, but I’ve just had two big jobs cancel on me and then I’ve got a holiday. So that’s three weeks without any work. So did I really make nine grand in a week? No.It’s crazy how it changes in the trade. Because if you’d asked me three weeks ago if I was busy, I’d have said yeah, fucking booked up for two months, got loads on. And you do a job ten days quicker than you should.Two huge jobs cancel on you and then before you know it, you’ve got no work.I started this business when I was 19 and I’ve been busy ever since, but this last year or two just hasn’t been the same. I think there’s a lot going on in the world and people are scared to spend the money, and to be honest, I don’t blame them.I wouldn’t have a tradesman out to my house at the minute.It’s good that you can have them jobs to keep the mortgage paid for a few months so you’re not stressed out like I have been over the last five years. But yeah, them £9,000 weeks aren’t what they’re made up to be. The universe soon evens it all out for you.There’s no way it can be ying, ying, ying, ying, ying, ying. You’ve gotta have some yang.

Now, before I continue, this guy seems like a top guy. He seems like an absolute legend, and I have nothing against him.

What I am talking about is his business model and the back end of his business.

Because I took the time to do a little bit of stalking to see what his efforts actually are. What he’s doing to get more business in.

So I started with a search and found his business name. He does not have a website. As far as I can tell, he does not have a website, and if he does, it is very, very difficult to find.

I found a business with a similar name, if not an identical name, in the UK, but I don’t believe it’s his. It looks like a different area entirely.

That’s one thing.

This guy has a huge following on Instagram. Over 16,000 followers. And in my opinion, he’s relying on Instagram and word of mouth as his main sources of income.

There’s also zero call to action on his profile. No website. No link. Nothing. Just a message button.

That is wasted real estate.

Sixteen thousand people looking at your profile and there’s nowhere for them to go. No polished company website. Nothing. That’s reckless.

Something I’ve learned in the past year:

A big following does not mean a big income.

I’d rather have a small following with paying clients than a bloated following making no money.

And I believe that’s what’s happening here.

Tiling is one of those trades that’s incredibly satisfying to watch. Even I love watching tiling. Bricklaying too. There’s something about it. Most people get it.

All electricians are now saying, “I wish people felt that way about electrical.”

But unfortunately, fitting off a PowerPoint isn’t sexy. We just have to get on with it.

I looked deeper into the back end of his business.

No website.
No Google Business Profile.

You go to his Instagram and he does a lot of talking videos about jobs. And I shit you not, there is literally more grout on his uniform than behind the tiles.

This is common with tilers, sure. But it comes back to one thing:

Who is your ideal client?

Who do you want to work with?

If I was to give you a sparky equivalent, it’d be like crawling out from under a house or roof space, covered head to toe in dust, then walking through someone’s brand-new kitchen shedding filth everywhere.

People notice that stuff.

We’re not all squeaky clean. We get dirty. That’s the job. But if you’re crawling under floors or into roofs, buy the white disposable suits. They’re about $15 on Amazon.

Zip it up. Crawl around. Roll around. Slide if you want. You stay clean.

The image this guy gives off is grotty. Silicone, grout, everything all over him.

Get a rag. Wipe your hands. Small things matter.

No website.
No Google profile.
Negative mindset.

“I wouldn’t have anyone in my house either.”

That is a horrible mindset for a business owner.

There is work out there. Something has to get tiled. Builders need tilers. Bathrooms, splashbacks, kitchens. There’s plenty of work.

But the way he frames it is defeatist.

Yes, holidays are fair. You don’t get paid on holidays. That’s normal.

But what he should be building is an ecosystem where work comes back in.

Website.
Retention.
Referrals.
Systems.

Does he have job management software?
Client follow-up?
Retention systems?

I doubt it.

That’s why the work drops off.

This is the shit you hear at suppliers or at a barbecue:

“Fuck, it’s quiet out there.”

Okay. What are you doing?

“Oh yeah, making a website shortly.”

Shortly or today?

“My 16-year-old niece is doing it.”

That’s how you shoot yourself in the foot.

It’s consistency. Ten minutes a day on the business. Ten minutes tomorrow. That compounds.

I don’t believe in ads until your foundation is sorted. Milk the organic cow dry first.

Ads don’t fix leaks.

A website is only as good as how it’s used. Simple website. Clear CTAs. Easy forms. Job videos. Authority.

This guy doesn’t have that. And it’s a shame, because he seems like a top bloke and easy to hire.

One last thing.

Hourly rate.

I can’t fathom it.

I never work hourly. Fixed pricing, estimates, budgets. Quotes.

This comes with experience, yes. But once you do the same work repeatedly, you get good at it.

This clip gives it away:

“You do a job ten days quicker than you should.”

If he quoted properly, he should be laughing.

Hourly rate punishes good tradesmen. Especially sparkies.

If you’re efficient, organised, and sharp, you earn less on hourly.

That seems to be what’s happening here.

Finish ten days early? You’re winning. Chill, or go find more work.

You get out what you put in.

We’re heading into January. Ask yourself:

What’s your 2026 going to look like?