Fly In Fly Out Or Build Your Own Electrical Business? | 130

In this episode I talk about my time working as an electrician in the mines, the money, the lifestyle, and why I eventually left to build my own electrical business.

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Transcript

I will only do one more swing in the mines.

Welcome to Simplified Sparky Marketing.

I want to speak about an experience today that I’ve had by running a business and also working in the mines as an electrician.

I think there are a lot of guys who are either in mining and don’t want to be there anymore, or they want to get out and start their own business. But they weigh it up and fall into a rut of comfort.

They know they’re going to get relatively good money, which we’re going to break down shortly. Because when you actually think about the money in the mines versus starting a business, they also know that if they go back to working as an employee in their respective city in Australia, they’re probably not going to earn a fraction of what they made in the mines.

A lot of it boils down to mindset. It also boils down to how much you value your own time as an electrician — and especially as a family man.

I think that’s where it hits you the most.

The amount of people I spoke to in the mines where the second or third sentence was, “Me ex-missus and the kids…”

It was always, “Me ex and the kids.”

And it’s sad, because you can see how people get trapped. They fall into a rut, and it tarnishes relationships. Sometimes it’s not even their fault.

Sometimes people have borrowed beyond their means. Someone ends up in the mines trying to make money, and then one swing turns into two swings.

For those who aren’t familiar, a swing is your time out in the mines.

When I did my mining, it was four weeks on and one week off — which is a fucking harsh swing, to be honest. It’s too much.

You get every second Sunday off, but it’s still tough going.

You’re not busting your balls by any means. There’s five men doing a one-man job. You’re stopping for hydration breaks, filling out your Good-To-Go forms every two minutes.

But one swing turns into two swings. Two swings turn into two years. Two years turn into three years.

And that’s where things start breaking down — especially when there are families, relationships, and children involved.

That’s where it gets messy.

When I was mining, I was working with SKS Southern Cross Electrical Engineering in Western Australia, in Karara, on an iron ore mine.

When I set off from Sydney to Perth, I thought, “I can’t bring my big bag of tools — it’s going to weigh too much.”

So when I got to Perth, we had to go to Fremantle for an induction. I rented a car, went to the local Bunnings, bought a tool bag, bought all new shiny tools, and grabbed the essentials.

I brought my Fluke meter, good screwdrivers, pliers — all that stuff. Then I just bought shifters and the rest of the bits I needed.

When I rocked into the mines, I looked like a first-year apprentice — wet behind the ears with all this shiny gear.

The funny thing was, I think one day in the three months I spent there I actually did electrical work.

I think I terminated one cable — and I didn’t even fully know how to terminate it because it was a specific mining cable.

The rest of the time I was stainless-steel cable tying things, doing mechanical work, making lightning protection around the units.

Barely used my brand-new set of tools.

I could’ve rocked up with just a maintenance man screwdriver and a pair of pliers and gotten away with it.

There were about five or six conveyor belts being built. I joined when they were on the fourth.

As the conveyor belts were finished, they started letting people go.

My original goal was to stay there until about March or April — maybe a few months — and then leave.

But by March, I was made redundant along with a crew of guys.

And honestly, it was a blessing.

That was my exit.

Because what happens with a lot of people is they start chasing the next dragon.

One job finishes and they go, “Where’s the next site?”

Loads of guys you meet out there know someone from another mining site, and they just jump to the next project.

My swing was 28 days on, seven days off.

During those 28 days we had every second Sunday off.

Which was great fun, because Saturday night everyone would hit the drink.

Then Sunday we’d die a death.

And Monday we had to be right as rain because every morning you had to blow into a breathalyser.

If you blew anything — even the smallest number — you were gone.

Instantly kicked out of the mines.

Which actually happened to a few people.

So where all this is going is weighing up whether you should start an electrical business or go into the mines — or maybe you’re already in the mines and thinking about starting your own business.

Because if you’re in the mines, you’re probably cashed up.

You’ve got the ability to buy a van, tools, everything you need to get started.

My goal when I went to the mines was simple: cash up for a few months and start my electrical business.

That was it.

I went in with the end goal already in mind.

When I came back to Sydney after being made redundant, I worked for a company for a few months.

But the whole time I was plotting my exit to start my own gig.

One crazy thing I see electricians doing is still working in the mines while trying to run an electrical business.

That’s ludicrous.

You should either be making enough money in the mines, or making enough money as a business owner.

But when you try to do both, everything gets watered down.

You can’t focus on the business.

You’ve got jobs coming in while you’re away in the mines.

It becomes a mess.

And what that really is — is lack of structure and lack of knowledge around running a business.

I saw loads of guys do this.

They left the mines, started a business, I’d see their Facebook pages pop up — but they were still dabbling in mining work.

That’s insecurity.

It’s greed.

And it’s comfort.

They’re not earning the same wages yet in their business, so they fall back into the mines.

Now let’s talk about the money.

When I was in the mines, working 28 days on and 7 days off, I earned roughly ten and a half to eleven thousand dollars into my bank account across that period.

On the payslip there were all these acronyms — PIP and other allowances.

I didn’t even know what they were.

But I wasn’t asking questions.

It was money.

It worked out at about two and a half grand a week back then.

And this was ten years ago.

Today it might be three or four thousand a week.

But here’s the thing.

You’re technically working ten-hour days.

But the second you step foot in the mines, you’re at the whim of your employer.

You’re there 24 hours a day for those 28 days.

And if you break the hourly rate down across that time, it’s actually not that impressive.

Some people will say, “What are you talking about? It’s not 24 hours.”

But you’re away from your family.

Away from home.

Away from the people you love.

That’s what you’re sacrificing.

Your time is the most valuable thing you have.

You can get more money.

You cannot get more time.

And sometimes you don’t realise that until people around you start disappearing.

Then you think, “Fuck, I wish I had more time with them.”

So you have to weigh up what you want.

I’m not shitting on the mines.

It was a fantastic experience for me.

But if you’re going into the mines, set an end goal.

Set a target.

Save the money for something specific — maybe a house deposit.

Because prices in Australia are insane.

But if you’re thinking you’ll never earn that sort of money working for yourself — you absolutely can.

I’m walking, talking proof of it.

And the members I work with are getting there as well.

But the key is starting correctly.

Setting up your business properly from day one.

Something I didn’t do — and I wish I had.

That’s it from me.

Personally, I think running your own business properly beats doing swings in the mines away from people you love.

If you need anything from me, there are links in the description.

I’ll chat to you next week.