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Some good answers here!

Fair play if you want to give it a go on your own, wish you the best of luck. But agreeing with ElecTech asking such basic questions almost seems like you've barely looked into it. I haven't had as much experience as most people on here but still have come across tons of people who have tried various ways of starting up. Almost all have failed. The ones who haven't only haven't due the people they no, who've managed to get them bread and butter work. Even now there barely breaking even. It's always nice to think about yourself starting up because you always think you could do so much better but it's such a big risk which will almost certainly end up going wrong. Guess it depends too on how much you wanna make, earning yourself a nice wedge or getting the big bucks.

But wish you the best of luck. I'd much rather keep learning, be the best I can be, own a house or 2 and go on a couple of nice holidays a year keeping the Mrs happy.

I always thought that, but its a different story when you get there. I have been lucky enough to see this industry from three sides, an Indian, a Squaw, and a Chief, and being a Chief is no different from being an Indian apart from the problems and misery is ten fold. But.....should I survive to retirement Ill have more funds than most , but knowing my luck by then someone will have invented a paint that disperses burglars and my co will be worth nothing.

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Some good answers here!

Fair play if you want to give it a go on your own, wish you the best of luck. But agreeing with ElecTech asking such basic questions almost seems like you've barely looked into it. I haven't had as much experience as most people on here but still have come across tons of people who have tried various ways of starting up. Almost all have failed. The ones who haven't only haven't due the people they no, who've managed to get them bread and butter work. Even now there barely breaking even. It's always nice to think about yourself starting up because you always think you could do so much better but it's such a big risk which will almost certainly end up going wrong. Guess it depends too on how much you wanna make, earning yourself a nice wedge or getting the big bucks.

But wish you the best of luck. I'd much rather keep learning, be the best I can be, own a house or 2 and go on a couple of nice holidays a year keeping the Mrs happy.

Tell me, in this industry, where would you work as an employee that you could afford a couple of houses, a couple of holidays a year and a happy mrs? Am I missing something? or are you talking about jumping over to sales?

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Have you done a BP? how many systems do you need to install/maintain to earn a livable wage? what is your forecast for year on year growth and how do you propose to attain it? 

Already met with silence...

Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.


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take a local firm and undercut their prices as they have overheads. Go for ssaib approval and then give up and go back to employment?

See them come and go round these parts every couple of years.

One of the local nobs tried to take over one of ours.

Grade. 3 dualcom, 2 visits with URN for intruder & pa much less than half of the market price.

I worked out by the time he paid for the URN transfer it would have cost him £100.00 in year one just to win the work, now that's how to run a successful business.

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The hard part is convincing the customer that its worth the extra than the man in the van who is doing it a few quid cheaper

yes id agree, the modern marketing is cheaper, insurance, supermarket etc

but then its whats best a cheap parachute when skydiving, a cheap flood barrier, a cheap condom.

or good ones?

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yes but id say that's cos they think quality is similar. If you have no measure of difference and all is the same the cost is the decider. I'm the same when I buy stuff. 2 people selling me carpets ill look at the carpet, same carpet ill want to know who will fit it better, but buying a carpet isn't protecting me from f'all

so next up is support when I need it

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yes but id say that's cos they think quality is similar. If you have no measure of difference and all is the same the cost is the decider. I'm the same when I buy stuff. 2 people selling me carpets ill look at the carpet, same carpet ill want to know who will fit it better, but buying a carpet isn't protecting me from f'allso next up is support when I need it

It protects you from cold feet,but regardless of product sometimes cheapest wins,that's why farm foods shops are chocka

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The job we are doing in the morning is a prime example, customer saves a few quid and buys a CCTV kit from Costco.

He fits is and then realises its cr@p.

Tomorrow we are pulling it out and fitting replacement IP CCTV

Buy cheap buy twice.

Edited by whistle
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cheap protection? there is a limit to how cheap its still doable. btw ive got an offer on cheap airbags for Vauxhall...

wont work as well as the proper ones but they are cheap

sell your proper one for a huge 'profit'

kin hope you don't need it work mind

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OP I mean no disrespect here but as an apprentice you tend to not have a vast amount of experience. If this is going to be your bread and butter you gotta be good, can you take over a Castle panel one day, then work witha Pyronix / Visonic the next? Do you fully understand IP cctv and networking? Wiring locks and the diiferent access panels on the market?

 

I think the issue now is theres a lot of installers, all going for the same work but customers don't want to part with their cash. This is where you start seeing the Swann's and the Yales everywhere, that's killing local work.

 

I'm a one man band, 25, estate car, signed up, advertise online, flyer and word of mouth but I still don't have enough work for full time!

 

If you can make it work, do it. But it isnt easy, not by a long shot.

Edited by Night Owl
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