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I am a self employed electrician in Durham. I have lived here since 1981 & have never seen things so bad around here. We have usually survived recessions well, but this is different. I know a few electricians who have all the work they can do, but a lot are like me, struggling to find anything, then being priced out by handymen or illegal aliens. I've had about 5 good months out of 2 years. My wife's salary is the only thing keeping us going. I have barely made enough to cover my costs.
Word of advice: get people you've done good work for to be references. On neighborhood listservs people are always asking who the good electricians, plumbers, etc. are. Some neighborhoods maintain lists of who gets good references -- and who doesn't.
We've relied on those extensively, having just finished a $50,000 roof repair and gearing up for $30,000 in systems repair on our fixer-upper. And the companies with that strong word-of-mouth *are* hard to schedule, and charging as much as they were a few years back!
I know the "name" firms like Acme, Swain, Brown Bros., get a disproportionate level of business with their name and brand reputation. But get connected to a good GC or do independent work and get that name out there and it should help.
I work for a private pharmaceutical company in the triangle and I have to be honest that we are doing great. We had a record setting year 2 years ago, an average year last year, and on pace to do much better again this year. That said, I got a 20% raise a year ago, and still get 5 figure bonuses each year at the end of the year, with each year being a little higher than the last, so no, I cannot complain. I feel very fortunate.
Is that because people are taking so many mental health drugs because they're depressed from being unemployed?
Word of advice: get people you've done good work for to be references. On neighborhood listservs people are always asking who the good electricians, plumbers, etc. are. Some neighborhoods maintain lists of who gets good references -- and who doesn't.
We've relied on those extensively, having just finished a $50,000 roof repair and gearing up for $30,000 in systems repair on our fixer-upper. And the companies with that strong word-of-mouth *are* hard to schedule, and charging as much as they were a few years back!
I know the "name" firms like Acme, Swain, Brown Bros., get a disproportionate level of business with their name and brand reputation. But get connected to a good GC or do independent work and get that name out there and it should help.
Good luck!
Thanks; yes I have good references and I do get some work. But a lot of people aren't doing much work and there's always somebody cheaper out there.
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