Starting an Electrical Business and Pricing Your Work Properly | Angelo from Toptech Electrical

In this episode, Kane sits down with Angelo, owner of Toptech Electrical, for an honest conversation about what the first couple of years of running a solo electrical business actually looks like. Angelo started Toptech Electrical in June 2024 after working at Smartfix, and has been building his client base from the ground up through Facebook community pages, school maintenance contracts and referrals. He and Kane get into the real stuff: the moment that pushed Angelo to go out on his own, why he hired an apprentice first and what he wishes he had done differently, the challenge of finding that first tradesman, quoting over the phone vs going to site, what did and did not work for lead generation, and why so many tradies undercharge themselves into trouble before they even get started. If you are a tradie thinking about going out on your own or you are in the early stages of running your own business, this one is full of honest lessons from someone who is in it right now. Follow Hypotential: Website: https://www.hypotential.com/ Instagram:   / hypotential_   Facebook:   / hypotentialco   Follow Kane: Instagram:   / kanetylersmith_   Facebook:   / kanetylersmithwa   TikTok:   / kanetylersmith   Connect with Angelo: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... Website: https://toptechperth.com.au/ 00:00 - Intro 00:37 - Introducing Angelo from Toptech Electrical 00:58 - What Toptech does and when Angelo started 01:19 - Hiring the first tradesman and how he is finding it 02:35 - Referrals vs job platforms and what has actually worked 04:50 - Angelo's background, apprenticeship and working at Smartfix 05:16 - The moment that pushed Angelo to go out on his own 06:10 - The hardest part of starting out, generating your own work 07:00 - Subcontracting on new builds and why it did not work out 07:57 - How Angelo gets his work now, Facebook community pages 08:45 - Becoming the go-to sparky in Caversham 09:22 - Is there enough work to keep a tradie busy five days a week? 10:14 - Quoting over the phone vs going to site 11:59 - Meta advertising for tradies and why it dropped off after two weeks 13:23 - Was there ever a moment Angelo thought about giving it all up? 14:19 - Getting through the first year and the importance of having someone to call 15:30 - When things finally clicked and the work started coming in 16:40 - Why December was the turning point for Toptech 17:22 - The April slow down and why it hits almost every trades business 17:42 - Apprentice vs tradie as your first hire 18:50 - How having an apprentice locked Angelo onto the tools all day 19:57 - Knowing from the start he did not want to work alone 20:52 - What is actually holding Angelo back from pulling the trigger on a hire 22:17 - The new van and getting set up to bring someone on 23:30 - What did not work, trying to crack real estate agents 24:35 - School and hotel maintenance contracts and the risks of relying on one contact 26:25 - Do you have to charge less for real estate work? 27:11 - Where Angelo wants Toptech to be in five years 27:33 - Bringing the wife in for admin and social media 28:33 - Social media for tradies and why showing the work matters 28:46 - Turning the tables, Angelo asks Kane what made him go out on his own 29:36 - Kane's story, the Holden SVP6 and how it all started 31:01 - How Smartfix grew from one van to a team 31:39 - Was there ever a point Kane thought about walking away? 33:04 - Advice for tradies thinking about going out on their own 33:38 - Customer service, doing the right thing and not undercharging 33:55 - Why 1 in 5 businesses fail and what most tradies do not know 34:13 - Learning your numbers, profit and loss, budgets and cash flow 35:39 - How to read Xero properly and why end of month takes time 36:20 - Public holidays, pay cycles and the cash flow impact most people miss 37:01 - Email campaigns and SMS marketing to smooth out the slow periods 37:41 - Pricing the work properly, why $100 an hour is not enough 38:49 - The mindset around hourly rates and what customers actually think you take home 39:07 - When training courses teach tradies to undercharge 40:36 - Why Kane started Hypotential and what it is trying to fix 41:54 - Angelo's own early pricing and how he gradually found the right rate 42:31 - Have you ever paid for a tradesman yourself and how that changes your perspective 43:13 - Air con supply and install vs customer supplied units and why markup matters 45:13 - Disposing of old units properly and what happens to the refrigerant 46:12 - Wrap up and where to find Toptech Electrical