Entrepreneur Zone

Do you have the entrepreneurial fire in your belly? If so, I encourage you to feed the flame.

Operating a small business is not easy. But it is rewarding.

You can follow suit and what our society dictates. Go to school, get a good job with a good company, stay for 30 years, retire. Or you can carve your own path. We chose the latter. The owners and myself all had the drive and need to work for ourselves. We did get our starts out there in the "corporate world" and by working for other people. Which is great! We learned a lot and were able to take that experience and create the kind of business we believe people like to work with.

There will be bumps in the road when getting started. Guaranteed. That's where the strong persevere and succeed. You don't know what you don't know. And there are things you don't know. Trust me. However, I encourage you to use your resources. Network. Get to know other small business owners in your community. They can, and will, help you along the way. Actually, feel free to call our office if you'd like to bounce any "getting started" questions off of us. We're glad to share our experience.

There are pros and cons just like with anything else. The pros are feeling the direct effects of winning that bid, receiving compliments on your workmanship and customer service, creating your own schedule and watching your business grow. Some cons are having to handle everything. You're the boss now so you get to handle the good and not so good. Long hours are ahead! Sometimes it can't all be accomplished between 8am - 5pm.

After being involved in two start ups, there are a few things I know for sure.

1) You will become a jack of all trades. You may think you just need to know the skill that is your business. For example, jewelry making. Before you know it you will be an accountant, sales person, customer service rep, human resources director, marketing guru, website designer and social media expert.

2) Utilize resources/don't be afraid to ask for help. Score.org is a great resource.

3) Don't take no for an answer.

4) Follow your gut. If other people think you're nuts, that's OK. If something doesn't feel right, change it. Do what's best for your business.

Owning and operating a small business is challenging and rewarding. If this is something you've wanted to do, do it!

-Tiffany

Wall Mounted TV's

One of the most common job requests we receive these days is customers wanting hang TV's on walls and over fireplaces, therefore needing power where they most likely don't already have an outlet. It's definitely doable, but there are some factors to consider.

Our electricians are in and out of different homes everyday and often times we see a nice, new flat screen TV hanging on the wall with a bunch of exposed wires and extension cords running all over the place.

Don't let this happen to you.

The good news is that we can hide those wires and give your wall mounted TV a sleek look.

Nice and Neat!

Most people want the nice clean look where all they see on the wall is the TV and/or a sound bar. This look can be achieved with just a little bit of preliminary planning.

The first thing we ask our customers is what do you use your TV for. Cable/Satellite? DVD? Video games? Netflix? etc. Usually, the answer is "all of the above." So then the question becomes where can we put all this equipment? Unlike sitting your TV on a stand or in an entertainment center where there are many cut-outs and shelves for equipment like DVD players and cable boxes, hanging the TV on a wall eliminates those resting places. Customers are also wanting the equipment usable from the recliner, but hidden. In most cases a closet is the best solution.

Now that we have a location for our equipment we have to figure out how we are going to control the equipment without the remote control having to have a direct line of sight to the equipment. There are some fantastic remote controls available that will control all of your equipment, unfortunately, they can be very expensive and difficult to program, especially if you've never done it before.

For most of our customers we will install a simple IR System which allows you to use your existing remote controls to control your equipment as if it was right in front of you. This is definitely a more cost effective, easy-to-use method.

Next we will generally run HDMI cables or internet/TV wires. When possible we like to install a conduit so we can add any new wires or new technology in the future without having to cut drywall. This is especially helpful when a TV is going over a fireplace.

Flexible conduit 

Wall mounted TV's are here to stay and Wireworks Electric is here to help make sure all your installations go smooth and clean. Please have us out for a free estimate and we will be happy to go over all of your options.

-Matt