We catch up with Danny Edmonds, Co-owner of Prowired Electrical Contractors, to find out more about why teamwork really is dreamwork as the business continues to prosper.
Tell us a bit about the history of Prowired Electrical Contractors and how the business originated
I used to work for (now business-partner) Nathan, and over time we built a very good relationship which was primarily based on having full trust in one another. Nine years ago we had a discussion about whether we could potentially set up a business together. It didn’t take long for us to agree that it was the right thing to do and, before you knew it, we’d started our own company. We both had a vision that Prowired should be heavily brand-focused and recognisable, with an onus on getting the right clients and servicing them correctly.
As with most business owners, we had to make some big sacrifices early on to enable the company to get where it is today, but it’s definitely been the best decision we’ve made. Prowired has become the company we dreamed of and that’s also down to the support of our staff, wholesalers, subcontractors and clients. It wouldn’t have happened without everyone’s involvement.
How many individuals are employed within the business?
We employ 14 site-based members of staff and will be looking to expand this to at least 20 before the end of the year. We have a further eight employees working in the office, which we hope to increase to 10 in the near future, plus we employ our own health and safety consultant and a specialist HR company to look after all of the staff.
What type of work do you primarily undertake?
Our main bread and better has always been new build work, however in the last couple of years we’ve been undertaking more industrial jobs, so we’re now capable of taking on work in domestic, commercial and industrial environments.
How do you make your business stand out from the crowd?
Branding is something that we’re into big time. I feel that many electrical firms are still a bit old fashioned in the way they look and work, so we want to make sure our company is modern and fresh. I also want to be different in the ways that we look after the staff on-site and in our office, and to build a culture that teamwork brings everything together. To me, this is the most important part of the business.
How do you ensure your staff are up-to-date with training and development?
We have test rigs in our office for the apprentices to learn from, not to mention the support from the team in the office and the knowledge that myself, Nathan and our Projects Manager, Pat, are able to pass on. We regularly check that qualifications are up-to-date and, if not, we support the staff to get to the end result they’ve worked hard to achieve. We also use a dedicated specialist training provider which gives us the peace of mind that our employees will receive the correct training.
How have you reacted and adapted during the pandemic?
The pandemic taught us to be dynamic and structured as a business. We put a lot of time into working on the infrastructure of the company early on during lockdown, plus I’ve spent the last year building a Prowired App which all our engineers will be using every day. This is to ensure site-based staff communicate better with the office and the rest of the team to bring the business together. During the second lockdown we had more of a focus on pushing and utilising social media, with all of the team buying into the process and becoming a part of the social experience.
Where do you see the business (and the electrical industry) moving in the future?
We believe that there will be lots of opportunities for electrical businesses moving forwards, with renewables taking a much larger role. We’re already an MCS accredited installer and an OLEV approved contractor, and see things like industrial power stations, utility industries, EV charging stations (domestic and commercial), commercial and industrial lighting, maintenance shut down, battery storage and PV installations as potential growth areas for our business.
Do you have any funny/interesting stories that the company can share?
When I mentioned to the team about taking part in the social media experiment, their faces were a picture! I think they thought I was crazy, but it is something that is working to raise awareness and they’ve all brought into it now.
Can you offer any words of wisdom for fellow electrical business owners?
Focus on structure, structure and more structure – how effective your business will ultimately be is going to be down to this. It takes a lot of work to put a proper structure and processes in place but when you’ve achieved this the feeling (and results) are great. All of the effort that we’ve put in from every part of our team has definitely helped us.
Building a business is not just about one or two people – it’s about the whole team, as without them you’d be nothing. Create the unity and culture that you want within your business and the rest will naturally come together.
