Brad Anderson is keeping the lights on

Name: Brad Anderson

Location: Whistler, BC, Canada

Business: Anderson’s Electric

Tell us about how you got started.

I've been an electrician for 12 years now, and I got started when I was working for another company and I had kind of hit my ceiling, and everyone that I was working for or the clients I was working for were just kind of, they pushed me to just be like, "You got to go on your own, you're not going to go any further working for somebody." So, it was time to go on my own, and I just needed a little bit more fulfillment, I guess. So, running a business is kind of the next step in that.

What would you say sets your business apart from others in the industry?

It’s just me and two employees, so I'm on site all the time. It's a very face-to-face and personal connection with clients.

How do you manage to wear all the hats that you have to wear when you run a business?

I’m still trying to figure that out, but just really focusing on taking a couple hours per week to keep up on admin and all that stuff. 

What tools are you using to help you run your business? 

QuickBooks is just so easy, organized, and just very smooth to use. The mileage tracking is great. When I had a personal vehicle that was kind of split between my use and the company use — that was the best feature.

How does running your own business make you feel?

It feels good. I’m proud. Especially because it's my last name, you're kind of putting your name on everything you do. Just knowing that your effort's going fully back into yourself and not into someone else's company has been great.

Is there something that you didn't know how to do when you started your business that you needed to teach yourself?

Honestly, pretty much everything. Taxes were a big one. Figuring out how the relationship between a bookkeeper and an accountant is completely different — I kind of thought it was one person who takes care of it all. And just day-to-day admin,  staying on top of schedules, how to charge clients, and invoicing and all that stuff.

How did you end up teaching yourself all those things? 

A lot of Googling and a lot of asking friends that had started their own businesses.

What would you say is the biggest lesson that you learned in the first year?

Staying on top of your books, for sure. Just making sure every receipt is taken care of, and that you're not saving it all for eight weeks down the road and you have eight weeks worth of receipts, and you're trying to remember what everything was and what job everything was for. 

What has it been like managing people? 

It's great. I think just choosing someone that you've already had a previous relationship with was key for me. But just staying on top of making sure they're getting paid on time, and that they're happy is a big thing.

Do you enjoy mentoring and being a leader in that way?

Yeah, for sure. It feels good when you can send them on their own for the first time, and they go do a job without you having to be there.

How are you managing your work-life balance?

The first year was tough, and I learned that there's so much work in the area that I live. You could work all day, every day, if you really wanted to. But then what's the point of doing it if you can't enjoy your time off? Whistler is a very lifestyle-focused area to live, so it's very easy to go —  as long as you're not too busy — up the mountain for skiing or biking.

Has the community been really supportive of your business? How has that experience been?

Definitely supportive. I think it's such a unique place to run a business, because it's a resort town, so it's very tough to find good labor. So people are usually very happy to get someone to do the job, honestly.

What has been your proudest moment? 

Last year, I finished my first large project from start to finish. That one was pretty proud, just because it was every step of the way kind of just learning and getting through it, and working long hours to sort it out and get it done.

What's next for you and your business?

Right now I'm in a pretty comfortable place, but it's definitely time to start growing and getting a little bit more uncomfortable again. Pushing myself. Because it's easy to just stay at the level I'm at, but I do want to push through and grow. I think that means taking on more projects and having a little bit more of a workforce to help take those on and complete them. And also trying to maintain the same level of service from when you only have two people to 10 people.

When you started your business, what did success look like to you? 

Keeping the clients that I had happy and making sure that they're happy with my service. Being able to maintain that.

What advice do you have for other business owners just starting out?

Definitely find a mentor that you can just bounce questions off of whenever you need. Someone that’s maybe two or three years ahead in the process — you can learn so much from those people. And there's so much information out there to read and to learn. Just take some time to read whatever you can.