System integration contractors..looking for your input

Who here owns or works for a small system integration/automation engineering and contracting company that is willing to share some information to young man with big dreams?

How many companies do you support?
Size of your clients, do they not have engineers on staff?

If any, how many employees do you have?
Are you still heavily involved in the onsite integration work?
Do you have sales team?

Lastly, if you don't mind sharing, what is your annual gross revenue?


Muchas Gracias

Here is some information. Been in business full time for 6 years. About 10 years part time before that. Number of regular customers is probably less than 10, but some of those are other integrators/distributors. My clients range from a 2 man shop to a very large Japanese based automobile manufacturer. Many of my clients do not have engineers on staff to do what I specialize in(motion and LabVIEW).

I am currently a one man operation. Had up to 2 employees at one time, but found it hard to keep them busy.

I do not have a sales team. Tried an outside firm once, and it was a disaster. I have never had to look for work for myself. Finding the work for my employees was an issue, though.

I am not going to share my gross revenue. If I did, you would think I was very rich. In reality, it takes a lot of money to properly run a business. Liability insurance. Worker's compensation. Software. Computers and tools. Health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance. Office rent. Training(usually involves travel and expenses, plus no income while training).

Not sure about your situation, but if single, or married with a working wife and no kids, now might be the time to do it. I was married(still am), with kids and my wife didn't work. Announcing that I was going to quit my job and go into business for myself didn't go over quite so well. Also, doing it part time for a while helps by building a customer base.

It is not for everyone, though. Lots of stress. Lots of business running activities that take up more time than I thought they would(invoicing, ordering, general accounting, quoting, etc.).

Own business - started when the company who employed me went broke - 59 at the time - 72 now and still powering along.

No employees - can do without the hassles and young uns getting RSI of the thumbs every time the phone dings - paid to work not play with the phone.

I do all my own drawings and design, build all my own control panels, do all my own programming, SCADA and commissioning.

Also as above do all my own accounts, have all necessary insurance (expensive)- keep the tax man off my back - have computers, software (expensive), tools (expensive) - testing and calibrating gear (expensive) and on it goes.

Also fully understand the workings of machinery - look at a machine and design a clone system - trouble shooting, reverse engineering a system with no drawings - take a video of the PLC I/O lights turning on and off and reverse engineer software.

No sales team or anyone working on my behalf there - most work is from 4-5 clients and reputation for doing it right the first time.

Most clients are the full deal - one is software only and most of that is for huge data centres and NASA.

No stress - stress is a state of mind and you have to have a mind first LOL!! Ha ha. Made up my mind when I was 18 there would be no stress or blood pressure in my life and there is not - no point - good red wine helps! The mind is a powerful instrument if you can get it under control near totally and these things can become a thing of the past.

Certainly not revealing my income - it is never enough anyway. She who must be obeyed is expensive!

Travel can be a PITA - boring sitting in traffic, planes and airports for hours at a time - nothing to do - could be getting some constructive work done in the office or factory - my office is at home. Some of my customers have work a day and a half or so away from home - would rather be doing something useful - then you get there and they are not ready or it is a 5 minute software modification that could have been done online easily if the company allowed you to access through a VPN - bloody IT idiots.

Not for everyone - being away from my wife and family for weeks at a time is no fun - make sure I get paid very well for those sorts of jobs - if they are not willing to pay well and promptly then the answer is 'get someone else'!

Checkout this list from Control Engineering

http://www.controleng.com/events-an...iants/2015/2015-system-integrator-giants.html