https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/Straight talk on getting paid in the trades — lead economics, the one-truck shop, and how electrical work really gets won.en-ushttps://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/angi-lead-costs-for-electricians/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/angi-lead-costs-for-electricians/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTAngi doesn't publish a rate card. How Angi's lead pricing is actually structured for electricians — per-lead fees, ads products — and how to compute your real cost.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/thumbtack-lead-costs-2026/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/thumbtack-lead-costs-2026/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTThumbtack doesn't publish lead prices. How the pay-per-lead model actually works in 2026 — what sets prices, what budgets do and don't control, and the math to run.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/lead-fees-vs-real-margin/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/lead-fees-vs-real-margin/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTAre Angi or Thumbtack leads worth it? A hypothetical solo electrician's month with lead fees vs. the same month restructured — and the break-even close-rate formula.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/hidden-cost-of-free-estimates/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/hidden-cost-of-free-estimates/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTWhat free estimates really cost a solo electrician per year, when free quoting still makes sense, and how to charge for diagnostics without losing jobs.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/why-we-pay-you/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/why-we-pay-you/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTLoadside charges electricians nothing and pays fixed rates per job. The business model stated plainly: the spread, the volume math, and what you trade for it.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/running-a-one-truck-shop-nova/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/running-a-one-truck-shop-nova/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTThe operating manual for a solo electrician in NoVA: the two licenses, the insurance floor, workers' comp, what to charge, the pipeline problem, and when to hire.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/virginia-electrical-license-classes/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/virginia-electrical-license-classes/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTVirginia's two-layer system explained: journeyman and master tradesman licenses vs. Class A, B, and C contractor licenses — with the actual dollar limits from the statute.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/gl-insurance-cost-solo-electrician-virginia/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/gl-insurance-cost-solo-electrician-virginia/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTNo fake premium quotes. What actually drives general liability cost for a solo electrician — revenue, limits, work mix, claims — plus the certificate logistics of sub work.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/virginia-workers-comp-exemption-sole-proprietor/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/virginia-workers-comp-exemption-sole-proprietor/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTVirginia's workers' comp rules for a solo electrician: the more-than-two-employees threshold, how sole proprietors and LLCs are treated, and why GCs demand the paperwork anyway.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/what-solo-electricians-net-nova/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/what-solo-electricians-net-nova/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTBLS puts the DC-metro electrician median at $75,930 (May 2025). The honest part: employee wage vs. solo gross vs. solo net — with the full deduction walk.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/what-is-a-subcontractor-network/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/what-is-a-subcontractor-network/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTA subcontractor network (job network) sells and manages jobs under its own brand, then pays vetted independent contractors a fixed price to do the work. The model, defined honestly.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/fairfax-county-electrical-permit-guide/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/fairfax-county-electrical-permit-guide/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTHow to pull a residential electrical permit in Fairfax County: who can pull it, filing the ELER permit in PLUS, scheduling inspections, and what draws corrections in Fairfax housing stock.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/loudoun-county-electrical-permit-guide/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/loudoun-county-electrical-permit-guide/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTPulling residential electrical permits in Loudoun County: LandMARC filing, the two-license rule, inspection scheduling, and what inspections look like in NoVA's newest housing stock.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/tech-for-the-trades/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/tech-for-the-trades/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTThe no-hype landscape guide to tech for a one-truck electrical shop: phones, quoting, scheduling, getting found, and books — what pays back and what to skip.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/ai-for-one-truck-shops/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/ai-for-one-truck-shops/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTHow electricians and small contractors can use AI today — phones, quotes, reviews, photos, scheduling — with the honest limitation on each, and what AI can't do.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/ai-estimate-builders-explained/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/ai-estimate-builders-explained/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTHow AI estimating software for contractors works — rate cards, markup rules, photo scoping — what it gets right, where it fails, and what to demand before trusting one.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/do-contractors-need-a-website/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/do-contractors-need-a-website/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTThe honest answer: GBP does more than most contractors think — but a website is the asset you own, ranks beyond the map pack, and compounds. What a contractor site needs.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/servicetitan-alternatives-small-shops/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/servicetitan-alternatives-small-shops/Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTWhy one-truck shops look past ServiceTitan, and what to run instead — Housecall Pro, Jobber, Workiz, FieldPulse, or a spreadsheet — matched honestly to shop size.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/true-cost-of-buying-leads/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/true-cost-of-buying-leads/Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTWhat do Angi and Thumbtack leads really cost an electrician per booked job? The worked math: shared leads, close rates, quoting hours, and no-shows.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/ftc-homeadvisor-order-explained/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/ftc-homeadvisor-order-explained/Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTA plain-English walkthrough of the FTC's HomeAdvisor case — the 2022 complaint, the April 2023 final order, the $7.2M, and the refunds — with primary sources.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/shared-leads-explained/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/shared-leads-explained/Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTHow the shared-lead model works, the speed race it creates, and what it does to an electrician's real customer-acquisition cost.https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/7-ways-electricians-get-work-2026/https://www.loadsideworks.com/field-notes/7-ways-electricians-get-work-2026/Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMTEvery channel a solo electrician can use to fill the calendar in 2026 — lead platforms, referrals, GBP, job networks and more — ranked by what's actually left after true costs.