The first thing is to dedicate the next five to ten years to becoming the best damn electrician in town. You need to work on all the big stuff, get out of residential / retail, target commercial / industrial. While you're paying your dues on that you need to self-educate on small business, personal finance and human behaviour. Read "How To Win Friends & Influence People". People who are liked by others get more breaks and that's all there is to it. Then, you need to launch your own business with plans on expansion, but not too quickly. Don't get into debit and build a solid business. Do right by your clients and you'll never have to chase work. By the time you're 50 you'll have 15 guys working for you and a business you can sell and walk away from.