jumping from union spark to owning my own outfit, real costs and cash flow tips?

been grinding as an ibew journeyman for eight years, pulling wires on big commercial gigs, but im itching to hang my own shingle next spring. whats the honest startup hit, van, tools, insurance, all that jazz? how do you guys price out service calls without lowballing yourself into the dirt? and those sneaky overhead eats like fuel and certs that stack up fast. anyone gone solo from union life share the first-year profit reality? dont sugarcoat it, i need the gritty details to not flop.

expect 20k minimum to get rolling with a decent used van and basic inventory. insurance alone can bite 5k year one.

first year i cleared 60k take home after expenses, but worked 70 hour weeks. union habits die hard on the billing side.

biggest mistake? underestimating liability insurance for commercial bids. i got burned on a panel upgrade job early on.

price service at 125 an hour minimum, materials plus 20 percent. for bigger installs, bid flat rate with change order clauses baked in. union guys often forget the admin time eats into that.

overhead killed me at first, fuel, truck maintenance, even the coffee runs add up. track every penny with quickbooks or youll be guessing come tax time. went from red to black by month six once i dialed it.

solo from ibew here, year two now. profits hit 80k last year but health insurance was a beast, shopped co-ops for group rates under my s-corp. retirement? max a solo 401k, contributes big if you hustle.

dont quit the union gig cold turkey. i moonlighted six months, built a client list on evenings and weekends. made the full jump way smoother, overhead spread out too.