u/CrankyOldDude

Hi folks,

I'm likely in over my head, but I'd like to take a shot at starting an HDD (horizontal directional drilling) company in Canada with an eye to specializing in fiber optic installations. I'd want to have splicers and customer prem techs/installers as well, to provide end to end service and keep as much work in-house as possible. Goal would be to sub contract for local ISPs, as well as commercial work requiring multi-building fiber installations.

I'm reasonably good with my understanding of the customer premise side, but I'm a bit lost on the HDD side - especially the bidding and margins that can be found there. I understand the machinery required and have done some due diligence on that side, but getting started seems like it's a big hill.

Some questions: How do you get on the radar of ISPs as a subcontractor? Do they generally put tenders out for packages of work and have contractors bid on them, or do they just ask individual contractors to quote out work? Is there an extensive process to qualify as a contractor for the "big guys"? In my area (Ontario), the "big guys" are folks like Bell, Cogeco and TekSavvy.

What kind of margins can be found on this side of the house?

Sorry - I know a lot of this is pretty basic, but I'd be eternally grateful if anyone who has experience in this stuff could lend a hand. Side note - if I do get this thing off the ground, I'd potentially be interested in engaging with someone on a consultancy basis (ie. paying you for your time) to help me avoid some of the early pitfalls and streamline the launch.

Thanks in advance!