Blog - Home Front Success

Market to Your Customer’s Neighbors

Take advantage of every jobsite to connect with ideal new customer right next door! Your customer’s neighbors can be your customers too.

The WHY (and how to) of Building an ‘Employee Waiting List’

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: Avoid ‘Desperation Hiring’ by continually recruiting and interviewing future employees BEFORE you need them!

Why, oh why, did it always happen late on a Friday afternoon?☹ I’d had a good week (defined as 100% delighted residential clients!), was finishing up paperwork on my desk, and looking forward to a fun weekend. Then my employee Charlie appeared…

Charlie: “Uh, Steve, can I talk to you?”

Me: “Sure, Charlie, what’s up?”

frustrated home services business manager

Charlie: “Ummmm, Steve, I’m really sorry to do this to you. But I’ve got a new job starting on Monday. I asked them if I could give you more notice but they’re insisting I start immediately…”

And my relaxed weekend came crashing down! Now I was facing double shifts to cover Charlie’s booked-solid schedule! Or even worse being forced into the dreaded Desperation Hiring! AAARGH!😲

BEFORE Hiring Do a ‘Trial Hire’

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: BEFORE hiring even the best job applicant pay them to work with you for a day.

Have you ever received a text like this from a new hire? (Remember, this applicant interviewed great!)😥

If so, here’s the deal: You LOVE the Home Services industry. (Me too!) But hard as it is to believe…

Break Free From the ‘Low Price’ Service Trap Forever!

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: Benefit from our current run-away inflation rates to justify your new (large) price increases.

In ‘normal times’ (is there such a thing any more?) I’m a huge proponent of small (3% to 4%) yearly price increases. Here’s why:

1) A small yearly increase will ‘fly under the radar’ of your clients. (Most customers can’t remember what they paid last time.)

Your Home Service Customers Don’t Really Want to Talk to You!

by Steve Toburen

Do current world events have you (and your clients) feeling a bit overwhelmed, nervous, panicked or ALL of these? Absolutely! Me too! (And don’t even get me started on gas prices!) These negative feelings mean you must respect your residential customer’s ‘Personal Emotional Space’! ‘ After all, you wouldn’t burst into your customer’s homes without …

Is Your Service Company ‘Bleeding Out’ and You Don’t Know It?

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: STOP🛑 losing money BEFORE you focus on increasing gross sales. Read on…

Profit: “The revenue remaining after all costs are paid. These costs may include labor, materials, interest on debt, and taxes.”

Ah yes, that wonderful and too-often elusive word, “profit”. And yes, as a Home Service Business owner you need (and deserve) LOTS of profit.💲💲💲 (Which should be calculated AFTER paying yourself a fair wage for your labors.)

Why (and How) to Avoid Becoming a ‘Commodity’

by Steve Toburen

Ya gotta feel sorry for the poor retailers!😥 They’ve got pandemic problems, ‘supply chain’ issues, staffing challenges AND stores get ‘price shopped’ like crazy! After all, I can easily get 10 or 15 price quotes in a few seconds online for any manufactured good! (And you thought you had ‘Price Shopper’ issues!)😲

Remember, ‘people buy any commodity based on who offers the lowest price’! (Customers know a commodity is the same no matter where you buy it so why not go with the lowest price?) However…

3 Techniques to Boost Home Show ROI

by Steve Toburen

Tired of throwing money at trade shows with little return? Learn how to maximize your investment and boost your home show ROI with these proven strategies.

Should you Diversify Your Residential Services?

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: BEFORE you diversify into a new service STOP🛑 and ponder on Steve’s ‘8 Introspective Questions’!

di·ver·si·fy: “enlarge or vary the range of services or products of a business.”

Hmmmm… does diversifying sound good? Maybe. As with so many undecided business questions, “It all depends.” Above all else one not-so-simple question…

Your New Business Decision Making Tool … Creative Procrastination!

by Steve Toburen

Stuck in business decision making process? ‘Creative Procrastination’ might be the answer. Learn how strategic waiting leads to clearer thinking and outcomes for your residential service company.