KickStart: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!”😲 Yogi Berra, Baseball Hall of Fame catcher/manager and pithy folk philosopher.
Good for Yogi! He was a man of action! But Yogi overlooked a very important part of any “fork in the road”.
Recognizing that a decision “masquerading as a small choice” now can have HUGE consequences later in life!😲
For example, remember that cute chick you started casually flirting with many years ago?💖 How long have you been married now?
Your very worst option? To stay undecided long term and not take either “fork in the road”! Come on, how long have you waffled between A) staying small in business or B) scaling up into a residential services operation that will run smoothly without you?👍👍
NOTE: I call this second “B” choice a Critical Mass Business (CMB) and for most of us it is a much better option! So I beg you to…
Carefully ponder on the dangers of staying a solo owner-operator business long term.
WARNING: The real peril of being indecisive long term? You may slide into staying on “The Road In-Between” (RIB) which is a terrible business model and a “Hell on earth” existence!
In other words, you’re “too small” to hire mid-level managers but “too big” to enjoy the (supposedly) easy life of an owner-operator. So. it is ALL on you!
I know, you may be thinking, “Steve, I tried getting big before and it was horrible. I make more money with less stress just staying small with no employees.” Understood…
I fired every one of my employees once and downsized too!😥 Staying small can be oh-so-very tempting! But before you go the “Lone Wolf” route consider the down side…
1. You’re “fragile”. Yeah, I know- you’re an Iron Man. SORRY- one false step can put you on crutches for two months! Don’t ask me how I learned this a few weeks ago!🙄
2. No “recharging” time off. As a solo Lone Wolf that darn cell phone follows you… even on vacation! You feel if you’re not available 24-7 even supposedly “loyal clients” will… just leave! So your phone (and business) winds up holding you hostage!
RESOURCE: In our 3 hour, online SFS: Winning over your caller! LIVE seminar we’ll share how even Lone Wolves can easily book prospects who contact you by text, email, Facebook, website chat or even… the phone! HERE are our upcoming class dates…
3. You’re deep down TIRED! Servicing client’s homes is a tough business physically! So, your body can easily start breaking down.
4. No emotional support. Running a business all alone is at best emotionally exhausting! NOTE: Be very careful about “bringing the business home” with you. Your family needs YOU, not a needy, I’m-sick-of-it-all entrepreneur!
6. Little or no sale potential. Even a highly profitable one-person residential services operation won’t appeal to a potential buyer. After all, a well-heeled buyer (You don’t want to sell out to someone with no money!) doesn’t want to “buy a job”. (Jobs are easily available now… for free!)
7. Limited earning potential. Yes, we already discussed in #1 that you’re an Iron Man! Even so, you personally can only do so much work per day!💲 (Dramatically raising your prices will help but only so much!)
FULL DISCLOSURE: Honesty compelled me here to share the downside of staying as a small, one (or two) person cleaning or restoration business.
However, if you’re convinced a Lone Wolf business is best for you, ya gotta “do it right”. Let’s focus on this soon!
Steve