KickStart: Your company WILL take ‘surprise hits’. Set up systems now to face up to business challenges that will inevitably affect your home services business.
As entrepreneurs we’re all incurable optimists. (Negative thinkers tend to stay ‘comfortably trapped’ in dead-end jobs their entire lives.) Heck, if you hadn’t focused on the positive you never would have opened your residential Home Services business!
I get it! I too LOVED the daily business ‘sparring matches’ that resulted in the simple joy (and huge profits) of owning a Critical Mass Business! (I also LOVED building a team of the Very Best People which gave me my much-loved Personal Freedom.)
The Reality of Business Challenges
HOWEVER, to temper your unbridled ‘entrepreneurial optimism’ here’s a reminder courtesy of a past world heavyweight champion boxer:
“Everybody has a plan… till they take a punch to the mouth.” Mike Tyson
I know. You had (and hopefully still have) a ‘plan’ when you opened your residential services business. GREAT! But some day, if it hasn’t already happened, you and your business will “take a punch to the mouth”! Now if this “punch” could shake up “Iron Mike” (famously known as the most ferocious fighter ever) how about YOU?
The best way to survive any blow? Be aware and avoid it BEFORE you get hit! Fighters who blindly bull their way into an opponent are knocked out very quickly.
To quote another world champion boxer, Muhammed Ali, “Float like a butterfly… sting like a bee”! So how can you ‘float above’ the punches life WILL throw at your business?
Confronting Business Challenges
1. Get (and STAY) a ‘little paranoid’. Andrew Grove, the long time CEO of Intel famously stated, “Only the paranoid survive”. Yep, complacency can doom you! Is your business going well? GREAT! But is it? Really?
2. Be alert. It’s easy to get bogged down in the daily grind of life, much less tackle business challenges. Stay informed of local and national news and upcoming trends. More importantly, focus on what is coming at your company. (More on this in a future post!)
3. Make Cheerleaders. Especially as you add techs it will take hard work (and systems) to consistently create ‘Cheerleaders’ out of your customers. However, the good news is your Cheerleaders will care deeply about your success! In fact, many of my Customer Cheerleaders became my ‘virtual partners’ and would give me a heads-up about prospective clients, new competition or even nasty rumors about my business.
RESOURCE: ‘Making Cheerleaders’ is so MUCH easier with great employees! You’ll get 100’s of new hiring ideas and systems in our 3-hour, online SFS: Hiring the Very Best! LIVE seminar. To learn more and/or easily register online click HERE.
4. Build a strong network of local contacts.
- Support charitable events. Find causes you care about and get involved. Volunteer at events, sponsor initiatives, or even organize your own fundraiser. Give back while getting your name out there in a positive light. (Click HERE for a great way to ‘do good’ while marketing your company too.)
- Join local trade associations and offer to help. Focus on building genuine connections. Strike up conversations, ask thoughtful questions, and find common ground.
Let’s talk soon about one of the best ways to avoid “Iron Mike’s” punch in your business challenges … by CONSTANTLY looking downstream!😊 Meanwhile, keep on bobbing and ducking!
Steve
P.S. Too many Home Service Professionals are COMPLACENT about not booking every caller! That’s why you need my 3 hour, online SFS: Winning over your caller! LIVE seminar. Click HERE for 100’s of ‘Lead Conversion’ ideas and systems to easily book prospects who use text, email, Facebook, website chat or even… the phone! HERE are our upcoming class dates…