KickStart: Get your entire company focused on their ‘Triple A’s’ (Appearance, Actions and Attitude) and profits will soar!
I admit it. I truly love inventing acronyms for routine daily activities. (This drives Sioux nuts!)đ But my staff used abbreviations in my residential services business all the time. For example…
We invented and implemented a PDS (Production Day Sheet), IQC (Immediate Quality Check calls) and an EEB (Employee Efficiency Bonus program), etc. You get the idea, right?
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.)
KickStart: Rework your employee’s compensation (and culture) to reward extra effort while also holding them accountable for ‘avoidable mistakes’.
The definition of “compete”: “trying to get something others are also trying to get!”
“Ummm, thanks Steve but my middle name is ‘Compete’.đ I’m getting my competition’s customers like crazy! So, I’m also getting their profits too! WOO-HOO!”
CONGRATULATIONS, ‘Compete’! However, in today’s brutal hiring environment you must ‘differentiate’ yourself from 1000’s of competing employers to successfully compete for- GREAT EMPLOYEES! But fear not, help is on the way…
KickStart: Keep your employees from leaving when you tie them to your company emotionally.
Home Service Business owners everywhere are understandably freaking out with the current hiring crisis. I really do feel your pain! Finding anyone to work (much less the Very Best People) is brutal out there!đ˛
Shameless Self-Promotion Alert: My 3-hour ‘Hiring the Very Best People’ online seminar will kick start your recruiting efforts!
But wait! Even better than using my (very effective) Six-Stage Hiring Funnel is to…
SpeedTIP: Five key challenges to focus on BEFORE they “punch you in the mouth”!
I recently shared this nugget from famed business consultant Mike Tyson: “Everybody has a plan… till they take a punch to the mouth!”đ˛ And yes, even though “Iron Mike” earned his fearsome reputation in the boxing ring we can learn from him…
Any small service business (especially those who work in the residential sector) WILL get “punched in the mouth” with unexpected business problems! So as a Home Service Business (HSB) entrepreneur you must ‘expect the unexpected’! And its not just in business…
SpeedTIP: Your company WILL take ‘surprise hits’. Set up systems now to see these blows coming to defend your 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!
For you as a residential services contractor Iâll make two assumptions. First, Iâm guessing that you are at least âreasonably goodâ at your trade(s). Second, youâre probably making more money than you ever dreamed of! (And of course you have all the ‘associated toys’ too! (Cars, boats, motorcycles, golf clubs, etc.)
Am I right or am I right? đ After all, any reasonably competent member of our home services industry should (at the very least) be making a âgood livingâ. But WAIT! Even your service techs are (hopefully) being well paid! And speaking of techs…
KiskStart: Learn to âlet goâ (and discover âPersonal Freedomâ) by redefining the word âperfectâ.
Iâve been accused (unjustly in my opinion) of being âa bit OCDâ!đ˛ OK, OK! Iâll admit I liked things to be âperfectâ in my home services business and especially for my much-loved customers! Sound like anyone you know?đ¤
Hereâs the deal. If you are serious about growing your company into a âCritical Mass Businessâ (one that will run smoothly without you being there 24-7) you MUST tweak your definition of âperfectionâ. Hereâs whyâŚ
I’m assuming you’re an expert craftsperson in your chosen home services sector. PLUS you are reliable, honest, hardworking and have a sparkling personality!đ So undoubtedly your clients passionately love… YOU!đ
“My clients love me, Steve? Â Then I guess I’m ‘successful’! WOO-HOO!” STOP!đ This ‘client love affair’ should scare you to death! Why? It is the ‘two-edged sword’ found in the phrase, “…your clients love… YOU!“
On one hand, CONGRATULATIONS! You truly are Winning on the Home Front! After all, we all âlove being lovedâ!đ (Me too!) And yetâŚ
The late, brilliant writer Stephen R. Covey stated, âIt’s incredibly easy to get caught up in the thick of thin things.â So true in all areas of life- we ALL get ‘bogged down’ in trivial matters, negative emotions and all too often, toxic and/or abusive relationships.đ˘
But this is a business website focused on helping companies that provide residential services. So with great trepidation I’m gonna say…