January, inherently brings slower times to the Construction / Home Services Business.  This is a perfect time to begin review and implementation of programs that will improve profitability.

 I recently had a chance to comment on some very good blog sites regarding HVAC and Plumbing.  I find many good HVAC and Plumbing Owners who have wonderful work ethic’s and morals and are fantastic representatives to our Industry on these sites.   Some of these same Business Owners are struggling with how to run their businesses  because they are making mistakes on how to analyze and make decisions with regards to their financials.

 At Contractor Business Profits, the emphasis in understanding financial reports such as profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and performance indicators will absolutely help the individual business owner make decisions that are completely based upon PROFITABILITY.

 Contractor Business Profits helps contractors set up, and if already set up, how to adjust their pricing to maximize profitability.  Once those systems are in place and a clear understanding of what your small business needs are, in regards to Gross Profit Dollars, all kinds of projections and budgets can be put together in business / marketing plans. 

 It’s just a matter of putting the systems into place.  Contractor Business Profits is here to help with that.  We spend time with every one of our clients ensuring that they acquire the success they deserve.  Call today to discuss anything you and your company may have questions with.  Visit our web site to find out more about what we do and how we can help you become more profitable. 

With the wide arrange of issues facing today’s contractors, time allocation for planning needs to be addressed for the issues within every business. Every Day, time needs to be utilized to help grow your business.

In speaking with five of my most successful clients, all of whom deal with residential and light commercial HVAC and Plumbing, all credit their success with taking time out during the course of the day to plan, execute, develop or inform others in their company of what direction their business is going.

Proper planning, in some cases 2 hours a day, is how some of the most successful small contractors establish significant growth in both corporate size and financial returns. In reviewing some of the strategies they use for planning their time, they insist on time in their offices (be it home or corporate office) to develop and execute their plans. Their secretaries or sales people, know that they are not to be disturbed as they work on everything from financial development or review, employee management, sales procedures / sales development, customer relationships, or office management.

Dedicating 2 hours of development time within your business, every day, can prepare you for every eventuality that your company may come across. Whether you’re a one man show looking to grow, or if you’re running 50 employees, knowing how to manage YOUR time in the growth of your business is paramount.

Start by cutting back on small things that can either be handled by someone else or moved to a more accommodating time slot in your schedule. This should free up at least one hour for you to begin a JOURNAL on how to plan and implement plans to help your organization. It must be written, and organized. You must also understand, that these plans will be changed as they are implemented, so be flexible.

To gain profitability, think like a big corporation. Planning and implementing will lead to sound business practices. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT PLANNING TECHNIQUES THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED THAT WILL INSTANTLY SHOW YOU A PROFIT. Call 732-616-4617 today and we can help you put together a small plan over the phone that will give you more time and availability to grow your company into a profitable machine.

1 year ago today, my wife and I brought the newest member of our family out of  an orphanage in a beautiful little town called Kaluga, in the outskirts of Moscow, Russia.   One of the most spiritually moving experiences in both of our lives.  No doubt, a special day in our families lives as well.  We celebrated today with a stop at our local Dunkin Donuts in the morning, and then off to our local Jewelers to pick up my wife’s wedding ring.  I had dropped the ring off earlier in the week to have it cleaned and buffed out.  9 years earlier, my wife and I sat in the same Jewelers to pick out wedding bans with the owner of the Jewelery Store.  He was a wonderful man along with being very professional.  Besides providing us with a beautiful set of wedding bans, he extended every courtesy one could imagine.  From showing us on a map where some of the best restaurants in town where located, to calling our caterer for precise wedding arraignments.  Far beyond what we expected.  A true joy.  Needless to say, 8 years ago we would have highly recommended this Jeweler to everyone.  Unfortunately, over the past 8 years, things began to change for us when we would periodically stop in for either a chain replacement or new watch battery.  We noticed the customer service wasn’t anywhere near as good as what it was the evening we purchased our wedding bans.  Small things such as not having our jewelery ready on dates when it was supposed to be along with the occasional billing inconsistencies, but the worst had to have been thinking that the counter lady’s tried to make you feel like it was a privilege to get service from them.  These unfortunate situations happened over the course of 8 years.  None the less, I decided to take my wife’s ring there for repairs.  Prior to arriving in the store this morning, my wife even joked about what kind of experience we may run into this time.

We walked into our local Jewelers carrying our new beautiful daughter.  We where greeted with a very kind “Good Morning” from an elderly woman who was grinning from ear to ear.  As we presented her with our invoice for my wife’s ring, she bathed us in warmth and kindness.  She was so kind to our daughter that my wife and I smirked with sarcasm at one another.  After retrieving my wife’s ring from the back room, we both stated that we don’t believe her ring ever looked as good.  This woman’s reply, “We try to do everything we can to keep our customers happy.”  Once again, my wife and I shot looks at each other as if to say, “This must be a set up.  Someone must have heard us complaining prior to us walking into the Jewelers.”  As we paid the woman for the service we thanked her sincerely and gathered our daughter to walk to our car.  Just then, the kind woman behind the counter gestured to wait one second while she went into the back room.  She came back a minute later with a cuddly packaged toy barking dog.  She unboxed the small doll and began to allow it to roll around on the floor barking.  Well our daughters eyes lit up.  We all began to laugh with such joy.  No one harder then our 2 year old daughter.  As tears welled up in this woman’s eyes at the joy she had brought our daughter, my wife motioned to me to listen to the background music being played throughout that jewelers.  My wife and I stared at each other we both realized that our wedding song was playing.  Surely, this was a joke that only the almighty could play.  As we gathered our daughter with her new toy dog, we leaned her in to kiss the kind woman who had literally made our day.  We then turned around and walked out the door, but not before saying we will be back soon.   Her reply was, “We will be looking forward to seeing you and your daughter again.”  As my family and I walked to our car we didn’t say much, but when we finally began to drive away, we both agreed that was going to be our Jeweler from now on.  Even after having a few questionable experiences, the impact that this kind woman had on my family today will never be forgotten.  Not just customers for life, but we will be sharing our story with everyone.

Any good business owner needs to be able to find ways that can take their customer service to another level.  Whether its an employee who helps with the customers garbage or if its a kind letter.  Sometimes, mistakes happen.  That doesn’t always mean a lost customer.  Try to find ways, or operating procedures, that can help fix strained customer / company relationships.  A properly written letter from the owner expressing a shortcoming as a mistake and ensuring that it wont happen again can mean a whole lot.  To take your company to another level, find ways to separate yourself from your competition with excellent customer service.

Think like the kind old lady who worked at my local Jewelers.

Great article from the Wall Street Journal naming names of some of the Politicians who are pushing to push out the small business owners.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126153388406402389.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond#articleTabs%3Darticle

Some great comments on the comment section of the article.

Take some time and contact your legislator’s about this one. It will definetly impact your margins!

Please take the time to review this important article.   It is about the sneakiness that our politicians incorporate into their everyday business practices.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2009/12/21/daily25.html

All small business owners who are trying to do the best they can at running their business are encouraged to not get pushed around! Contact your local Senator or Representative. It’s very easy to do. Go on line and let your legislator  know your upset.

http://conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm

This health care plan will hurt many small businesses and may very well destroy your ability to be profitable! It is simply because we aren’t letting the legislatures know we are not happy!