Rich Contractor

Your Employees Are Not Your Slaves

It is true that the fastest-growing and most lucrative businesses tend to be the ones that operate like a well-oiled machine, but that doesn't mean you should treat your employees like mere cogs.  They are human beings, after all, not robots.  What this means is that you need to know when to push and when to lay off; when to correct and when to keep quiet; when to ask for more and when to give back.  Your people are the lifeblood of your business, and how you treat them will have an enormous impact on their productivity (and your earnings). There's nothing wrong with having high employee expectations, as long as you recognize that they'll have expectations of you, too.

This post shouldn't be shocking.  After all, if you're reading this then you're probably a small business owner, and if you're a small business owner then at one point in time you probably quit a job partially because you weren't feeling like your efforts were appreciated.  So you should be keenly aware of your employees' need to be recognized as a valuable member of the team.  If they screw up accidentally, take them behind closed doors and talk to them about it with a respectful tone and attitude.  If they do something great for your business image, thank them!  I've noticed that lots of managers are very good at cracking the whip or chewing people out, but very few take the time to balance it with an appropriate amount of praise or gratitude when it is warranted.  Fail to recognize good workers at your own peril, because they'll be out the door faster than you can say "two week notice"!

Go that extra mile to get to know your best employees.  If they feel like you truly care about them, they will work hard for you.  Before I started my home improvement business, I worked several years for a small business owner who never even learned my first name.  How sad is that?!  Granted, he wasn't involved in direct management on a day-to-day basis, but it still irked me that I worked hard to make his wallet fat week after week, year after year, and he didn't even care to know my freaking name!  This is an extreme example, but my point is that your lack of attention to your best employees will almost certainly encourage them to start looking for a better opportunity.  Your job is to make the work environment as pleasant and rewarding as possible for your most skilled and hard-working people because they are, quite simply, a rarity.  Mediocre employees are a dime a dozen, but the truly exceptional ones are worth bending over backwards for because they will accelerate your business' growth like you wouldn't believe, and they will make your life as owner-manager a hell of a lot easier.  Trust me on this one.

One final note.  If one of these star employees decides to call it quits so that they can go start their own business and become a contractor, support their decision and wish them good luck.  Because they're so valuable to your business, you might be tempted to hold them back by warning them of the risks of business ownership or by saying that their idea will never work, but I encourage you to be gracious and genuinely happy for them.  It will be a loss for you and your company, but the bigger loss would be if that would-be entrepreneur never had the chance or the guts to strike out on his own and go for the American dream, just as you did when you started your fledgling little business.

Networking Will Fuel Your Business Growth

In my post about learning to destroy your competition, I detailed the importance of cutting ties with your direct, local competitors.  It's vital, however, to recognize that this ONLY applies to them.  In almost every other scenario, it's in your best interest to seek out and build solid, reciprocal relationships with as many people and business owners as possible.

For example, if you specialize in Las Vegas air conditioning repair, look to establish relationships with Vegas-based appliance repair, plumbing, and painting companies.  Ask for their construction business cards and give them a handful of yours.  You'd be surprised by how often homeowners will group several different home improvement projects together, and when they ask the guy fixing the leaky pipe under the sink if he knows of any good AC repair companies, odds are good that he'll tell them about you.  He'll do this not because he's a nice guy, but because he knows that by sending you business, you'll probably send him some down the road. 

You'd also be wise to join as many local clubs and business organizations as possible to further spread the reach of your contact network.  Become a member of the Better Business Bureau.  Join your area's chamber of commerce.  Become a sponsor for a fundraiser or youth athletic team.  If the numbers make sense for your business, join a contractor referral network.  The bottom line is that you need to get your name out there and build as many business relationships as you can.   You want the customers that result from networking because they'll have a certain amount of trust in you right off the bat, they'll be less likely to balk at your pricing, and, best of all, they'll come with no acquisition cost.  I don't know about you, but I'll take free construction leads any time I can get them!

The relative lowering of your advertising costs is in fact the greatest benefit of building long-term relationships in your city.  You'll always need to spend money on marketing, but with each successive year the customers will come to you in greater and greater numbers due to your efforts in networking, fostering business relationships, and performing quality work. 

Even if you already know how to become a contractor, you'll also need to learn how to be a good communicator.  If you're naturally shy and don't like to talk to people, now is the time to try to improve yourself in this area, because your more gregarious, talkative, and assertive competitor could quickly leave you in the dust when it comes to establishing a network of lucrative relationships.