So you’ve read the newspaper front to back and couldn’t find an uplifting story? Here’s a great piece of information that didn’t make the paper – you are still in control of your company’s success and you have the ability to make healthy business decisions everyday.

When I speak to other industry professionals I see a few trends, the most common being layoffs, but some companies are even selling work vehicles and tools to raise capital. However you look at it, they are all unfortunate, but none more than the business that has to close up completely.

So what we have to do as business owners to prevent things like this from happening to us is find new avenues for profitability.

When a down economy rears its ugly head, you have to decide which type of animal you are, predator or prey. If you want to stay at the top of the food chain, identify and strengthen your profit centers. Now there are many ways you can approach this but I find the most logical first step is the simplest step. What I mean by this is often over looked day-to-day items. What makes these great is that they offer low cost and high return on investment. Here are just a few of the products my Boston plumbing company offers to customers.

1. Bio-Clean Drain Treatment All that it takes to sell Bio-Clean is a smile and a question. Ask your customer what they are doing for drain maintenance. If your company does drain cleaning, you should have a profitable add-on like Bio-Clean. Many companies offer chemical treatments, which make customers wary. Not only can you capture the “green” market with this biodegradable bacterial drain treatment, but it makes for nice little consumable.

2. Automatic Water Shutoffs & Alarms When you’re installing a new water heater, it’s about as easy to install an auto-shutoff as it is a pair of ball valves – but the auto-shutoff yields a much greater return. With much of our work in multi-unit buildings, the risk of flooding prompts our customers to select auto-shutoff devices with almost every installation.

3. Carbon Monoxide Detectors Probably four of five service calls that get us into the basement or mechanical room have no Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detectors. More often than not, CO detectors are overlooked by homeowners, but out of sight doesn’t always mean out of mind. Every homeowner is concerned about the safety of his home and loved ones. Keeping a few battery-operated units on the truck can become a great profit center. It’s the same idea in the checkout line at the grocery store when you buy that pack of gum or magazine.

4. Soap Pumps With just about every kitchen faucet you sell, you should offer a soap pump. Most modern faucets are of the “pull-out spray” design; this install leaves an unused hole in the sink-top that most plumbers abandon with a chrome plug. Don’t be that plumber! Upgrade the customer to a soap pump, make them happy, and make some extra money.

5. Disposal Air-Switches If your customer has to open the cabinet to get to the switch that turns on the disposal, they are perfect candidates for a disposal air-switch. Air switches don’t take up much room under the sink or in your truck, and they’re an easy up-sell. In addition, disposal air-switches are a convenience item that customers enjoy more and more with each use, and they solve a real nuisance.

Every market, company and area has its own individual set of hurdles and obstacles. How you react to the economic storm will determine at which point you make it out. Take some time to identify the little things – they may make a big difference.