Two themes play out month after month in the trade press as the biggest challenges facing the industry. One is the shortage of skilled labor. Lousy pay and even lousier prestige conspire with unfavorable demographics to repel talented young people from the trades. This makes it devilishly hard for all of you to hire top-notch journeymen and service technicians.
Second is the proliferation of bottom-feeding competition everywhere you look. Too many contractors are superb with tools and shop drawings in their hands but clueless with a balance sheet. Their lack of business sense makes it impossible for them to prosper, and harder than it ought to be for those of you who do know how to run a business.