Al Levi: Managing your business

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Can’t drive it, wear it or show it off to my friends, but…

Create steps of discipline for infractions other than lying, cheating and stealing.

Create the proper launching pad for the big successes that await you.

The net effect is when you don’t dress like a professional, you don’t get paid like a professional.

It’s only a business when you make money at it.

Before my brothers and I became enlightened about staffing (meaning we got our teeth kicked in so many times we eventually woke up), we used to rely on the tried-and-true method of hiring people using the “Mirror Test.”

Why do installers fail to bring install jobs in on time and within budget? Why do service techs fail to do service work within the time allotted in the flat-rate pricing book? I don’t know about you but this used to drive me downright crazy when I was a contractor!

The first cautionary bit of advice I received from my dad was that I learn how to “avoid stepping over dollars to pick up dimes.” I was just a kid getting started in the family business. This seemed confusing to me so I asked him, “What does that mean?”

The approaching New Year is always a great time to stop the craziness long enough to reflect on what went right last year, what went wrong last year and what you want or need to do in the coming year to make things better.

A powerful story was all over the news earlier this year about a contracting organization’s employees secretly videoed selling repairs and making recommendations. The experts who prepped the equipment had tested it and deemed the problem a minor one with a prudent, inexpensive fix.