The secret of running a successful business

You probably quit that tech job and figured you could be your own boss, make your own hours and charge a little less, and the money would come flowing in. Maybe yes. Maybe no.

There’s so much more to running a successful business than just being a good tech.

Don’t get me wrong, actually knowing technical stuff for the work you do such as plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical is helpful. But, it can be a double-edged sword if you’re the only one who can run a call the right way (at least, in your mind, anyway). It automatically limits your growth.

Maybe you went the other way in your entrepreneurial seizure moment, leaving your steady paycheck, going for the brass ring and growing fast. And growing fast can mean taking on big marketing expenses and overpaying staff you hoped were preloaded with all the prerequisite skills and abilities to make it all work.

Either way, you’re stuck. And typically, you’ll end up blaming your staff for letting you down, or you’ll keep flailing away, just hoping for your next new hire to make it all work.

Heavy is the head

Sorry, but heavy is the head. It’s not them. It’s you! How do I know? Because until I stopped blaming my staff and hoping for someone to walk in the door to make it all work, I did the same thing.

The only answer I know to get unstuck, based on my 26 years at my own plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical company (and now for 15 years working with contractors all over the USA and Canada) is to put repeatable systems in place for the policies and procedures it takes to run your company without you.

And I’m on a mission in 2017 to help plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical contractors finally Build Your Operating Manuals.

Why would you invest the time, energy and money to be a part of this exclusive program? Good question.

Well, I spent a year of my life just writing the outline it took to document all the tasks our company did. Yes, just the outline. It took me sitting with every department and really seeing what needed to be documented so it was repeatable.

So, why would my family and I invest $153,000.00 in today’s money to just write the manuals and have the hundreds of hours in meetings it took? Because those manuals paid for themselves in about two years for just a few of the following reasons:

Callbacks went down
We were freed up to do our jobs more efficiently, and that increased profits
Each job was a better job, which just happened to end up in bigger--but more importantly--better sales that benefited the customer first and foremost
We were able to hire more willing people and give them the skills they needed vs. always trying to rewire “talented” prima donnas who were skilled, but held us hostage.
We were able to get our insurance company to re-rate us because we had less accidents and injuries than before.

Ever wonder where my tagline, “Run Your Contracting Business With Less Stress and More Success” came from? Well, it started at my own company with the creation of the operating manuals, and it built from there.

You’re responsible because you sit at the head of the table. So, what’s it going to be in 2017 that’s going to make a bigger difference at your company?

Al Levi teaches contractors how to run their businesses with less stress and more success with operating manuals. To get control of your business and grow the right way, check out the "7-Power Contractor Signature Operating Manuals System," at 7powercontractor.com/manuals. Also check out Zoom Franchise Co. at zoomdrainfranchise.com. It’s a living example of the power of manuals and more in action.