Weeds don’t care how hard you work

Most tradie business owners hit a point where they’re tangled in the weeds. Constantly putting out fires, with no time to work on the business.

So, they push harder, take more on themselves, go back on the tools, work long hours, and try to muscle through. But eventually, the hours stack up, mistakes creep in, and the pressure gets even heavier. The danger is that the longer you stay stuck in the weeds, the less time you have to work on the things that move the needle in the business.

Working harder won’t get you out of the weeds; you need a different approach.

When a boat gets caught in the weeds, speeding up just gets you stuck faster. A good skipper slows down, assesses the problem, clears the propeller, resets direction, and then heads to better waters. Weeds come in various forms; some are thin and stringy, wrapping around anything they come in contact with, while others are thick and heavy, slowing the boat to a standstill.

A fencing client, Mike (not his real name), came to me with what I call the ‘bad job’ weeds. When Mike was scoping a particular job, there were some initial alarm bells, but he decided to take it anyway, as there was a gap of a few weeks in the schedule and he wanted to keep his team busy.

The job lasted longer than expected, with the client adding more and more requests almost daily. Then he argued about the bill, and then demanded a massive discount at the end of the job. When Mike asked around, he discovered that he wasn’t the only contractor this client had played this game with. He eventually got paid, but much less than the original invoice. He screens more carefully now.

Then there was John (also not his real name), who was stuck in the ‘too much work’ weeds. The work was piling up, and with a man down in the team, he chose to go back full-time on the tools for a few months to get things under control.

But that meant there was no time left to work on other parts of the business. Work booked ahead went down, and invoicing wasn’t getting done on time, which put pressure on cash flow. Once John found time again for marketing and invoicing, job bookings increased back to the 3-4 month buffer, and there was a healthy bank balance again.

Keeping out of the weeds is a lot about having the right strategy that suits your business, not just using the latest, most popular tactic.

I see this a lot as a trades business coach; clients with plenty of tactics, but they don’t have the game plan holding everything together. Let me explain. Strategy is looking at the big picture and overall direction of the business, whereas tactics are day-to-day actions dealing with what’s in front of you. The problem is that most of the so-called experts promote tactics that, if applied without a good strategy behind them, can get you into trouble.

For example, one tactic my clients use is ‘Controlling the quote’, a strong follow-up process to maximise the conversion rate of quotes to jobs. It works well. But if it snags the wrong kind of work with poor margins and difficult clients, then that tactic has made the business worse, not better.

Here are five ways to keep you out of the weeds:

1. Be clear on where you’re headed and the dangers along the way.

Be clear about your vision, your map. The map is your vision: what kind of business do you want that works for you and your family? What do you want your business to look like in the next three to five years? What kind of work do you want and don’t want? What size ideally do you want your team to be? What’s too big or too small? What kind of team do you want, and which key team members do you want to work with in the long term? How much profit and cash buffer do you need to be making in the business?

2. Identifying the landmarks

Once you know where you want to go, you need a way of measuring it to make sure you stay on track. These are your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) in the business. They must be clearly measurable, so it’s really obvious if you have achieved them or not.

One of my painting clients lost a major builder client. In this market, finding another building client who had the work and would pay the rates he wanted was difficult. He needed more work now, but one of his KPIs was a Gross Margin of 25%+. He decided to target residential work instead, where margins would fit. He got the turnover back and still had strong margins, while others in his market were buying work and going backwards.

3. Watching the compass

Just like the compass shows you which way to head, KPIs only work if you regularly measure your results. Review your progress against the KPIs at least monthly and adjust fast if you’re off track. It’s easy to fix one month, hard to fix twelve.

4.Be flexible when bad weather comes.

When storms come, and they will, it’s time to take shelter, rather than head for open water. Your destination or overall strategy likely won’t change, but your tactics will.

A painter client of mine was going to stay on the tools another one to two years while he trained key team members to run the job sites. However, he was carrying a number of long-term injuries that deteriorated quicker than anticipated. These injuries required several surgeries close together. He could no longer be on the tools, so he had to change tack quickly, targeting work in the short term that the team could do without him being on site.

5. A good captain is always accountable.

A captain of the ship is accountable to the passengers, crew and boat owner. Maritime laws and rules must be adhered to, which provide a structure and ensure everyone onboard is kept safe. So, who are you accountable to, so your business is safe and thriving?

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It always takes effort and focus to keep on track. Without proper accountability, it’s easy for even experienced tradies to slip back into old habits and start reacting to what’s in front of them rather than the main mission. This could be a mentor or coach who knows enough about you and your business, with whom you can talk about the real issues. Someone you respect who can call you out when you need it, help you get clear on your goals and how to get there.

If you feel you’re getting caught in the weeds or just want to avoid them, then leave your credit card behind and book a FREE strategy session with me. We’ll map out where you want to go, spot what’s holding you back, and give you a clear plan forward.

Here’s the link: www.nextleveltradie.co.nz/nextstep/
Written by Daniel Fitzpatrick Business Coach, Next Level Tradie