Any one care to weigh in on best practices?
Just a bit o' background. I am one owner of a small CI/automation co. 1 owner/tech who also helps with light IT and programming, I am owner/tech/sales/design/programmer/proj mngr/etc guy, my wife shares taxes, job costing, etc with part time bookeeper, 2 "green" (re: cheap but clever) techs and we contract heavy IT out.We are growing like crazy and are having a difficult time keeping up with the work load, yet I can't say no to a new client or builder (pride, I'm sure) I had back surgery this past June and am slowing down physically (at 32 no less), have to concentrate on the sales and "business" end of things and desperately miss sleep.
Any insight, experience, advice? Have at it.

I am in the same boat. I am 45 though. Learn to say no. It is the only way to survive without having to hire the choir. Radiorhea

Raise your prices first to cut some of the drift wood out and look into what is and isn't making you money.

Your situation is both classic and common (not the back part, the "manage" part).

First step is to develop better habits for using your time. Delegate anything you can so you can spend more time on the "business" end of things.

Figure out who/what you want your company to be. This is critical. If you don't know, it is impossible to build a plan to make it happen.

Your plan will guide you on what types of clients to solicit, what kind of jobs to accept/decline, what kind of people to hire.

If you do the above, your situation will become very uncommon -- you'll have a vision, and a plan, and instead of constantly reacting to your business, you will be in control.

You might have to hire somebody to help you get these things done. It will be worth it. Really.

Radiorhea and Ted make great points. I went through a similiar situation about a year ago. I had a different perspective though. My parents had their own business while I was growing up. My dad did sales, and operations, and my mom was the bookeeper, they both worked about 100 hours per week. They fought like cats & dogs when times where tight, and didn't get along much better when times were good. I was the youngest, and as soon as I went off to college, they decided to get a divorce. Well the company had grown over the years, and it was the only real asset. The divorce took 30 days, the settlement took 3 years. I never want to go through that again, so I banned my wife from working for me, and she has no stake in the company.

With that said, I also made a rule to spend time with my family. No matter how busy we are, I always make sure at least Sunday is for the family. I just promoted one of my techs, and I am training him to take over some of what I do (walkthroughs, scheduling, etc.).

About 6 months ago I sat down with my accountant, and we made a list of the most frequent things we do (pre-wires, speakers, vacs, security, intercoms, etc.). He had me list what material it takes to do each item. At first I was pretty basic (box, plate, wire), but he had me get very detailed (staples, connectors, zip ties, screws, etc.). Then he asked how long it took to do each item. What we finally came up with was a true cost of what it took to do each item. I added in what profit I wanted to make, and adjusted me prices. I have to say somethings went up dramatically. I was scared to death to send out my new price sheet, but I reluctantly did it. Six months later, I have finally gotten rid of the pain customers, and the ones that have stayed are happier because my service has gotten better.

What I am trying to say is learn to say no. If you get that funny feeling in your gut, just walk away. The other thing is you may be out of wack on a few prices so you should probably adjust those.

But, you may just do really good work at a reasonable price and everyone wants to work with you.

I can understand, after that experience, not wanting to include a spouse in the business but if you work well together and are clear on the responsibilitys hiring a spouse can be a very good thing to do financially. If nothing else it's a good way to get health care paid for through the business.

So much good stuff here guys. I've said this before, but work for people you like & like you & will pay your price. Life is short & you can get paid well & make new friends. An example; friday morning I was chit chatting with a long time customer at his home while I installed a new dvd in bedroom system. I was explaining how stupid I felt about discovering that my wife & I had bought a used Lexus RX300 a few weeks ago that turned out to be 2 wheel drive. Never even thought they made 2 wheel drive versions! My bad! Anyway, we we're leaving for the weekend that night to go snowboarding & said customer insisted we use his Excursion! So we did. Only one of many examples of really great people/customers over the years. If I really crunched the numbers, there is some really good return there. This same guy always gives me smoked salmon, offers beer, etc. Point here is to do all the stuff that everybody has suggested. You will be happier, make more money, do what you like for who you want & did I mention the happy part? Erik

My 2 bits worth/ 1. Learn to say no (yeah, I know I'm the worst at this... ask me how I wasted 12 f*&%#@g hours last week)!!!
You have 2 "green" guys... Hmmm that could be costing you time and money & stress.... Find 1 really - really good guy. Cheap but clever can get you into trouble... It might be tough at first, but more than pay for itself in saved time and technical problems... Plus you'll have more happy customers... And your job will be easier.
If you are getting buried, take a deep breath, and raise your rates 20%... Chances are you won't lose any business / but will lose some of the riff-raff.

I’ll throw my 2 cents in for the “just say no” as well. Wish someone had told me that when I started. I use to install whatever the customer wanted, including the crap they bought at BB and off the internet. It is the best way I know to work 80+ hours a week, make no money and have the pleasure of working for ungrateful A$$ Holes. We now only install what we sell. Saying no gives you tremendous power. Inform the customer about what you do and what you charge, if they object simply say “We might not be the right integration firm to handle your needs”. Some will agree and you part ways, no loss, these are the jobs/clients you don’t want anyway. Many will change there tune when they know you are ready to walk away. People want high quality work from a professional they trust, they are also trying to get a low price. If low price is the main motivator let them go somewhere else. Be a professional, work for people who value quality and are willing to pay for it.

Just say no....

Great advice..

Raise your prices..

Even better advice....

ANYONE calls that has bought their product from BB/CC/internet?

Triple the normal labor rates. They sign a disclaimer ahead of time. They pay ahead of time....(actually, they won't use you....a true blessing).

Man oh man.... Great advice! I've been doing this forever, and I still catch myself trying to do stuff for the underdog type customers... My good deeds and efforts usually end up biting me in the A*#! And it is usually for clients I really like and feel sorry for or whatever...

Last week & weekend were nightmares all due to me trying to "do the right thing" ... I opened Pandora's box with both of these jobs, that I thought would both be 1/2 to 1 hour slammers & I would be the stud.... Well, I'm still not done with either, got about 16 hours into them, that I can't charge for because I opened my big mouth at the beginning of both..."Oh NO problem, I'll get this little surround set up hooked up and program your Universal for ya!!!! (Not to mention I broke a peice of Art-Glass)...
The irony of it is, both of these guys, who I thought would be sooooo happy with me, are probably pissed, because I'm not done, their systems are down, and I'm backlogged with other bigger fish!!! And there were little unforseen details and problems. And now I hate being at either job, because I resent getting myself into those situations!
Plus we have a BIG job, and the dude went out and bought a big Russound System, and wants that installed by us - although I've told him to contact the distributor, and have them refer a Russound guy!!!

Lot's of good info here and not a one that I'm not aware of. When it comes to saying no, it's so much easier said than done. I have been really convicted though by my lack of time spent with wife and kids and I have to implement some changes. Thanks for everyone's insight.

I know where you probably wasted a lot more than 12 hours last week. On this site. How do you get anything done?