That would be great but it is not an option.
On January 11, 2016 at 08:30, davet2020 said...
Here is the new business plan:
1. Finish up all the contracts that you have currently.
This would take a bit better than 7 years. That's how far out our contracts go.
2. Raise your labor rates at least 50%. This will result in less jobs but the higher
rates will bring in more money.
There are 2 separate labor rates and custom rates are already super high.
Production rates can be raised yearly with some background work showing cost of living increases and we do that already
3. Work less hours because now you won't have as much work.
I'm always the end guy and that will not change
4. Learn to delegate key employees to take over your responsibilities on the job
site when you are not there.
I spend very little time on site as it is. I have these guys in place.
I'm losing my brother, (a key partner) who takes a ton off of my plate and from time to time I lose other guys who are very hard to replace.
5. Most likely you will have to cut back on some staff. Keep the best who are
willing to take on some of your responsibilities. Let the rest go. This will be the
hardest thing.
As you can see from above, its bigger than that. Its wall street stress without wall street compensation. At this level I would love to be reaping the profits without growing to keep up with demands of current contracts. Its easy when you have a crew in 4 houses a week but that changes when production suddenly moves at a faster pace and you have to run 8 houses per week per crew and pay a ton of overtime.
Concentration becomes keeping up with the demand and the profitable installs get put on a back burner while paying mass overtime eating up profits. The only way to solve this problem is to grow. More guys, more trucks and then things slow for a bit so the problem reverses for a while. (Rinse and repeat)
There is something to be said for being the most expensive company. Many customers will often take the highest bid because they think that they will get the best job done. If you are referred by another customer then often those customers will not even get other bids
Already do this in custom
The amount of work your company is doing will drop. But the increased profit you make will compensate for doing fewer jobs. Because there is less work then you can assume more of a supervisors role. Just check in on the jobs each day and make sure that things are going to plans.
Those were easier days and I long for them again.
Schedule your work so that you are home each day by 5pm so that you can enjoy some quality time with the wife and kids.
This would be the plan moving forward as a hobbyist depending on what I decide to do. I will always be in this industry but at what capacity I don't know. That is yet to be decided.
It all comes down to my work load and stress level vs where I want to be in my life. I don't want to continue to grow and grow. It is aging me at an expedited rate.
At some point I have to decide to turn in my chips and move on. When I think about moving on I first consider my family, my happiness and my health.
