Recent Discussions
Franchising Your Home Service Company
Playing in the 'major leagues' is not as hard you might think. Have you ever wondered how national brands grow & dominate their spaces? Franchising your home service company is a tremendous way to limit risk, add new revenue, grow with other people's money, give employees a REAL track of growth to dominate your space. I started using jobber in 2013 for my window cleaning company. I franchised it in 2020 and sold 13 locations in Ut, Az, Kansas & the midwest. (Now they all use Jobber) I'm obsessed with helping others do the same. Did you know that Home Service Franchises are the #1 most sought after franchise concept? It's true. I used to make fun of Fish Window Cleaning & other brands because their services were "sub-par" in my eyes. However - I realized, that just doesn't matter because the franchisor (Fish Corporate) has 350 locations & makes tens of millions, so who's really laughing? If you've ever thought about franchising your business this is the discussion for you!This Book Has Been Foundational For Me!
Alright, listen up. If you’re runnin’ a small business and haven’t read Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited, you’re missin’ out big time. This book’s a game-changer, no two ways about it. Gerber breaks down why most small businesses fall flat and how to dodge that bullet. And here’s the kicker: it ain’t about how good you are at your repairing something; it’s about how well you run the business. Gerber’s got this idea that every business owner’s got three jobs: The Technician – the doer. This is the one out there grindin’ it out, doin’ the actual work. You’re a plumber? That’s you fixin’ leaks. The Manager – the one keepin’ things in line. Schedules, budgets, makin’ sure everything’s runnin’ smooth. The Entrepreneur – the big thinker. The one lookin’ down the road, dreamin’ up where this business can go next. Problem is, most folks are stuck bein’ just Technicians. They’re good at doin’ the work but not so good at runnin’ the show. That’s why they end up exhausted, overwhelmed, and still strapped for cash. If you wanna run a solid business, you gotta stop tryin’ to do everything yourself. You need systems & processes, you need to be able to hand stuff off so the whole thing doesn’t fall apart if you’re not there. That means you gotta step up as the Manager and Entrepreneur, not just the Technician. It’s the only way you’re gonna grow and get outta the daily grind. The eventual goal is to be in Entrepreneur mode full time! There’s even an E-Myth Contractor version, but don’t jump there just yet. Start with the original. The basics are the same no matter what kind of gig you’re runnin’, and once you get those down, then you can see how it fits for your trade. The E-Myth ain’t just a book; it’s a playbook for people like us running a business.Why do you think 4 out of 5 businesses fail and what are you doing to avoid joining the majority?
I personally have noticed that many times it is a talented individual who moves off to start their own business, but they lack financial education. Eventually, the lack of financial education comes up against the risk they have taken on (you don’t know what you don’t know) and they collide in a terrible mess that often costs them their dream. What are your thoughts??
Business books
Anyone care to share recommendations for good business books. I have a couple Markup and profit a contractor's guide - Mike Stone (without a doubt the best book on contractor financial math and lots of other good stuff) Profitable Sales a contractor's guide - same author as above: (really comprehensive books on construction and construction related sales) Playing to win - A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin: the best book on business strategy I've ever read, goes from high level concepts right down to nuts and bolts of creating a strategy with a team effectively. One of the authors is the CEO of Proctor and Gamble who oversaw their rise to the absolute market juggernaut it is today. Unfortunately most of the examples involve mega-corporations as this is the experience of the authors but the concepts are just as applicable to small business and everything in between The 7 Power contractor - Al Levy: also really great book with a lot of practical advise. Breaks down the 7-powers of an effective contractor, best practices within each of them and how to put it all into action. Clockwork - Mike Michalowicz: great book on the practical side of business operations, how to develop your business to be able to operate without you Essential reading for contractors, the order above is just how I wrote them down. In my opinion, the order of reading/study would be 1,4,2,5,3 at least that's what seems most logical to me from my experience with these books and contracting.Are You Working On or In the Business?
If you want to scale your business and stop feeling stuck in the daily grind, you need to start working on your business, not in it. Ask yourself—are you spending more time on operations or focusing on long-term growth? Start by defining clear roles, both for yourself and your team. If you're handling tasks that can be outsourced or delegated, you're holding your business back. Outsource non-core tasks like bookkeeping and admin work. Focus on the 20% of high-impact tasks that drive 80% of your results. Next, document your systems/processes so your team can run things without you micromanaging every step. Use Jobber to automate and streamline the rest. And most importantly—block off time every week to step back and think strategically. If you don't schedule time for growth and innovation, you’ll always be stuck in the day-to-day. What are you using to build your systems and processes?
