Over the past year, I've noticed a shift in how I think about my business. In the beginning, my focus was almost entirely on doing great work for my clients. While that's still my top priority, I've found myself spending more time thinking about systems, branding, pricing, marketing, networking, and building long-term relationships.It made me realize there's a difference between being good at what you do and learning how to build a business around it?For those of you who have been in business for a while, was there a specific moment or lesson that changed your mindset from simply doing the work to intentionally building a business? Looking back, what had the biggest impact on your growth?

For me, the shift happened when I realized my business couldn’t depend on me being the one doing the cleaning every day.Early on, I measured success by how many homes I could clean in a week. Today, I measure it by how well our systems, leadership team, and customer experience perform without me being involved in every decision.That mindset changed everything. I stopped asking, “How do I get more work done?” and started asking, “How do I build a business that consistently delivers great work?”That meant investing in processes, leadership, branding, pricing, training, and technology. Ironically, spending less time cleaning and more time building the business is what allowed us to grow from just me with a mop into a multimillion-dollar company with a team approaching 30 people.Being great at your trade gets you started. Learning how to build systems and lead people is what allows you to scale.

At what point did you stop thinking like a tradesperson and start thinking like a business owner?

11 Replies

PestFreeCanada
Contributor 5
1 day ago
This one hit home! I think about this everyday. Am I running a business or am I just an owner/operator? Are my skills transferable to my technicians, and I can think about growth and branding and building, or should I just stay in the truck and keep doing what I am doing?
I would love to read more comments from some others on here. This is a great question!
judithvirag WiringByron MTLcontractors I'd love to hear some of your opinions on this one.
- WiringByron
  Jobber Ambassador
  1 day ago
  It's the way I'm wired, I truly don't understand the owner/operator mentality. (and I really dislike them in my area haha) Every journeyman electrician thinks they can buy a van and charge $100 an hour and own a business....
  You always hear the saying "you own a job, a really **bleep** job that you made for yourself"
  
  I'd love to hear from someone that stayed a owner/operator and the good and the bad that went along with it.
  - Sophiera
    Contributor 4
    1 day ago
    I'm actually one of those owner operators, although I can definitely see the appeal of building a team over time.
    For me, staying hands on has allowed me to keep a close connection with my clients and continually refine my craft. The challenge is that there are only so many hours in the day, and eventually you realize the business can't keep growing if everything depends on you.
    I don't think either model is right or wrong. It really depends on what kind of business and lifestyle someone wants to build. Personally, I enjoy the creative side of my work too much to ever step away from it completely, but I also recognize the importance of building systems and eventually adding the right people so the business can continue to grow.
    It's been interesting reading everyone's different perspectives on this.
judithvirag
Builder 1
1 day ago
Always these questions that are trying to peek into my very weak memory LOL. I think for me it started with my first employee. Once I had an employee I was responsible for picking them up (did not drive) and training them, checking their work. I would do my quotes, invoicing and collection after hours. I was on the broom until about 5 years ago and I slowly got off. I have been in business for 17 years. I tried to hire into an admin and supervisor position and promoted from within. This did not seem to work well as it created interesting feelings around the promotion for both my cleaners and the promoted employee. Once I had a good admin I really started towards more running the business rather the business running me.
- Sophiera
  Contributor 4
  1 day ago
  Thank you for sharing your journey. I really appreciate that you included the challenges along with the successes.
  Your experience with promoting from within was especially interesting. It reminds me that growing a business isn't always a straight line, and sometimes the best lessons come from trying something that doesn't work the way we expected.
  I also liked what you said about finally having a good admin and feeling like you were running the business instead of the business running you. That's a goal I can definitely relate to. Thanks for sharing your experience!
WiringByron
Jobber Ambassador
1 day ago
For me this was a quick realization. What am I best at and what is most important for the company. The company is a living entity! So if you are the leader and the only one that can be working on systems, branding, pricing, marketing, networking then you need to do that. Your employee's aren't going to go do that stuff and they don't care about it like you do. They don't have the freedom to go do it either.

And this is a big hold back for a lot of business owners. Even years in they will tell themselves a story about why they still need to go to site and be on the tools and it really holds them and their business back unfortunately.

I would also add that if you join up with some business coaching this is going to be one of the first things you tackle. You must get off the tools and start working on the business.
- Sophiera
  Contributor 4
  1 day ago
  I really like your point about the business becoming its own living entity. That perspective really stood out to me.
  As a solopreneur, it's easy to stay focused on the work you're good at because that's what feels productive. I'm starting to realize that growing the business also means making time for the things only the owner can do, like building relationships, developing the brand, and planning for the future.
  Thanks for sharing your perspective. It's another good reminder that the business needs leadership just as much as it needs great work.
roselvaggio
Jobber Ambassador
1 day ago
For me, the shift happened when I realized my business couldn’t depend on me being the one doing the cleaning every day.
Early on, I measured success by how many homes I could clean in a week. Today, I measure it by how well our systems, leadership team, and customer experience perform without me being involved in every decision.
That mindset changed everything. I stopped asking, “How do I get more work done?” and started asking, “How do I build a business that consistently delivers great work?”
That meant investing in processes, leadership, branding, pricing, training, and technology. Ironically, spending less time cleaning and more time building the business is what allowed us to grow from just me with a mop into a multimillion-dollar company with a team approaching 30 people.
Being great at your trade gets you started. Learning how to build systems and lead people is what allows you to scale.
- Sophiera
  Contributor 4
  1 day ago
  I really like this perspective, especially the shift from asking, "How do I get more work done?" to "How do I build a business that consistently delivers great work?"
  As a solopreneur, it's easy to think growth means working longer hours or taking on one more project. Lately, I've found myself thinking more about building systems, refining the client experience, and creating a business that can consistently deliver the same level of quality as it grows.
  Your post was a great reminder that being good at your craft is what gets a business started, but building processes and thinking strategically is what allows it to grow. Thanks for sharing your journey.

Forum Discussion

At what point did you stop thinking like a tradesperson and start thinking like a business owner?