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PestFreeCanada's avatar
PestFreeCanada
Contributor 4
14 days ago

Do you have daily goals? Weekly? Monthly?

From the beginning of starting my own company, I naively told myself that I need to make $300 per day. That would give me my $6000K a month that I was making at my previous job (I roughly estimate 20 working days in a month). Why not be way happier and make the same money?? I soon realized that now all the overhead was my responsibility and that number needed to be adjusted. I then aimed for $500 per day. That really seemed to make a huge difference in my finances. I was very consistently hitting this goal, most times surpassing it.

I just started this company in Oct 2025 so this revenue was really amazing for me. I shot for $300 a day thinking that was high! Then, a few days would go by and I would make no money, things slow down, phone isn't ringing, weather gets bad...I soon started noticing that I was becoming depressed that I would have 3 consecutive days where I had no work. I started to panic. Then all of a sudden the phone would ring with a $1200 job. This would take a whole day to complete and I would go home happy. These ups and downs weren't hurting me, but I also didn't seem them helping.

I am wondering where others gauge their companies financial health? Do you look at it day to day? Week to week? Month? Year?

2 Replies

  • HUGEHandyman's avatar
    HUGEHandyman
    Jobber Ambassador
    8 days ago

    I feel like you have to start on the project per project level and work your way up. It's good to look at the big picture but if you're continuing to lose money on projects, why are you doing them? Honestly you need to find out what you need to charge PER HOUR then see how you do on that on a monthly basis. If you're phones are slow, figure out what free stuff can you be doing and be proactive to get those going. Also start thinking about where the most profitable revenue sources are from, then double down on those

     

  • Ryan_Cap's avatar
    Ryan_Cap
    Contributor 2
    11 days ago

    I went through the exact same thing with my lawn care company. The day-to-day rollercoaster will make you crazy. What changed everything for me was shifting to a weekly and monthly view. When you zoom out, you realize those 3 dead days didn’t actually hurt you…you still hit $10K+ that month.

    A few things that helped me:

    ∙ Stop measuring daily revenue. Track your weekly average instead.

    ∙ Know your real break-even number (not just what you used to make at a W-2 level. You have to factor in insurance, fuel, equipment, taxes).

    ∙ Watch your quote-to-job conversion rate. If you’re closing 60%+ you’re in good shape, and the slow days are just timing.

    The emotional side is real though. The inconsistency is harder than the money part. It gets better once you build recurring accounts and your schedule fills in.