How do you train your team so they can run the business without you being everywhere?
In this episode of the Masters of Home Service (around the 17:35 mark), Jeff Guldalian (@The360Electrician) breaks down how training your team gives them the authority, foresight, and knowledge to make fewer mistakes—and as a result, get fewer phone calls from upset customers. Do you have any training tips that have helped you let go of some of the daily burdens so you don't have to be everything, everywhere, all at once?
You down with PPE? Yeah, you know me!
Google AI explains it as "Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) refers to any clothing or equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards in the workplace and protect the wearer's health and safety. PPE is considered the last line of defense when other controls cannot eliminate or reduce the hazard adequately." I've always viewed personal protective equipment (PPE) as my primary shield for staying safe and healthy on the job. With machinery that can spin at speeds up to 10,000 RPM, it’s essential to prioritize my protection. What about you? What PPE do you typically use in your work? For me, I rely on: Ear protection: Since most of our tools operate at high decibel levels, it’s crucial to safeguard my hearing. I personally prefer foam earplugs over earmuffs for comfort. Eye protection: When handling equipment like line trimmers, mowers, chainsaws, and blowers, debris can go flying everywhere. I want to ensure my eyes stay safe from any potential hazards. Safety boots: I opt for high-rise boots with steel or composite toes and plates to protect my feet. Long pants: These are important for shielding my legs from rocks and other materials that can become projectiles. Sun hat: Keeping my head and shoulders covered helps shield me from the sun's rays while I work. Remember, taking these precautions not only keeps us safe but also helps us enjoy our work without worry! One more important type of PPE—at least in my view—is knowledge! It’s really vital to have as many staff members trained in First Aid as possible.What is the biggest bottleneck for you as a blue collar trade owner?
Hey what's up if we've never met, my name is Jeff aka "The 360 Electrician" or @the360electrician on all social media. I coach over 1000 electrical contracting and blue collar businesses and have been a Jobber ambassador for well over 2 years now. I run 2 electrical contracting companies for the past 20 years. I'm located in California and Montana, so you better believe I have the experience to help anyone from 0 to 360. After talking to hundreds of you in my 8 week contractor playbook course, time and time again the topic of the "unknown" comes up. Most of you want to grow your business, you are booked solid, you know there is a shortage in the trades but the unknown of being the "boss" is what holding you back. I have 3 tips that may help you with this and I hope you will reach out if you have any questions or need a more comprehensive hiring system. Hire before you need to hire - Don't wait till it's too late. If you know you need help start looking NOW! Otherwise you hire out of desperation and trust me, that's a recipe for disaster. Make sure you aren't hiring to fill a spot, but rather to buy back your time. This is based on the best seller from Dan Martell "Buy Back Your Time". When you can step away from the tools, you change the game as far as your business goes. You can hire anyone qualified to cut the grass, or install an electrical panel, you can't just hire anyone to run your business and take care of the finances taxes etc. Freeing up your time is PRIORITY 1 so you can grow. Own the trains don't run the trains. Hire 24/7 always hire better, more qualified employees. Make sure you have a Win-Win / profit sharing system in place and you will keep employees longer and happier. Constantly losing good employees takes time to retrain and trust so don't lose good people, reward them to stay. Need more tips, check out what we offer at http://www.The360Electrician.com and you can always email me at mailto:jeff@the360electrician.com
4 wheel drive and winter tires.
In my past jobs I was always provided a work truck. All companies would buy the standard Chevy Colorado 2 door WT, rear wheel drive and all weather tires. If there was a bad snow storm, sometimes I couldn't even get out of my driveway! Funny thing is, back then I didn't care, I was an employee and if I can't make it safely, it was the companies problem to figure out. Now that I have started my own business I have decided that I would buy a 4 wheel drive truck and install winter tires. I want to be available to my customers no matter what the weather and I don't want any excuses. I feel I can safely make it to a home or business no matter the weather and I think that is going to make me stand out to customers. I know that not all businesses have cold weather problems to deal with but in Ontario where I live and operate, I think being ready for winter is very important. If anyone is thinking about purchasing a work vehicle, and live in a snowy area, I would highly recommend making the investment in a 4 wheel drive vehicle with good tires!Curious ... do most teams back up job files from Jobber?
Hey all, just wondering if this is something others have run into. A few of our clients have been talking about how they handle long-term storage of job photos and documents, especially when staff leave, or when they want to organize files outside of Jobber. Some mentioned wanting to move things to Google Drive or DropBox automatically, but I’m not sure how common that need really is. Just curious, have you or your team thought about this? Is keeping a backup of Jobber media files part of your process, or not really a concern? Appreciate any thoughts! Josh
💡FEATURE REQUEST: Price Increases in Products & Services List
Do you increase prices for ongoing customers? Do you know how long it takes me to increase my prices for 700 ongoing clients in my cleaning business? Whether you increase your prices on an annual basis or just as needed in these unpredictable times, it would be easier to make these changes en masse in the Products and Services tab! How would it work? When editing a product or service line item in the Products & Services List, there should be an option to carry that modification over to any existing Jobs that have that line item on it. Currently, this would only update for new jobs created, but I'd love to see a little pop-up that says, "Would you like to change the price for existing Jobs with this line item? Yes/No" Use Case Example: Because I am in the cleaning industry, it will be my primary use case. Let's say you have a minimum price that every client's rate will be at or above. When you create a new job for a recurring customer, you add a line item titled "Minimum Rate + current year," like for 2020: "Minimum Rate 2020," which is $150. You also add another line item based on how your pricing model is set up - in this case, I will use a simple one: "Small House" for $10 "Medium House" for $30 "Large House" for $50 When it's time for your prices to increase, consider the following options: you could decide to raise prices only for people with large houses and keep your minimum rate the same, or you may want to increase the cost for clients who have been with you for more than 5 years. Instead of making this change one client at a time and trying to sort through who the change applies to, I could go to the Products and Services List and find the specific line item I want to modify. Then, I could edit the price in there! Ta Da! You've raised your prices! Why should Jobber care? This would be huge for any business industry that has recurring clients. ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, and other competitors already have this feature. I have found other threads that mention something like this or frustrations with how to go about raising prices. This would allow businesses that only see customers once or twice a year to set up their customers as recurring with one Job, saving them a lot of time and effort as well. You'd have at least one very loyal customer in me! I've spoken to two support agents who thought this was a simple but fantastic idea! My next price increase is in June, and I'd love you guys if you saved me weeks worth of work in a single click 🤞🙏 QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, FEEDBACK, AND MORE USE CASES WELCOME!!
Best practices for service contracts and multi day jobs?
Hello! How are you entering and keeping track of service contracts? We sell, install and service generators and want to make sure we are properly tracking these and ensuring renewals don't slip through the cracks. Some are once a year visit, some need 2 visits, some need 4. How do you guys do this? What about jobs that require multiple visits? Our installs take time from the moment we get the project approved, to then getting the permit approved, and the individual days of work, inspections, etc. Looking for tips on this. Thanks!
