8 Year-End Financial Myths Costing Your Business Money
Attn: Jobber Community It's about that time to be thinking about year-end...and many home service business owners make the wrong move (or no move at all). Join me on October 22nd at 11am ET where I am collaborating with Jobber to discuss 8 Year-End Financial Myths that could be costing your business. Sign up today (link below). PS If you register and attend live, there's a chance to win a $50 gift card. See you there! https://www.getjobber.com/events/year-end-financial-tips/What is a good Business Credit Card to have for our line of work?
Hey Jobbers: I'm in the 7th month of business and things are going quite well, but I've been thinking of trying to get my purchases to work of me. Often times credit cards will give perks for cash back or rewards points depending on the purchases that one makes. In our line of work, purchases are pretty out of the norm to other business on a day-to-day basis. I've been doing some research of different programs, but the ranked lists seem to be sponsored by banks, like usual. Hard to trust biased articles. I was wondering if anyone had personal experience/ good recommendations for a credit card that is geared towards Home Services/Handyman companies. Thanks in advance, Think N TinkerWhat marketing channel works best for you right now???
Hello, We are currently evaluating our marketing strategy to improve lead consistency and build deeper community trust. While we currently use Yelp, we find the results inconsistent and often attract price-shoppers rather than long-term clients. :( Moving forward, I would like to pivot our focus toward community-based marketing, such as sponsoring local schools and Little League teams. These sponsorships build the kind of long-term goodwill and trust that ensures local homeowners think of us first during emergencies. To clarify our strategy, we are avoiding the following channels: - Lead Aggregators (Angi, Networx, HomeAdvisor): These platforms sell the same lead to multiple contractors. The requirement to respond within seconds to avoid losing the job—while still being charged—does not align with our workflow. - Yelp for Major Projects: Due to high cost-per-click metrics and a high volume of price-sensitive inquiries, we find this to be a low-return channel for larger plumbing jobs. Your Friendly Neighborhood Plumbers,Which metric(s) do you check first to see how business is going? 🤓
There are plenty of numbers to track, but I’m guessing most business owners have one or two they keep a close eye on. 👍 Which do you check first? Vote in the polls below. Don’t see yours, or want to share why it matters? Drop it in the comments! In this Masters of Home Service episode, kasyallen (Wheatley Creek Services) shares which business metrics matter for home service businesses, why checking them regularly can help catch problems early, and how she built an automated end-of-day report to make the numbers easier to keep up with. 👉 Want to put their tips into action? Download our free home service reporting playbook for this episode. Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Are You Building a Business or Just Creating Yourself Another Job?
It’s easy as a small business owner to get caught up doing everything yourself. At what point do you start delegating, hiring, or putting systems in place so the business can operate without you being involved in every job? I’d love to hear how other owners are making that transition while still keeping quality and customer service high.
💡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!!
Any Recommendations for SBA Lenders?
I’m curious whether anyone here has successfully used an SBA loan, grant, or other government-backed funding program for a very small business. I run a one-person metal art and fabrication business, and finding realistic financing has been difficult. A lot of the options marketed toward small businesses seem to come with high interest rates, aggressive repayment terms, or daily and weekly withdrawals that can make an existing cash-flow problem even worse. I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has actually gone through the SBA process: Which loan or grant program did you use? Was the application process manageable? What documentation did they require? Did the funding genuinely help your business grow? Were there any fees, repayment terms, or surprises you wish you had known about beforehand? I’m especially interested in options that might work for a one-person business looking to purchase equipment, improve production capacity, or create more stable cash flow without getting trapped in predatory financing. Has anyone found an SBA lender, grant program, or small-business resource they would genuinely recommend? Thanks in advance, I am located in Northeast Pennsylvania.
