Time for Hobbies!
When I started my business, I made the choice to give up some of the hobbies I enjoyed to make more time for my business to flourish. I've most recently started to pursue those forgotten hobbies - and it's reminded me of what a journey life can be! Going forward, I am going to make more of an effort to pursue my passions outside of work, hoping to create a little more balance in life. What about you? How are you making time for hobbies in 2025 (and beyond)?
Seeking Advice: Building a Pricing Strategy and Ideal Customer Avatar for MTAC Plumbing
Hi Everyone, This is Markus from MTAC Plumbing, based in Kitchener, Ontario. After 2.5 years in business, I’m reaching out to fellow plumbing companies for advice and insights. As a relatively new business, we’ve been saying "yes" to all types of customers and work. We’ve worked with small general contractors on home renovations, direct service calls with homeowners, small commercial fit-outs, reworks, and even a few custom new construction homes. One challenge I’m facing is narrowing down my ideal customer avatar. Without that focus, I’ve struggled to create a solid pricing strategy and price book tailored to specific types of work. I’ve consumed a lot of content—coaching programs, podcasts, and even paid for some trades business coaching—but I’m constantly torn between different approaches. Should I stick to flat rate/lump sum pricing, or go with time and materials transparency? Overhead recovery is another area I need to lock down, along with deciding whether to lean into truck/service charges or a higher hourly rate with minimum-hour strategies. Currently, my price book in Jobber feels clunky and difficult to use. It’s challenging to organize by service types (e.g., Service, Renovation, Commercial), and there’s no way to create subfolders, making navigation harder. From my experience, homeowners in my area often see flat-rate pricing as a dealbreaker. I’ve trained our admin to explain that a plumber needs to assess the job on-site because of plumbing’s many variables. For common issues, I’m considering building out flat-rate pricing for simplicity, but most clients still want an upfront range or at least a disclosed hourly rate before scheduling. I’m looking for advice from this community: How do you structure your pricing and organize your price books? Do you use flat rate, lump sum, or time and materials strategies, and how do they work for you? What’s the best way to build confidence and efficiency in pricing to ramp up billables while keeping processes streamlined? I appreciate any insights or feedback! Best regards, Markus MTAC PlumbingJobber Summit is BACK for its 5th year! 🎉
Registration is open for Jobber Summit, the ultimate professional development event for home service pros on March 5, 2025! 👉 Claim your spot now! Here’s what you can expect: Proven advice from industry leaders Build connections with live networking Attend when it works best for you All online and completely free 👉 Claim your spot now! What are you most excited about for Jobber Summit!?1 more crew isn't going to build your Empire
Its a new year --- My guess is you're thinking about expanding by adding more crews... yes? It's a good goal but not the right one. This approach leads to increased headaches, higher costs, and more frustration. "If I could just find the perfect employee I'd be golden" - I hear it almost every day. If you're serious about winning without piling on loads of risk, franchising is the way. The Pitfalls of Adding More Crews Adding more crews means more equipment, more training, and more management. You're multiplying your responsibilities and expenses. Coordinating multiple teams can become a logistical nightmare, and maintaining consistent service quality across the board is a constant challenge. Plus, all the financial risk falls on you! Franchising: The Smarter Path to National Expansion Franchising lets you grow your brand by partnering with independent entrepreneurs who invest their own money to operate under your name. This strategy allows you to break into new markets without draining your own resources. Why Franchising Works Shared Risk: Franchisees put their own skin in the game, sharing the financial burden and reducing your exposure. Driven Operators: Franchisees are highly motivated to succeed because they own their slice of the business. This often leads to better performance compared to hired managers. Rapid Market Entry: Franchising enables you to enter multiple markets at once, leveraging local knowledge and connections for faster growth. Cost Efficiency: A larger franchise network can lead to bulk purchasing and shared marketing efforts, boosting profitability for everyone involved. Making Franchising Work for You To successfully franchise your business: Prove Your Model: Ensure your business is profitable and can be replicated. Train Thoroughly: Provide comprehensive training to maintain consistent quality across all locations. Offer Ongoing Support: Be there for your franchisees with marketing, operations, and management assistance. Protect Your Brand: Implement strict quality control to maintain your brand's reputation. In short, adding more crews might seem like a path to growth, but it's fraught with challenges and risks. Franchising offers a smarter, more efficient way to expand nationally without overextending yourself. By partnering with motivated franchisees, you can build a national presence and achieve the growth you're aiming for. Think bigger this year. Franchise your business to build an empire. I've done it myself. You can do it too!Business Coach and/or Mentors..
Has anyone here worked with a business coach or mentor? I'm curious about the experience and whether you think it's worth the investment. Did it help you grow professionally or achieve specific goals? Any tips for finding the right one, or things to look out for? Would love to hear your thoughts!What was your biggest win in 2024?
The year isn't quite over yet, but it's time to start evaluating what went right (and wrong) in 2024, so we make 2025 our best year yet! My biggest win for this year was surpassing my personal and professional financial goals, after a weaker-than-anticipated Q1. The road to get there truly wasn't easy but I'm glad I didn't lower my expectations when things started off tough and adversity continued to show up. It was a big reminder to me that we are all a little tougher than we give ourselves credit for being. What went well for you this year?
2025 Best Year Ever
With this year ending in a new year beginning, we should be starting to think about planning for the upcoming year. What are some of your tools you use for planning for the year to come and also daily planning. Do you have any cool tricks that you use to help you in setting goals, and breaking down, goals into smaller action items, and taking those action items and making them happen. Please share your tips, tricks and or traps things that have worked and have not worked."Optimizing Your Home Service Business with Jobber: Key Strategies for Success"
Introduction: In today's competitive home service industry, efficiency and organization are key factors that can make or break a business. Leveraging the right tools and software can significantly streamline operations, improve customer service, and drive growth. Jobber is a powerful solution designed to help businesses in the home service community manage and grow their operations effectively. Let's dive into some key strategies for optimizing your home service business with Jobber. 1. Centralizing Operations: Jobber provides a centralized platform to manage various aspects of your home service business, including scheduling, invoicing, quoting, payments, and more. By consolidating these functions into one tool, you can save time, reduce errors, and improve communication both internally and with customers. 2. Streamlining Scheduling and Dispatch: Efficient scheduling and dispatching are essential for maximizing productivity and meeting customer expectations. Jobber's scheduling features allow you to easily assign jobs to your team members, track their progress in real-time, and optimize routes for better efficiency. This helps minimize downtime, reduce travel time, and ensure timely service delivery. 3. Improving Customer Communication: Clear and timely communication with customers is vital for building trust and loyalty. Jobber enables you to keep customers informed about job status, appointments, and any changes or delays. Automated notifications and reminders can help reduce no-shows and improve overall customer satisfaction. 4. Enhancing Financial Management: Tracking finances accurately is crucial for the financial health of your business. Jobber's invoicing and payment features make it easy to create professional invoices, accept online payments, and keep tabs on your cash flow. You can also generate reports to gain insights into your business performance and make informed decisions. 5. Leveraging Mobile Capabilities: With Jobber's mobile app, you and your team can access important information and manage tasks on the go. Whether it's checking schedules, updating job details, or communicating with customers, the mobile app empowers you to stay productive and responsive even while in the field. Conclusion: Jobber offers a comprehensive set of tools and features to help home service businesses streamline operations, boost efficiency, and deliver exceptional service to customers. By incorporating these key strategies into your business practices, you can leverage Jobber to its full potential and take your home service business to new heights of success in the competitive market.
