What’s your best “DIY hack” you’ve used to run your business?
When I first started my business over 19 years ago, estimates meant pen, paper, and carbon copies—rip the top page for the customer, keep the yellow one for myself. That was just the way it was back then, and it worked. Trips to Staples were the norm! But as I think about it, over the years I’ve also come up with plenty of little “DIY hacks” to keep things running when resources were tight or when I didn’t have the systems I do now. Some of those scrappy fixes actually held up surprisingly well! I bet most of you have similar stories— What’s the best “DIY hack” you’ve used to run your business? Maybe it was how you scheduled jobs, tracked expenses, did marketing, or just stayed organized before you had tools like Jobber. Sometimes those old-school solutions are just as clever as the technology we use today. Can’t wait to hear yours!What Do You Do To Minimize Workers Comp Claim Exposure?
I had an employee that was with me for maybe 5 weeks that I was going to let go (wasn't meshing well with the team, not very coachable) and then he "pulled his back" on a job site picking something up incorrectly. He even said he went to pick up a heavy object sideways and with one arm. He's been on workers comp 10 months and between treatment and his compensation, the claim is over $100k! My company is in California so we probably have the least favorable laws for companies. My insurance guy said we did everything right. Sent him to a facility right away to be evaluated, called workers comp. Since then we have implemented a "buddy lifting" training. My insurance guy also told me that even if we documented that he has a history of doing things incorrectly, that he would still be in the workers comp system. So my question to you guys - what measures do you take to prevent something like this from happening? Do you have regular safety meetings? Trainings? What do those look like?What’s your go-to move when a customer doesn’t pay on time?
Do you send a reminder, make a call, wait it out, or have a process you stick to every time? In this episode of Masters of Home Service, Wilson Betances (EnergizeUs) talks about: Why unpaid invoices are a major cash flow problem What happens when invoicing and follow-ups aren’t taken seriously Simple systems and habits that businesses can actually maintain Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
How to start an in house training center for painting?
I am looking for feedback on starting a training center for residential painting. We have a shop but it is kind of small for what I am looking at doing. Is there any creative ways I could go about purchasing, or leasing a building that is specifically for training and education? My goal would be to hire on young men and women who are interested in the painting trade and have a facility to train them in before they every step foot on a job. For example, there would be a class room to learn about products and applications. Then there would be actually rooms built out and small exterior walls build out with different substrates to actually train applications. I would hire some of my current employees to be paid extra to run classes and training. What do you think? Am I dreaming too big or is this something I could accomplish? How could I go about making this happen?Has sending photos after a job ever saved you from a complaint?
In this episode of the Masters of Home Service (around the 24-minute mark), Adam and guests Erica Krupin and Marco Radocaj share how photos of a closed gate or job completed have saved them more than once. Do you take photos of completed work for records or to share with your clients? Has it saved you from a customer complaint? Tune into the full episode below to see how project transparency matters now more than ever. Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
