BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

Our regular business coaching contributor shares his own experience in building a sustainable business – and offers three key factors to make it work

Starting a business can be really difficult! Fifteen years ago, when I started my coaching business, I had a great coaching system but only a few clients, which was difficult.

Fortunately, I quickly discovered that the handful of building clients I had at the time responded particularly well to my coaching programme. I decided this was a sign and stuck with them, developing a solid coaching business by focusing on builders – thus The Successful Builder was born. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of helping many builders become successful business owners.

In the process, I discovered three transferable keys to building a sustainable business, and I teach these to all my clients.

1.Be a specialist

Most builders I work with are above-average tradespeople. They are resourceful people, who can turn their hand to almost any building problem. Moreover, should they come across a new problem, they know where to go to  find help.

So, when they present to a potential client, they do so as an all-round building guy. However, almost every builder I have worked with also prefers a certain type of work.

Some love renovations and would do nothing else if they had the choice. Being the expert, solving unexpected challenges and having to rely on personal experience gives them a real buzz. They love working with homeowners  and helping them plan changes to their home.

Others prefer high-end architectural builds, where cost is not a huge focus and challenge. They find fulfilment in working with good designers and engineers, and being part of a team working on award-winning homes and  buildings.

Others prefer building typical new homes, with the focus on speed and efficiency – organising the subbies and getting the job done in the best possible timeframe with a solid outcome.

The thing is, when you specialise in doing what you are really good at, you start to get a reputation as an expert in that area. That attracts better customers and, because you are working in one area, you become even more  competent. Because I have specialised in builders for so long, I find there’s no situation I meet these days that I haven’t met before.

Ask yourself: What kind of building work do I prefer doing? What kind of work gets me most excited? What kind of work am I really good at? Then look for work in that area, and promote yourself as a specialist.

2. Fantastic clients 

Too few builders actually stop to think about the kind of clients from whom they get the best results, the best references and the best referrals. Yet these people are probably their ideal clients.

They are the people you just seem to ’hit it off’ with. They love what you have done for them and tell everyone they know about you. What’s more, you really enjoyed working with them. If you had a choice, all your clients would  be like these people and what a fantastic business you’d then have.

But the reality is, you can choose.

When I ask some builders who their favourite clients are, they look at me blankly. Yet if I ask them what their favourite truck is, I get an instant answer! Now, what’s more important? Surely having favourite clients.

There is nothing worse than scoring a large job and then discovering part-way through that you are working with a very difficult client – one with impossible expectations. If only you had known that earlier, you wouldn’t have bothered following up the lead. But you didn’t check out if they fitted your ‘favourite client’ profile.

When I discovered that my ideal builder is qualified, has a great work ethic and integrity and loves delivering excellence, it made locating them much easier.

So, what’s your favourite client profile? How old is s/he? Where do they live? What are their preferences? What do they want?

Most importantly, what are you doing to attract more of these? If it’s not enough, look at how you can reach these potential customers.

3. Make profit

The bottom line of any business is profit. Too often I hear the complaint that there are lots of dollars going through the business account, but very little profit at the end of the day. It’s not alright to do all that work and not have  much to show for it.

The thing is, if the economics of a business are not right, then it doesn’t matter what else might be going well, the business is not going to be sustainable. Economics do matter. Profit is important.

So, when you are thinking about your next client and job, ask yourself the following questions: Am I sure I can complete this job efficiently? Have I priced it correctly to ensure it generates my desired profit? Are these the kind of people who can afford to pay on time? Does this building contract protect me against unforeseen issues? Can I make the same amount of profit with less risk?

When I realised that building businesses often have large turnovers, and small adjustments can make a huge difference to returns, finding my coaching fee quickly was not difficult – another reason I chose building businesses.

So, what jobs are making profit for you? Where have you lost money? What difference would it make to your business if you only worked on profitable jobs?

Takeaway

Each of the above concepts are important  by themselves. But imagine if you had a  business where all three were in play? Imagine your business where you are known as the specialist, working only with clients you love, and on only jobs that made profit! Do you think your life might be easier?

Graeme Owen is a builders’ business coach at thesuccessfulbuilder.com. Since 2006, he has helped builders throughout New Zealand get off the tools, make decent money, and get more time in their lives. Grab a copy of his  free book: The 15 Minute Sales Call Guaranteed To Increase Your Conversion Rate: or join Trademates and connect with builders who are scaling too.