The year is winding down. We are between summer and winter. Hopefully, COVID will soon come to an end. Now is the time to take measure of where you and your business are and where you want them to be. Here are eight questions to ask yourself.
1. What is the purpose of your business?
Why are you in business? It is not necessarily for the money, though that is a necessary part of it. It might be the freedom that comes from business ownership. It might be the ability to do the work the way you think it should be done. It might be the lifestyle that business success enables. It might be that you just enjoy building a business and developing the people on your team.
There can be more than one purpose of a business. Understanding the purpose of your business from a personal perspective helps motivate you when you feel unmotivated. In everyone’s business journey, there are rough patches. Keeping the purpose of your business to the forefront can help you drive through the rough patches.
2. What do you enjoy the most?
Don’t just ask this about contracting. Ask it about life. I know a very successful copier salesperson who enjoyed his work and was well compensated. Yet, it wasn’t what he enjoyed the most. He liked fishing more than anything in the world. He quit his job and started a guide service. He doesn’t make as much money, but he is far happier.
Find a way to tweak your business so you get to do more of the things you enjoy, both on the job and away from it. Your business can provide almost anything you want in life. If your goal is to become a fishing guide, build your business to the point where it can be sold. Build it big enough and you can fish all day without the need to guide anyone.
3. What do you hate doing?
Are the aspects of your business role that you detest? How about, merely dislike? If so, why are you doing them? Figure out a way to delegate them to someone else. Hire someone if you need to. One of the great joys in growing a business is you no longer have to do everything yourself. Grow your business and lighten your load. Get rid of the things you hate.
4. What are you really good at?
Everyone has strengths. What are yours? The things you are good at may or may not be the things you enjoy doing, though usually, people enjoy what they do well. When you have an employee who excels in a certain area, you take advantage of it and utilize him or her more. Utilize yourself the same way. Play to your strengths.
5. What do you need to improve?
Everyone has areas of weakness. Sometimes these can be improved. Unless you identify them and formulate a plan for improvement, you will not make progress.
Everyone has areas of weakness. Sometimes these can be improved. Unless you identify them and formulate a plan for improvement, you will not make progress.
Of course, sometimes you will not want to bother with improvements in certain areas (e.g., things you dislike doing). In these circumstances, delegate or hire someone who is good in this area.
6. What do you need to learn?
Learning is a lifelong endeavor. This is especially true for business owners. In the HVAC industry, there are a myriad of organizations that will help you learn the craft of business. There are plenty of contractors who will share their knowledge and experience if you only ask.
In addition, there has never been more resources available than today. These range from audio books to online courses. If you need to learn more about a subject, you can. What do you need to learn?
7. What is intolerable to you?
An old proverb states that a man who will not stand for something, will fall for anything. What do you stand for? Where are your lines? What is unacceptable from . . . yourself, your team, your suppliers, your customers? What are the consequences? Decide what they are and stick to them. Let others know what you expect.
8. Where do you want to be?
Pick a time horizon. It could be one year, or five, or ten. Where do you want to be financially? What kind of business do you want? What do you want to be doing?
The first step in goal setting is picking a goal and assigning a date. Until you do this, you will be drifting. It’s like getting in your car and driving without a destination in mind. Who knows where you will wind up?
If you want help for your contracting business, join the Service Roundtable. Do it now! It’s only $50 a month and you can quit if it’s not for you. Take action. Join today at www.ServiceRoundtable.com.