2014 has started out well with most builders I speak to predicting a good to great levels of building activity. This is good news for all of us, as the past few years have been a little on the quiet side.
If 2014 does in fact bring more building activity (and more opportunity) – do you and your team have any sort of a plan to make more income?
Have you ever noticed how tradesmen and builders will get excited about a building boom – yet they don’t expand their business to take advantage of it. In the end the only things these people get out of a “good year” is:
- More hours of work
- Less time with the family
- Slightly greater income (you can only work so many hours)
- Don’t need to chase work
It is always been interesting to me how excited people can get about a building boom – when it is obvious that it will have very little positive effect on their wealth or lifestyle. Unfortunately, if their business is not set up properly they might end up with an unsustainable workload which leads to stress, family problems and generally takes the fun out of life.
How can a builder or tradesmen take advantage of a good year, a great year or better yet – a boom? How can he/she benefit, and still have a sustainable workload?
The answer is to Leverage your time and knowledge. Any time you use your knowledge of building and business to manage the work of someone else, you are leveraging. This is not a new concept to anyone in the building industry, but how many people really do it well?
How many tradesmen do you know who’ve had a go at growing their business, but after putting on a couple of extra blokes, found they struggled with managing quality and quickly returned to their comfort zone – a one or two person team? The harsh truth is this: until you find a way to leverage your time and knowledge, every building boom means nothing to you and is, in fact, a wasted opportunity.
In the early 2005 I found myself in this rut where I was having trouble leveraging my time and knowledge beyond a few carpenters in my employ. I decided to buy into a business format franchise, where I was able to leverage my time well. I had experienced people available to help me set up my retail new home building business properly, so that I was able to leverage my time and knowledge and still control quality.
I actually found it easier and more enjoyable to run my new business than trying to keep a few carpenters busy every day on reno’s. Soon our 5 person team had 10 homes under construction and I realised that I was now leveraging my time and knowledge much better – and I was getting a benefit from the efforts of 5 Employees and the trade team required to build 10 homes at a time
I realised I now had a business which allows me to actually make more money from a building boom! I fully understood how important having systems that allowed me to leverage my time and knowledge were.
We are growing our team at Stroud Homes and we’re looking for good builders in your area. If you know building inside out, have a great local reputation but don’t know where to start with growing your business – give us a call on 0435 803 411.
We’re starting building teams right now around Queensland, using our business systems to help them make the best of 2014 – and every year after that.
Keep in mind that the average builder has a 25 year career and normally experiences 2 – 3 “boom times” – don’t waste another one, give us a ring and find out how you can make the most of your hard earned knowledge.
James Stroud