Shared by Lynn Wise of Contractor In Charge:   Whether you’re just starting out as an entrepreneur or have been in business for a while, you should know by now that running your small business like a large corporation just won’t work. The pros at Contractor In Charge note that small businesses are quite different from their big counterparts in how they should be run, and that can be both an asset and a liability, depending on how you approach things. In this blog post, we will be asking Contractor In Charge for ways that small businesses can take advantage of their size by avoiding the pitfalls of acting like larger corporations.   Image credit: Anil Karakaya Avoid Losing Your Connection with Your Consumers. Keep it Real, Keep it Personal. According to Contractor In Charge’s founder, probably the biggest issue with running your company like a large corporation is that you’ll lose your relationship with your consumers. As a small business owner, you are your brand. You ...

Shared by Lynn Wise of Contractor In Charge:   With the rise of digital transformation, the experts at Contractor In Charge note that technology isn’t just something that more businesses are taking advantage of. It is also starting to heavily influence how consumers interact with businesses. As a result, consumers are becoming more demanding and expect more from their businesses. Consumers want real-time solutions to their problems and questions. They want a business that will go out of its way to help them. At Contractor In Charge, they have also noticed a trend of consumers wanting convenience and personalized experiences that make their lives easier. By taking advantage of digital transformation, businesses can deliver all of these things—and more—to consumers in a way that’s convenient for them and makes their lives easier. Here are the top technologies to use:   Advice from Contractor In Charge: Embrace automation When it comes to business transformation and digita...

Shared by Lynn Wise of Contractor In Charge: Gartner research has uncovered that an average of $15 million is lost by businesses annually due to bad data. IBM tallied up that sum for the U.S. economy and put the total at $3.1 trillion, according to Inc . At Contractor In Charge, they note that data has become such a valuable resource for businesses because it can be analyzed and used to make informed decisions that help drive the success of that company. However, they also note that when data isn’t accurate or reliable, it has the potential to have an adverse impact on a business by creating inefficiencies, increasing costs, and even putting confidential information at risk. In this article, the pros at Contractor In Charge explore why data quality is critical for your business and how you can achieve it.   Image credit: Markus Spiske   Advice from Contractor In Charge: Go for accuracy first in business Before you can even begin to think about how you might improve you...

Shared by Lynn Wise of Contractor In Charge:   Operating a business comes with numerous challenges and responsibilities, according to the pros at Contractor In Charge. One of the most important things that new business owners must understand is how their business accounts and financial statements work. If you’re starting a business or thinking about doing so, understanding accounting terminology is an essential first step in making sure your company is set up for success. In the business world, cost of goods sold (COGS) is a term that you’ll see frequently. In general, COGS refers to the costs associated with producing or acquiring products sold by a company. At Contractor In Charge, they explain that you can think of it as how much it costs to make something in order to sell it.   Image credit: Cottonbro   COGS Defined According to Contractor In Charge, COGS, or cost of goods sold , measures the total costs associated with producing a product or service that has ...

The current economic climate is one of the most challenging that we have ever seen. Even some of the strongest businesses have felt the pinch, with revenues shrinking and costs rising. In light of these challenges, all businesses must consider how they can thrive through tough economic times rather than just survive them. Contractor In Charge notes that if you own your own plumbing business, there’s absolutely no reason why your business shouldn’t thrive in a tough economy. Here are some crucial tips the pros at Contractor In Charge suggest following to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible:   Image credit: Anil Karakaya   Educate your customers There is no limit to how far you can grow your business if you educate people and get them to understand the financial advantages of maintaining plumbing before it can break and damage. People need to feel like you’re helping them, not just selling them something. If you communicate that you’re offering them an opport...

Small or medium-sized businesses often have trouble with productivity, according to Contractor In Charge. This is because owning a business comes with many responsibilities, and it can be hard to keep everything organized and going smoothly. If you’re wondering how you can improve your processes for your small or medium-sized business, you’ve come to the right article. In this blog post, the experts at Contractor In Charge have shared some helpful tips that can assist you in streamlining work processes so that everyone at your company feels more involved and accountable.   Image credit: Vojtech Okenka   Organize Tasks and Meetings The first thing you need to do is create a system to organize tasks and meetings. According to Contractor In Charge , this can be as simple as creating a shared Google document with all the tasks assigned to each employee. This can also be as complex as using a task management system which allows you to have projects that include sub-tasks and ...

The recent pandemic has changed how we do things. Contractor In Charge has been at the forefront of helping companies get through those changes. To stay competitive and successful in this new world, businesses must up their game and adopt best practices. They need to provide reliable and consistent customer support despite an often unpredictable and unreliable world and workforce. Contractor In Charge notes that outsourcing is an effective way to do exactly that. This blog will help you understand outsourcing better so you can make better-informed decisions as an entrepreneur when considering whether to outsource part or all of your business operations.   Image credit: Tima Miroshnichenko   What is outsourcing? Let’s start by defining outsourcing. Outsourcing is when an organization hires an outside firm to perform a certain function for the organization. Usually, the outsourcer has specialized knowledge that the organization does not have, such as with Contractor In Cha...

The pros at Contractor In Charge note that handling your cash is a crucial part of operating a business. This can be especially true if you run a small business that doesn’t have much financial capital at its disposal or if you operate as an individual who isn’t able to access larger institutional banking networks. Cash management and the ability to efficiently account for all of your transactions are two key areas that need improvement if you want to grow and operate your business more effectively and save yourself from issues with loss or fraud. In this article, we’ll review some tips from Contractor In Charge on improving your cash handling.   Image credit: Cottonbro   Track your cash According to Contractor In Charge, the first thing you need to do to improve your cash handling is to track your cash. This will allow you to ensure that each transaction is accounted for and that there aren’t any gaps in the cash flow. It will also help you avoid any potential issues wi...

This article is shared by Contractor In Charge. Hurricane season is upon us. Storms are raging from coast to coast, causing flooding from Maryland to Louisiana to the Southwest. Your plumbing service is reaping the benefits with backed-up drains and sewer lines from all of the clogged storm drains or backed-up septic systems that can’t absorb any more water because the saturated ground flooded out the septic field causing plumbing backups. Missing emergency calls Being you are so busy, stopping to take calls isn’t on your to-do list. But missing emergency calls is not an option either. So what to do? Hire a customer service contractor, one that knows about the plumbing business and plumbing emergencies. Trust me, going cheaper on any old answering service will cost you in the long run. Here is a comparison Any old answering service will be happy to take messages. Those will still have to be returned, by you. They don’t schedule appointments for you or provide information to your c...

Contractor In Charge shared this content. You’re a busy contractor that needs help with incoming calls. You question whether an answering service would be best for your business rather than a customer and dispatch service. So what are the differences? What an answering service provides An answering service will take your calls and give you messages. More likely than not you wouldn’t have the same person answering your calls. It’s impersonal but gets you the messages that you need. Then you or your office assistant call the customers back and find out whether the messages are for an emergency or a planned job. If you use an answering service you will need to hire an office assistant or take time from your day to make return calls. A customer and dispatch service is different First, most specialize in servicing contractors and you can find one that will understand your business. So why is that important? Well, when customers call they will know if there is an emergency or not and h...

Contractor In Charge shared this content. You’ve heard about the great benefits of being a virtual contractor, but you aren’t sure if it would work for you since you own a plumbing company. The good news is it certainly will. Here are some tips to help you make the switch to becoming a virtual contractor! 1. Don’t lose any future business. You know your business is crazy busy. You know that you’ve lost jobs because you just don’t have the time to call them back or when you do it took too long. Did you know that a virtual customer service company makes sure that you don’t lose any future business? They can because they are there to answer your phones while you are busy servicing other customers. 2. If you have office staff, ask yourself why you’re losing business? Because that staff doesn’t know enough about your business and see themselves as message takers. Just getting a bunch of message slips doesn’t help reduce your workload. 3. A virtual customer service company knows ...

Contractor In Charge shared this content. Do you know what a KPI is? You have an established plumbing business, however, if someone asked you “What are your 9 KPI’s?” Would you know?  Knowing these things will mean you have a better handle on your business. KPI is an acronym for “key performance indicator.” It’s a tool used to evaluate the health and success of a business. As a plumbing contractor, there are some that are universal KPIs. They involve knowing your financial numbers as well. Sales and cost per truck One of the first two KPI’s you need to know is how well your trucks are doing, meaning the sales per truck and the cost per truck. If the sales outweigh the costs, you’re doing well. If the costs start to outweigh the sales you will need to determine if it’s because of the age of the vehicle or because sales are down. Next, look at your fleet What is the profit and loss per truck? It means taking the first two above and looking at the fleet as a whole. Again, if the ...

Contractor In Charge shared this content. There are a lot of misconceptions about accountants—what they do, and what benefits they provide. To a lot of people, accountants are the people who check the general ledger, fill out tax return documents, do complex bookkeeping, and ensure basic financial health. Certainly, those are all encompassed within the accountant’s role—but if you think accountants exist merely to do paperwork and keep your records in shape, think again. Actually, accountants have the skills to go through your financial statements transaction by transaction, identifying hidden profit centers within your company—highlighting ways to start generating more cash from your business, whether by tweaking your prices or by eliminating unnecessary overhead. The Benefits of Outsourced Accountants There are a number of specific benefits you can expect when you hire an accountant to take a look at your financials—among them: Cost savings. A good accountant will have the skill...

This content is shared by Contractor In Charge. It’s easy to consider social media as a vanity, a time-waster, or a lark—however for plumbing, electrical, and HVAC companies, social networks can actually be powerful tools. They create valuable touchpoints with your customer base and can be especially effective for generating business from your maintenance agreements. And, with the right social media content, you can make your home service business seem more trustworthy and authoritative—helping customers feel more confident giving you their business. But what is the right kind of social media content for your home service business? There are a couple of different categories to consider, and each is potentially useful. Content That Humanizes Your Business Customers will feel more comfortable inviting you into their homes and entrusting you with maintenance and repair needs if they have some sense of who you are—and if they see your technicians as human beings, not a nameless/faceles...

This content is shared by Contractor In Charge. “Thank you for providing me with your estimate. I’ll make my final decision after I gather the rest of my quotes.” It’s something that home service providers hear all the time. Homeowners who say this is playing it smart, ensuring that each service contractor they call feels compelled to give their best price, their best service, their best value. It also frees the homeowner from having to listen to a lot of pushy sales rhetoric. But what’s great for the homeowner can sometimes be rather frustrating for the home service contractor. Simply put, you want to beat out your competitors—and when a homeowner is weighing multiple quotes, you want to make sure yours is the one they pick. What can you do to make that happen? Beating Out Your Competition Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind. Affirm the homeowner. Don’t speak ill of your competitors, and don’t let the homeowner know that you’re frustrated with them. Instead, tell them they...

Contractor In Charge Shared this article content. Several home service businesses have told Contractor In Charge that they think they need inventory and an inventory management system. However, that could be the start of a big mistake: assuming your business needs to stock parts and supplies itself, by failing to look at the big picture. The first question service business owners really need to ask is, “Should I even carry inventory?” Remember that there are two types of inventory: the inventory technicians carry on their trucks, and the inventory a business carries in a warehouse to replenish its trucks or to supply installation jobs. When determining whether to carry one or both types of inventory, here are three things to consider: How is your cash flow? Inventory is an asset, so it is essentially money sitting in a truck or warehouse that otherwise would be available to spend. Do you have the cash available to invest in that asset, and if so, how much return on it can you get? ...

Contractor In Charge Shared this article content. It can be nerve-wracking reading the business predictions and trends. Too many articles contradict each other.  However, there are some key consistencies to notice, that I feel are relevant for 2020.  On an important note, the trends below are consistently mentioned for all industries, not just the home services field. But they certainly are appropriate for our industry, and I think they are important to discuss. Customer service. Customer service. Customer service.  Customers are increasingly demanding more personalization, increased levels of service, ease of communication, and extended accessibility.  Automation will continue to influence this area of our business, making it critical for the ongoing development and training of your staff.  Something to remember, don’t forget your current customers.  Find unique ways to thank your customer base, your references, while keeping your company top of mind. U...

This article was shared by Contractor In Charge. Service Management Software is in the air and Contractor In Charge has received a lot of inquiries from clients and potential clients about changing or implementing Service Management Software in their business.  Some of this is due to clients changing a server-based software to cloud-based software or the need for additional functions such as purchase orders, marketing reporting, or better details for the customer records.  Regardless of the reason, you need to be prepared for this change in your business.  After many engagements to help clients to clean up after they have implemented this software, I wanted to provide a checklist to do BEFORE you begin the onboarding or migration to scheduling software. Will you be using QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop (Enterprise), Sage, or another accounting software? Your choice is determined by a few things: Inventory Tracking for Multiple Locations (trucks), Job Costing, amou...

This article was shared by Contractor In Charge. I recently received a call from a local HVAC company offering me a $29.00 tune-up special on my air conditioning system.  The person calling asked if I was the homeowner and once I said yes, they began to ramble about all the things they would do for $29.00.  When the person stopped talking, I asked “How long have you been in business?”.  They did not know what to say and after a pause just said, “A long time.”  My next question was “What type of insurance do you carry for your business?”  I heard the shuffling of papers which I assume they were looking for an answer. They replied, “I guess we carry what we need to do the tune-up.”  I did not ask for details because I knew they didn’t know. Of course, I knew the person calling did not know the real value of the company they were representing and was only using a script to recite what they were paid to do.  Needless to say; I did not schedule an appoint...

This article was shared by Contractor In Charge. Have you started the long and arduous search for a perfect-fit plumbing company answering service in San Diego? If you would like an answering service that exclusively caters to and understands plumbers, go to Contractor in Charge to extend your office. Run by Lynn Wise Founder, CEO, the specialized niche answering service was built from the ground up to make the most of cutting-edge technology while serving the needs of plumbers, plumbing companies, and their potential as well as existing customers. It’s where old-fashioned service and cutting-edge technology meet. The plumbers’ answering service can take your calls both inside and outside of standard business hours, book a call as soon as it is needed, do any necessary dispatch, and even go as far as to connect with plumbers in the field to make sure that everything goes smoothly. Going one step further, Contractor In Charge is also fully ready and capable when it comes to office ma...