Brian Phillips
I hear a lot of contractors object to developing systems for their business because they operate alone. They have no employees and don’t intend to have any. They are happy and content working by themselves. Why I should develop systems? They wonder. Unless they have an unlimited amount of time (which they don’t) systems can be beneficial.
For example, we all have to pay bills and do some basic accounting for our business. Would you prefer to do this as efficiently as possible, or spend hours spinning your wheels in frustration? Would you prefer to have accurate records that are organized and easily accessible, or would you prefer to dig through boxes of receipts to prepare your taxes? Having systems in place for these procedures will allow you to perform these tasks quickly.
I seriously doubt that you would approach a painting project in a state of disorganization. You have certain steps that you follow so that you can complete the job efficiently and well. Why should this be limited to only one aspect of your business? It shouldn’t be.
Certainly, if you are a one-man band the depth and scope of your systems will be different from a company with 50 painters in the field. But the same basic principles apply, no matter how many people you employ. Efficiency, accuracy, and organization are beneficial to every business.
I have many tasks within my business that I perform only a few times a year. I often forget the exact steps required. However, I have these steps written down and easily accessible. Rather than wasting hours trying to re-invent the wheel, I simply consult the written procedure and the task is completed efficiently. Over the course of a year, I save myself countless hours and a ton of frustration because of this.
Personally, I have better things to do than try to figure out how to set up a new email account or file my tax reports online. I figured it out once, and see no need to repeat that process every time I need to do it.
Setting up systems is not as hard as you might think. When you perform a task, write down the steps you follow. Then put the task in a binder, which you can have divided into sections for particular types of tasks, such as accounting, marketing, and sales. Then when you need to perform that task in the future you will know exactly where to go to find the procedure.
So unless you have lots of time to burn, systems will save you time, effort, and frustration. And then you can spend your time doing things you really enjoy, like putting paint on the wall or playing with your kids.
Brian Phillips
Seth Godin makes an interesting point, using a restaurant at the Atlanta airport as an example:
Atlanta brags about having the busiest airport in the world. Like most municipal facilities, they don’t brag about having the best, the most pleasant, the most engaging or the most remarkable airport in the world.
That’s a shame, because airports are great opportunities to create value. Lots of curious, alert people with money to spend and connections to make. Yet the lowest-common-denominator is served, relentlessly.
A lot of painting contractors take a similar approach. They compare themselves to other contractors, and try to convince the customer that they are somehow better. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but it misses out on a great opportunity.
Do we simply want to be better than the other guys, or do we want to be the best that we can be? Do we want to do the same things as the other guys, only better, or do we want to do things that nobody else does?
Certainly, we need to have some reference point, and our competitors can provide that to some extent. But using them as our only reference point and gauging our business by theirs is a recipe for disaster. You could easily find yourself traveling down a path that is filled with frustration, stress, and myriad other ogres.
When I was a child, I would often plead with my mother to allow me to do something. “Everyone else is doing it,” I would argue. And her response was always the same, “If everyone else was jumping off of a bridge, would you want to do that too?”
Your business—like your life—is unique. The goals you pursue and the actions you take are your choice. You cannot control what others do, but you can control what you do. So don’t worry so much about what others are doing. Set your goals as high as you possibly can and then go for it.
Success is often determined more by our attitude than our aptitude. While knowledge and skills are certainly important, we can often overcome our limitations with the proper attitude. No amount of skills or ability will motivate us to persevere in the face of obstacles, but the proper attitude will.
Brian Phillips
As a long time participant on various forums for painting contractors, there seems to be no shortage of questions and discussions regarding the right primer to use, the best caulk, or how much everyone is paying for paint. While technical issues certainly have some merit and can be helpful, they seldom matter in the long-term.
It is a statistical fact that 90% of small businesses fail within 5 years. Painting contractors don’t fail because of the primer they use or what they pay for a gallon of paint. They fail because they don’t know how to run a business.
Forgive me for being blunt, but the odds are that you will be out of business within 5 years. If I made a $100 bet with everyone reading this that they would close their business within 5 years, I would make a fair amount of money. And it’s a bet I would be willing to make, except it would be hard to collect.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
The painting forums can be a great resource for technical issues. I occasionally run into something that is new, and being able to tap into the experience and knowledge of other members is incredibly helpful. But solving an occasional technical issue isn’t going to make or break my business.
However, if I don’t generate enough leads, I’m going to have serious problems. If I don’t sell jobs at the right price, I’m going to have serious problems. If I can’t manage my crews and run my office, I’m going to have serious problems. In other words, if I don’t take care of every piece of the puzzle, I won’t be around to worry about Mr. Smith’s door peeling.
I realize that each of us has different goals and defines success differently. But whatever your goals are, your business is the means to that end. And your business will not succeed if you don’t have a good handle on the business side of the operation. If you don’t market and sell you will be a statistic.
Building a business is not easy. Statistics prove it. But it can be done, and statistics prove that as well. Building a business requires focusing on the right things—business things. Things like marketing, sales, and administration. In the end, business isn’t about primer or caulk. It’s about business.
Brian Phillips
We often hear someone say, “That is good in theory, but it won’t work in practice.” The intended meaning is that some idea sounds logical, but in the “real world” it just won’t work. But the fact is, a theory that won’t work in practice isn’t a very good theory. Good theories make good practice. Ideas are our guide to action.
Many people—and contractors are certainly no exception—are loath to try new ideas. They get locked into a certain mindset and often refuse to consider new alternatives. They may not like the results that they are getting, but the comfort of the known is more powerful than the unknown of trying new ideas. When they hear a new idea, they are quick to reject it as “good in theory”.
I see this almost everyday. One of the most common examples is the claim by some contractor that his market won’t bear higher prices. “You don’t understand my market,” they argue. “My customers simply don’t have the money to pay $40 an hour for painting services.”
Such contractors often concede that they must charge $40 (or more) an hour to make a decent wage, but they refuse to consider methods for doing so. On paper (in theory) they agree that they can’t make money charging $25 an hour, but in real life (in practice) they can’t charge more.
Consider what this really means: The facts indicate one thing, but I am going to ignore those facts. I choose to cling to my old ideas, even though I am going broke. All of your fancy math formulas won’t change anything. Your ideas are good in theory, but they won’t work in practice.
If we consider the rate we charge in complete isolation of other facts (or consider only a few other facts), this might be true. But our selling price is not an isolated fact, divorced from many other considerations. Our selling price is a consequence of many factors; the market in which we operate is only one of those factors.
As an example, we have many options when it comes to buying a hamburger. We have McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Jack in the Box, and other fast food restaurants. We have upscale burger joints like Fuddrucker’s. We might have local establishments as well. Each prepares their food differently, uses different condiments, and might even bake their own buns. In other words, each tries to do something different to differentiate themselves. If they didn’t—if their burgers were exactly the same—the price they charge would become the only difference, and consumers would make their choice solely on price.
But the fact that they offer something different adds another element to our choice. When choosing where to get a hamburger, we have other considerations, such as the flavor of the meat or the sides offered or the condiments used or the entire dining experience. We are willing to pay more for a burger at Fuddrucker’s than a burger at McDonald’s. And we expect more in exchange.
The same principle holds true of painting contractors and the prices we charge. If the paint job we offer looks just like the job offered by our competitors, price does become the deciding factor. If our company looks just like everyone else, then price is most important.
Now, you might think that this sounds good in theory, but the fact remains that your market simply won’t bear higher prices. But how do you know? Do you believe this simply because that is what others have told you? Have you truly tried to differentiate your company? Have you tried to become the Fuddrucker’s or are you stuck in McDonald’s mode?
The truth is, if you regard the theory as good, then you must put it into practice. A good theory leads to good results.
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