Are you the same person you were as the New Year started a WHOLE year ago, but you WANTED to change?

Let’s talk a little about that issue. Same old, same old, different day! I’ll bet the year flew by and you ran out of time to make the changes to your life to become “who you wanted to become.” Life moves quickly, daily emergencies come up; insignificant tasks are on your lists, others use up your time and on it goes until the day is over. Then the week is over, then the month is over, and finally it’s a new year and you haven’t become “who you wanted to become.”

As a businessman, you have a list of things you need to accomplish each day you arrive at your business. That list could be on paper, on your cell phone, on your computer, in your head, or in a planner. Of course the list is long and daily you have a number of items you just don’t get to start or finish. Those items seem to keep rolling forward to the next day, the next week, or the next month. These often are the things we need to be doing to become “who you want to become.”

You also have a calendar with things scheduled for certain datesand times.These could be meetings, seminars, conventions, vacation, kid’s ball games, a social event or perhaps a golf outing. Most of these are based on outside influences and demands. When you take a close look at your calendar, you find that there is little or no time left for “who you wanted to become.”

"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right."

Henry Ford

Schedule less about what to get done than who you want to become!

To become “who you want to become”, requires a commitment of time, energy and perhaps money. Let’s look at a couple of possible examples. We’ll look at a business related scenario and a personal related scenario.

Business

You would like to grow your business but since you came up as a Technician, you really don’t really understanding of the financial side of your business. You have said you need to do something about that but another year has gone by and you’re not making any more that you did when you worked for someone else. Then another year goes by and the same thing all over again! Time for a timeout! Time to put a couple of hours aside (your business won’t fail if you do this). You need to analyze the options. You could go a local junior college and take classes in finance and accounting. You could take some online classes in finance and accounting. This is not the best option since it’s too easy to sluff it off and never get the financial understanding you need to improve your business. You could hire a business coach to work with you in your business and teach you the fundamentals of finance and accounting. These are just a couple of options. Surely there are more.

Now comes the hard part. You must change your life in some way to accomplish this goal no matter which choice you make to move forward. To truly become “who you want to become” you will need to put a much higher priority on understanding the financial side of your business than you might have in the past. If you take classes at a junior college, you will need to attend the classes (time), do the studying and assignments (energy), and pay for the classes (money). The same would apply if you took online classes with the exception that it would require a lot more energy to learn what is needed that a classroom setting. If you hired a business coach, time, energy and a lot more money would be involved to get the understanding that you need. The upside is there would be someone right there with you as problems and concerns arose. Change is required to become “who you want to become.”

There is one more issue to keep in mind and that is balance in your life. You still need time, energy and money for your personal life of family, friends, home, and recreation.

Personal

You enjoy playing golf with some friends and you’re able to play 9 holes 2-3 times a month with

them. Your handicap is 25 and has been for years. In fact a couple of years ago it was 23 so you have slipped a little. Some weekends you’re able to watch an hour or so of the PGA Pros play and deep down you would like to play more like them. You realize you’re a contractor and not a golf pro but a score in the low to mid 80’s would be a dream for you. For this dream to come true, you would need to commit a heck of a lot more time, energy and money to achieve that dream!

This will require ongoing lessons and coaching for as long as several years to change your game on a consistent basis. This is a real money, energy and time commitment. It would also require hours and hours at the driving range to practice what you have been taught, more time energy and money. And it will also require playing much more frequently to maintain the consistency and feel to shoot the lower scores and become “who you want to become.”

Here also there is another issue to keep in mind and that is balance in your life. You still need time, energy and money for your personal life of family, friends, home, recreation and your business. 

It's a New Year

So as we start a new year, are you going to become “who you want to become” or are you going to repeat last year and the year before and the year before that? You decide!

 Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. 

Contact him @ Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com

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13 Small Simple Actions to Change Your Company Culture

Being an owner or manager in a service business is fast paced, grinding, and can be total consuming

of all your faculties and inter-resources. This also holds true for your inside staff and your field Technicians. So here are 13 tips to improve the culture in your company by small things you as a manager or owner can do on a regular basis.

1.       Morning Greeting

As you walk in and some of your staff is already at the office, greet each one by name and with a positive greeting. I know you often come in with things on your mind, or lack of sleep, but this can give your staff a boost which can carry over to the customers they touch that day.

2.       Feed the Crew

Having a meeting? Stop at Mickey D’s or Dunkin Donuts and bring in something for them to eat. It doesn’t need to be exotic or expensive. They will feel you care about them. Be sure to recognize any food allergies or dietary issues and take care of those individuals also.

3.       Acknowledge

Acknowledge years of service with your company for each employee. You can do this on social media, send them a card, post it on the company bulletin board, have a cake with their name on it,  or even have something like a special hat or jacket for 1 year of service, 5 years of service, 10 years of service and so on.

4.       Celebrate

ALWAYS celebrate wins. When you reach a goal within the company such as meeting the monthly budget for sales and profit, reaching a specific number of Maintenance Agreements, excellent customer reviews, or a successful change within the company celebrate. This can be as simple as an announcement at a meeting or something more like lunch for everyone. Be sure to include everyone and show the benefit of the success to the employee.

5.       Orient

When a new employee comes into a company, they have a great sense of uneasiness. Introduce them to every employee you can. Let them know who to go to for payroll, uniforms, truck issues, in the warehouse and so on. When they agree to come on board, send them a letter welcoming them and their family to your family (company).

6.       Suggestion Box

Have a suggestion box where employees can express their ideas on improving the company. When a suggestion saves the company money or greatly improves customer service and revenue, acknowledge that suggestion and reward the employee. Incidentally, all suggestions must be answered by management within 1-2 weeks with an answer why or why not the suggestion will be implemented. If you don’t, the employees will stop giving suggestions.

7.       Ring the Bell

Have a bell and ring it when a replacement system is sold, a maintenance agreement is sold, or an add-on sale by a Technician. People like wins so celebrate wins. Casinos have bells, sirens, lights, and other devices to acknowledge wins.

8.       Post Results

Post goals and employee results to meet those goals. This could be sales, maintenance agreement sales, CSR sales, number of customer calls vs. closes and so on. This will increase sales just by posting and create some competition among employees. Also post a simple monthly company financial statement for all employees to view.

9.       Play Games

With the daily grind, employees get bored and their job becomes a heavy task each day. Have some games from time to time. Have everyone bring in a baby picture and post it. See if someone can guess whose picture each one is and have a small prize for the most correct guesses.  There are books with ideas for games that companies can play.

10.   Think Family

Each employee has a family outside of your business that is very important to them. Many employees are lost because of issues outside of work that deal with family. Look at your company policies and view them from an employee and family perspective. When you have a company activity, such as a Christmas party or picnic, think about making them family focused to include spouses, important others, and kids.

11.   Safety

Be sure to have a safety manual for the company and be a stickler for safety in the office, warehouse, and on the jobsites. Think of safety as an employee benefit that is reasonable to conduct and tells each employee that you care about them. If you bypass safety issues they feel you don’t care for their wellbeing and will not give their best to the company.

12.   Image

The image of your company is displayed every day by your trucks, employees and building. Employees don’t want to work for a company with dirty bathrooms, messy warehouses, poor uniforms, filthy office carpets, and so on. They want to work for the companies with the best images because it is a direct reflection on them. This is not an overnight or cheap change for some of you but if you make strides in the right direction without back-sliding, they will notice the change.

13.   Career

Most employees are looking for a career not just a job. For each employee, layout a career path they can achieve over a period of time. I would suggest over the next 5 years. There should be title changes as they advance, improved compensation, company provided training, and direction for them. They should have specific goals and skills to reach in order to move to the next level. They should be evaluated at least yearly but I would recommend semi-annually. Your employees are being enticed by other companies with opportunities. What are their opportunities at your company? Show them!

14.   Bonus Idea

A simple “Thank You” to an employee for doing a great job or going beyond the call of duty, goes a very long way!

Change Starts

Change starts at the top. These are “nice ideas” but if you don’t change and implement them or other cultural changes, your company will not change for the better. The culture will not improve and you will continue to struggle with many more employee issues and greater turnover.

Help

Need help with change? Give me a call or email me, I can help if you are ready for cultural change.

You can get more information at our website www.SayYesToSuccess.com 

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com

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Can Your Business Have Too Much Profit?

The service business is an interesting business. It has its ups and its downs. The downs are often related to weather in the HVAC service business. A cool summer or a warm winter can slow down the customer’s need for service and reduce the opportunities for system replacements since the systems aren’t taxed with mild weather. The plumbing, HVAC and electrical service businesses are usually affected by poor economic times. When customers are concerned about their income and expenses they tend to let maintenance and service go or look for cheaper (in their eyes) alternatives such as friends or a handyman.

What Contractors tend to do

Contractors tend to tighten up the purse strings when the economy is slow or the weather does not cooperate. They put off new trucks, computers, tools, and needed repairs on those items. After all, they need to meet payroll, satisfy suppliers and pay their taxes. I’ve been there and done that through several recessions and a number of poor weather seasons. That’s what a small business does to survive.

Many of my clients had very good years in 2013. Some even had record growth and record profits. In Michigan, the cold weather of December and January resulted in the phones ringing. At least two of my clients had record January sales and profits. What a way to start the year. But, what happens when a service business has a very good year or even a very good month?

High Five Times

Often the first reaction is of joy and high fives as it should be. Then suppliers and other vendors are paid so accounts with them are current, again as it should be. But here comes the concern I have that a profitable year or even a very profitable month causes owners to spend on computer upgrades, trucks, tools, give oversized wage increases, and buy stuff for owner use. They don’t do it at a reasonable pace but tend to forget about the need to have some reserves since another stretch of tough months may be ahead. Funds are spent with the thought that the next month or season will also be very profitable. They also forget about paying down on their line of credit since the bank may only require a payment of interest or minimal principle.

Ant or Grasshopper

The Ant and the Grasshopper, also known as The Grasshopper and the Ant (or Ants), is one of Aesop's Fables, providing a lesson about the virtues of hard work and planning for the future. Similarly as business owners, we should be storing up our abundance for the difficult times that inevitably will be coming. When we are prepared for slower business, we can pay our vendors on time often getting better pricing and terms. We can get materials without scrambling around to try and get them since our credit may be tarnished. We can be prepared to take on additional opportunities when business picks up. Financial reserves give a business a better chance for survival and a chance to grab opportunities when they present themselves.

The answer is NO a business cannot have too much profit but the profit must be used wisely.

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Check us out at www.SayYesToSuccess.com.

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Are You this Committed?

Wish it or Will it!

We are quickly moving into 2010. The start of a New Year is a time that many of us make New Year’s resolutions. We are going to lose weight, get into shape, be more disciplined in following our faith, or kick a bad habit. It’s a time to change our ways! It’s a time for new beginnings, a time for improving ourselves, a time to make the New Year even better than the last year. We takeoff with a wish to change and many of us don’t have the will to change and the result is we fail. By the time February comes, the new exercise equipment is gathering dust, the few pounds we lost in the first weeks of January are back as our spare tire, and we still have that bad habit!
The same happens as we start a New Year and make some vague plans to improve our business. We’re going to make a profit this year. We’re going to grow and add a couple of technicians this year. We’re going to get rid of that problem employee this year. We’re going to start saving for our retirement this year, and so on and so on…. Each of these may be the exact thing your business needs in 2010, but my guess is it is the exact thing your business needed at the beginning of 2009 and maybe several year beginning’s prior! How do we get out of this cycle of “Goal Failure”?
Perhaps these ideas will help change the yearly “goal failure” in your business and possibly your personal life. First, the goals need to be written, then they must be very specific, and they must have a time frame for completion. Now for the hard part of the first step, you need to share your goals with someone who will hold you accountable. This could be your spouse or a friend.
Second, post your goals where you will see them almost every day. To paraphrase Earl Nightingale, “You become what you think about all day long”. Seeing the goals continually will keep them on top of your mind and what you think about. Put them up on your wall, on a 3x5 card that you carry in your pocket, on your “Outlook” calendar every day of the year so they come up as you start up your computer.
Finally, I would recommend that you mark your “Outlook“ calendar for a review of your goals every 2 months. Things do change, and you may need to change a goal or two. Who knows, you may be so far ahead of your goal that you need to set a higher goal before the end of the year.
Need some forms for the New Year to help set goals for your business? You can go to our website, www.SayYesToSuccess.com, and go to the “Free Stuff” tab. Near the bottom of the page are several free forms to begin a Successful 2010. Remember “Say Yes To Success in 2010”!