Blog
Guides for home-service owners tagged "growth".
A practical system for asking every customer for a Google review at the right moment, staying inside Google's rules, and answering negative reviews without making things worse.
What it really takes to go out on your own as an HVAC contractor, from licensing and refrigerant certification to pricing, cash flow and your first maintenance customers.
How home-service businesses can see the slow season coming, build a cash cushion, keep their crews, and fill the calendar with maintenance, memberships and planned work.
A plain-spoken guide for licensed plumbers thinking about going out on their own, covering licensing, choosing a niche, stocking a truck, pricing and getting the phone to ring.
Ten numbers that tell a home-service owner how the business is really doing, how to calculate each one, how often to check it and what to do when it moves.
How to go from a mower in the garage to a real lawn care company, with tight routes, sensible equipment choices, recurring billing and a plan for the off-season.
How Google decides which plumbers, HVAC companies and lawn services show up for local searches, and the handful of things a small shop can do about it without hiring an agency.
A practical guide to launching a residential cleaning business, from insurance and bonding to pricing, checklists, recurring clients and hiring your first cleaner the right way.
Clear roles, fair pay, separate money, family meetings and a succession plan: practical habits for home-service businesses run by spouses, parents and kids.
How Google's pay-per-click search ads and pay-per-lead Local Services Ads differ, which suits which kind of service business, and how to work out what a booked job really costs you.
Equipment, soft washing, wastewater rules, insurance and pricing by the surface, plus how to fill your calendar with repeat exterior cleaning work.
When Facebook and Instagram ads make sense for a trade business, which jobs they sell well, how to set up a first campaign, and how to tell whether it is paying off.
A grounded look at starting a roll-off dumpster company, from the truck and the first cans to landfill accounts, pricing with included days and tons, and keeping cans earning.
What new home inspectors need to sort out before the first inspection, from state licensing and E&O insurance to pre-inspection agreements, report turnaround and working with real estate agents.
How to design a simple referral program for a home-service business, choose rewards that make sense for both sides, and keep referrals coming without nagging customers.
The handful of emails every service business should send, a simple yearly schedule, how to write them so people read them, and the rules that keep you out of the spam folder.
How to turn being handy into a real business, including which jobs you can legally take, how to price small mixed jobs, handling materials and finding the customers who call again and again.
How technicians can present options in the customer's home in a way that feels like advice, not a sales pitch, from the walk-through to "I need to think about it."
A practical guide to launching an auto detailing business, from choosing mobile or a shop to building packages, pricing by vehicle size and condition, and earning repeat maintenance washes.
Who to offer a maintenance plan to, what techs and office staff should actually say, how to answer the common objections, and how to track whether your team is selling them.
For tradespeople ready to run whole projects, a guide to licensing, contracts, subcontractors, estimating, payment schedules, change orders and keeping clients informed through a multi-week job.
How to tell which field service features a small or mid-size contractor really needs, which enterprise features are worth growing into, and the warning signs that you're buying too much or too little.
Licensing and insurance rules differ in every state, so instead of a list that goes out of date, here is a method for finding exactly what applies to you, plus the questions to ask each office and agent.
How to work out how much to raise prices, when to do it, how to tell recurring customers and members, and what to say when someone pushes back.
The signs that spreadsheets, paper and a shared calendar are holding your service business back, a simple way to put a dollar figure on it, and how to make the move without losing a week.
A short, practical business plan for a trades or home-service company, built around the numbers that matter, with a section-by-section outline and a worked break-even example you can adapt.
Why most service businesses lose customers they've already won, and the practical habits, records and follow-ups that bring them back for the next job.
Why good technicians leave, and the practical things a small shop can do about it, from fair schedules and real training to a career ladder people can see.
A plain-English overview of the common business structures for contractors and home-service owners, what each one generally means, and the specific questions to bring to your accountant and attorney.
How lead marketplaces work for home-service businesses, how to calculate your real cost per job, and the habits that separate contractors who make them pay from those who don't.
How customer financing works for home-service jobs, the difference between contractor lending programs and pay-over-time at checkout, what it costs you and how to offer it honestly.
Why so many service quotes go quiet, and a practical system for sending estimates faster, presenting them clearly and following up in a way that wins work without pestering anyone.
The signs that a one-person service business is ready for its first hire, a worked example of the true cost of a technician, and what to set up before day one so the hire actually frees you up.
