2022 was another unprecedented year in the home improvement industry. The global inflation crisis and tight labor market continued to cut into contracting business’ profits and affect the way businesses operate.
Many had to increase their prices to keep up thereby squeezing a lot of small businesses to their breaking point. Hearth wants to give you the tools and resources you need to win more jobs and simplify your business.
Here are some things to tackle in 2022 as you head into 2023 that can help grow and streamline your business.
1. Get organized
Getting your business organized is a big win when it comes to saving time and money. The boring mundane paperwork that you’ve just been letting sit around can cost your business cash if you’re not organizing and filing it correctly. Organizing things like receipts or employee files improperly can literally cost you money if you need a professional to come in and clean up your mess.
Don’t let your job profits go to cleaning up after yourself. Invest in the right tools to organize your back office like HR software or invoicing/accounting software.
2. Clean up your leads
There are probably some leads that you reached out to that didn’t pan out. Either they didn’t pick up or you went out to their property, gave them a quote, and they ghosted you. Now is a perfect opportunity to open that door again by reaching out to your colder leads. We’ve found that most homeowners who reach out to a contractor for a job and don’t immediately will more than likely buy in the next year.
That could be you!
Reach out with a simple text or email message. You can even call ‘em!
“Hey, I know that we talked about your ___ project a little while back. I wanted to check back in with you to see if you got that job done. I would love to come back out and give you another quote.”
3. Reconcile any overdue invoices
As a business owner, it’s important to make sure that all your invoices are paid on time. But, we know that’s not always the case. Overdue invoices that sit unpaid are taking more time and money from your pockets the longer they remain unpaid. It makes sense to spend time every day figuring out a plan to use reminders like phone calls, texts, and emails to reach homeowners with unpaid invoices.
4. Set up appointments in advance
Calling your colder (no pun intended) leads right now might lead to a lot of “Call me later.” But, don’t let them brush you off that easily. Set up a consultation visit at the most convenient time for them. It could be weeks or months ahead of time. Put it on their calendar, and make sure that you send consistent reminders leading up to the day that you’re visiting so they don’t forget.
5. Set your goals
It’s easy to tell someone to set their goals, but you need to set your sights on a target and make a plan around how you’re going to achieve them. At Hearth, we use SMART goals to make sure that what we have planned is within our reach.
SMART stands for:
- S – Specific: Make sure your goals are clear and as details as possible
- M – Measurable: Choose what metrics you’re going to use to measure your progress and make sure you check in on your progress throughout the year
- A – Attainable: Make sure you can achieve your goals within reason. You might want to sell $200M in roofs next year, but could you really achieve that?
- R – Relevant: Your goals should align with your values and overall business goals
- T – Time-based: Set a due date so you can prioritize tasks
6. Cut costs
The “slow season” is a great time to take a look at your budget and expenses to make smart choices about what you’re spending too much money on. A great way to start is to look for things that you own, rent, lease, or subscribe to that you do not use often. Ask your employees if there’s anything that they’ve found especially hard to use or not very helpful.
You can either remove the service or renegotiate with the provider for a lower rate.
You can also find other ways to cut costs like renegotiating supplier contracts or investing in digital tools that will cut down on employee time spent on menial, administrative tasks.
7. Invest and write off
The end of the year is a great time to find deals for equipment, software, or other products you need to run your business. You can also use the time before the new year to invest in things for the business that you can use to lower your tax bill. You can also do this after the new year. Just make sure to save those receipts!
We suggest speaking with your bookkeeper or accounting professional before going on a shopping spree to make sure what you’re doing is right for your business.
We can help you streamline your business
If you’re finding yourself still using carbon copy invoices or working in spreadsheets after the workday trying to track your leads or make sense of how your business is doing, you’re wasting your time.
Put plainly, there’s an easier way to run your business within your reach that doesn’t require a lot of work to get started.
Hearth’s client management, digital quotes, contracts, invoices, payments, and banking all work together to help you win more jobs and get paid faster.
