One mistake that most tradies and builders make in their business is thinking like “just” a tradie or builder… rather than what they really are.
A business owner.
If your mind is thinking “tools” rather than “business” then it’s a slippery slope down.
You don’t feel obligated to do whatever you can to make your business successful.
It might sound tiresome to have an obligation, but isn’t getting your business to where you want it to be the main purpose of setting up a business in the first place?
Unless if you’re okay with just “getting by” – it’s okay to have a customer, it’s okay to not have a customer.
But if you’re goal is to get the most out of your business, then you better start thinking like a business owner.
Here are several ways on how to do it:
1. Be Passionate
“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
If you are passionate about what you do, it will never wear you out. Even if you get tired physically and mentally from working day to day, you wouldn’t want to stop.
Why?
You love what you do.
You might have heard of employees who seem like all they can see in their job is something to complain about…
They’re not productive, they don’t feel any sense of fulfillment and it’s because they are not passionate about what they do. You might ask, “What if I don’t love what I’m doing, but I have no choice but to do it? How can I learn to love it then?”
Simple.
Find something good about your job instead of just looking around for something to complain about.
It might be simple things like we have a good spot for our office, you have a complete set of tools at hand, or your office staff makes the best coffee.
Even if it’s small, if you keep looking for something good, it’ll improve how you see everything else.
You’ll start finding solutions to problems instead of just being stuck with it.
2. Be Hungry
And I don’t mean for food.
When you’re hungry, you are not satisfied or content with just what you have in front of you.
You want more, you want to improve, you want to keep moving forward.
You can’t be content with just having 1 or 2 customers per month, you’re not okay with projects being late, and you certainly are not satisfied with unproductive contractors.
You always want more and you should always want the best. Remember, you are not aiming for just “getting by”.
3. Take Risks
This is one of the things that everyone seems to be afraid of.
Taking a risk… and failing.
If you’re afraid of failing, you won’t want to start doing something new.
You will not be open to changes and with that, you’ll get left behind in your industry.
However, taking risks lets you into a world full of possibilities.
Using that new building software might help you finish your projects quicker.
Not doing your quotes and bids for free would remove the tyre kickers, and increase your legitimacy.
Don’t be afraid to take risks… unless if you want to stay in the same place forever.
4. Get Good
In the construction industry, there are always new rules or new ways of getting things done.
Train yourself and your contractors.
Don’t get left behind.
Improve yourself every day by reading construction magazines or articles about business.
Be informed on the new technologies you can use for your job. Prospects would be more likely to trust you if they see that you really know what you are doing.
So don’t slack, train up, read up and get good.
Becoming a business owner is not easy, but it’s not impossible to do. It might be challenging, but depending on your perception, these challenges might be fun.
So do you want to keep on complaining about the problems like an employee and not get anywhere?
Or would you rather think like a business owner, find solutions to the problem and get your business moving?
