If you’ve taken the leap from being a tradesperson to trade business owner, you’ve probably realised that they require very different skill sets. Spending your days on the tools and off the tools are vastly different.
But there are some similarities. Whether you’re building a house or a business, you need the right tools and skills. You need solid foundations. And you need team members with a variety of expertise to work together to complete tasks and reach specific goals.
Without formal business training, many tradespeople turned business owners find they have knowledge gaps in managing their own businesses effectively. And that’s where they can run into trouble.
Don’t panic, help is at hand. Working with a business coach who gets your industry can be a game-changer. Here’s how a business coach can help you to take your trade business to the next level.
How can a business coach help my trade business?
I’ve worked with many trade business owners over the years – plumbers, builders, electricians and more. I’m aware of the problems that tradespeople may have. Below, I’ll go into the unique challenges that you tend to face.
For me, it’s crucial to get to know you as a person first. I’ll ask questions around the typical issues for people in the trade industry as well as those specific to your business. Together, we’ll work through these issues and we’ll devise strategies to resolve them.
I’ll help you to get the business basics in place. Once you have that solid foundation, we can focus on business growth and driving your company to new heights.
Does this testimonial sound familiar?
“I was a builder turned businessman not the other way around. I felt like I’d got to a stage where I’d built up the business to a point and I just needed a little bit of help to take it to the next level.” Patrick Steppel, PML Construction business owner
That’s why many of my tradie clients turn to me for business coaching services.
The challenges trade business owners face
Whilst there will be unique challenges for your business, there are common pain points for tradespeople turned business owners. Trade business coaching can help you to work through these issues and turn your business around.
Control of finances
If you want a profitable business (and why wouldn’t you?!), you need to gain control of your finances. You need a firm grasp of your financial numbers – your profit margins, cashflow, sales conversions etc.
Let’s start with cashflow. Many tradespeople come to me and they don’t know where they’re heading with their cashflow. They don’t know how much money they’ll have in their bank account in 2/3/4 months. It’s so important that you do. Construction businesses with ongoing projects should be able to forecast that.
You’ll have staged payment plans in place for different aspects of the construction project. You should use that to create a cashflow forecast. I have a handy template that I provide to my clients to make that simple.
Have you ever been ‘hit’ with a tax bill that you didn’t see coming? It happens! Avoid taking out loans or making payment plans with HMRC by taking control of cashflow management. Put aside money each month to cover bills.
Another aspect is pricing and profitability. I’ve had trade clients who don’t always know if they’re making a profit on projects. With my expert help, we split out profit and loss information and create financial documents that are easy to track. I ensure my clients know their numbers – it’s absolutely crucial as a business owner.
Business planning
Failing to plan is planning to fail! With a strategic business plan, you’ll have a roadmap to follow to get to your goal. Create measurable metrics for your business and its team members (KPIs). This gives everyone clarity on where you’re heading and how they contribute to that.
Your business plan will span all aspects from management to marketing and sales, trade services to finances and operations. Get the lowdown on business plans for electricians and the construction industry.
Time management
How good are you at stepping away from day-to-day tasks to manage your business? Do you find yourself working weekends and evenings? Perhaps that’s when you do your admin. It doesn’t have to be. An experienced business coach will help you to focus your time and energy in the right areas. This transformative change can have a major impact on your bottom line and overall business satisfaction.
We’ll also look at your processes and ways to streamline operations. Making your business function more efficiently and effectively can boost your profitability. It can also free up your time so that you can spend time away from the business – yes, a personal life can exist for business owners!
Accountability of team members
As a business owner, you become a people leader too. Leadership’s another new skillset to develop. With strong leadership, you’ll have better staff retention and can improve team morale and productivity.
Often the business owner employs someone else to go out on site – an employee or subcontractor. They’re on and you’re off the tools. But if you’re not keeping an eye on them then you can’t guarantee the quality of their work. It may not be as high quality as when you were doing the trade or construction work yourself. That can negatively impact your business and customer satisfaction level.
Keep your team members accountable. Set clear quality standards and metrics to track.
Sales and marketing strategy
With no experience in this area, tradespeople tend not to focus on marketing activities. Things like SEO, social posts, email marketing are all neglected. Regular marketing activity has a positive impact on your business. Your business coach can help you to create a marketing strategy and action plan to promote your trade services.
Similarly, tradespeople generally haven’t had sales training. They’re unaware how to sell their product or service, even though they know it inside out. A clear sales process is crucial for business success, and a business coach can help with that too.
Electrician testimonial: EMS Electrical
Originally from Venezuela, EMS Electrical business owner Vicente needed to get to grips with working in a new environment. He knew all about electrical leads, but not how sales leads and conversions worked. Vicente wanted to improve revenue growth for his business, and also to reclaim time for himself. That’s why he turned to me at ActionCOACH for guidance and support.
“I had to understand what is a lead, conversion rate, customer acquisition…I can’t even believe it. Now I’m using a sales system. That was a big change.” Vicente Romano, EMS Electrical, Reading, Berkshire.
Take a look at more of our success stories
Construct a better future for your business and yourself
You may be a construction industry expert and a skilled craftsperson, but that doesn’t equip you with the best tools to run a successful business. That’s why working with an experienced business coach who understands your trade can positively impact your business.
I’m passionate about helping tradespeople like you to build a better business. Together, we can work on the skills you need to lead your business and position it for success. Plus, I’ll help you to manage your time so that your life isn’t solely about work. You can get a work-life balance, I promise you!
If you’d like to find out more about my business coaching services, please drop me a message.
