Stefan KazakisThe construction industry in Australia produces about $400 billion in revenue and is expected to grow due to the demand for homes and buildings. As new construction is on the rise and the need for maintenance on older buildings rises, the demand for experienced trades is increasing every year. With the many opportunities available in the industry, the competition for work has also steadily increased.
It can be difficult to single out your business against the many competitors throughout the construction industry, including HVAC, roofing, plumbing, and more. On top of that, running a business in an industry with thin margins can lead to a lot of work without much profitability or taking on too much work, and not having enough time off. These are just a few of the many frustrations our clients face when managing their business. However, we find that one of the best ways to grow your business is to use a business coach, a professional with the experience and skills who can help you overcome the struggles your business is facing.
Not Enough Business
One of the most common frustrations that our clients face is not having enough business backlog, or a lack of consistency in work so that they are not productive during the off-season. This frustration is widely held for all types of trades, including electricians, roofers, insulation installers, and more. With a trade business coach, you can get help from someone who has experience in marketing and strategizing on how to effectively find work and increase billable work across the board. Getting business in the door involves more than just cold calling and posting advertisements, but involves building a reputation and brand for your business. A coach can bring the experience necessary to help you improve your firm’s reputation, branding, and image and help clients find you.
Lack of Profit
Some of our clients find that the amount of work they have is more than enough, but for some reason or another, there isn’t much profitability in their business. The construction industry can often have thin margins, such as in-service calls or roofing jobs. Also, when growing your business, it can be difficult to determine the right amount of employees and resources you need and end up needlessly increasing your overhead expenses. A business coach can help you review your expenses and profits, place strategies on how to effectively expand, and help increase your profitability. Many of our clients have seen 20 - 25% revenue growth of their business within a short amount of time, leading to more income and opportunities for growth.
Not Enough Time Off
Many construction trades switch to running a business to ‘get off the tools’ and move away from their trade. The reason for this is often to free up time, stop working past normal working hours, and ultimately spend more time on what they find important. However, as the needs of the business grow, business owners often find themselves managing a variety of responsibilities, including marketing, managing teams, finances, and more. With an online business coach, it is more than just having a mentor or guide, but can also help to reduce the stresses of managing a business. With a business coach, you’ll have someone with you to help with the different challenges you face and speak from experience on the best decisions you can make. A business coach takes on some of the challenges in the business and can help you truly ‘get off the tools.
Can’t Convert Enquiries
Some of our clients have had success in receiving inquiries for their services but are unable to convert them into sales. This could be due to several reasons, from cost, availability, type of response, and many other factors. Also, the frustration with the lack of conversion of inquiries includes more than just lost sales, but sunk costs in creating proposals and wasted time and effort. A business coach can help you better understand your clients, what they’re looking for, help you find the strength and weaknesses in your proposal and ultimately help you to convert your inquiries into sales. The fact that your business is receiving inquiries means you only need to take the next step into really launching your business forward. A business coach can help you identify the areas of your proposal system and help you land more clients.
Business Coaching
It’s a common myth that business coaches are only for struggling or failing businesses, but they are employed by all types of businesses. Regardless of where your business is, business coaching programs will work with you to identify your business's mission statements, short and long-term goals, strategies, and ultimately to help you take the next step forward.
Many of our clients were successful tradespeople who have switched to running and managing a business instead. However, many of our clients recognize that similar to the skills needed to perform their trade work, a different set of skills are needed to successfully manage and grow a company. Also, just as you can’t expect to learn how to do trade work without any schooling or experience, the same can be said about running a business. A business coach is someone with the skills, experience, and education to help you expand your business and help you set yourself up for success.
Unsure whether your business could benefit from business coaching or not?
Try taking our 3-minute business health check-up for free. This survey will help you identify the areas in your business that will be able to excel further under a business coach. This survey only takes three minutes to do and will provide some suggestions and areas for improvement in your business.
At Business Benchmark Group, we provide business coaching programs to clients across the construction industry. We’ve helped numerous clients identify their weaknesses and provide them the experience and skills necessary to successfully grow their business. We have vast experience in providing mentoring and coaching to electrical contractors, roofing contractors, HVAC service businesses, and many more. We hold many free events throughout the year, including the Tradie Challenge and many online webinars.
Contact us today to see how we can help take your business take the next step forward!