From Tangles to Triumphs: A Dynamic Blueprint for Painting Contractors to Overhaul Life and Business
If you find yourself in a professional rut, constantly grumbling about your bank account, time management, or customer relations, you might be the one to blame. Tired of the complaints about your employees or the general state of your life? Is it always someone else's fault, be it illegal workers, unlicensed guys, or even your mother-in-law? Today, we're cutting the excuses.
In this enlightening article, I will discuss three simple steps on how to amend your current situation. If you're ready to stop bemoaning and start transforming, read on.
Step One: Get Honest
The initial step to transforming your situation is simple, yet complex: be honest with yourself. Over the years, I've conversed with several contractors who voiced their discontent about how things were going in their business. One contractor, in particular, had been battling for months to make his business profitable. After numerous discussions and self-reflection, he made the brave decision to close his business. His decision was not about another failed business but about acknowledging that, for some reason, things were not falling into place, causing him and his family significant stress.
The point here is simple. If you're dissatisfied with your bank account, time management, or any other aspect of your life, start by being brutally honest. Understand that there's no shame in being truthful with yourself. Sometimes, pressing that reset button, taking a pause, and realigning your thoughts and plans might be just what you need. On the other hand, if your honesty points towards procrastination or a lack of commitment, it's time to rectify that. The bottom line? To improve your current situation, you must first take an honest look at yourself.
Step Two: Choose Success
After honesty, the next step is to choose success. Remember, your current situation is a result of your choices. If you're not successful, it's simply because you haven't chosen to be. If your bank account isn't as bountiful as you'd like, it's because you've chosen to have it that way.
So, ask yourself: what do you really want? This question might sound redundant, but without clarity, your situation is doomed to remain as it is. Many contractors, and people in general, often fail to define what they truly want.
A contractor once called me with a goal to build a five million dollar company, his rationale being that he would be able to pay himself a salary of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. After a fruitful conversation, he realized that what he truly desired was not a five million dollar company but a personal income of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He didn't want the hassles of managing numerous trucks and employees. After getting clear on what he truly desired, he could reverse engineer the necessary actions to achieve his goal.
Success, as it turns out, is highly subjective. Do not fall into the trap of adopting someone else's definition of success. Just because every other contractor in your industry may have a three-million-dollar business and five trucks on the road, it doesn't necessarily translate into success for you. After being honest with yourself, spend some time defining what success looks like for you. Once you have that target, aim for it and don't stop until you hit your bullseye.
Step Three: Take Action
Now that you're honest and clear on your goals, it's time for action. This is where theory meets reality. One straightforward approach to changing your results is to start doing the opposite of what you've been doing.
We advise contractors not to do free bids like everyone else in the industry. Instead, we suggest having a 15-minute conversation with potential clients before committing to a site visit. This approach not only saves time but also results in increased profitability.
There's a clear pattern here: clarity and consistency. A clear target and consistent action. For example, let's say you're a painting contractor and you've decided that instead of merely growing your business by two hundred and fifty thousand dollars this year, you want to sell two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of interior paint jobs in the first quarter. This is clarity.
To meet this target, identify three actions you could take daily. One action could be calling five people for whom you completed exterior paint jobs last year to let them know you also do interior painting. Another action could be creating a list of the top five producing real estate agents in your area and getting to know them over lunch. The third could be following up on all the open interior paint bids that you've proposed over the last six months. These three actions all point towards your goal of selling two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of interior paint jobs in the first quarter.
Conclusion
As we wrap up this deep dive into restructuring your life and business, remember it is one choice away to turn your situation around. Don't settle for the mediocre life and business you've been tolerating. Choose success and don't let self-deceit tell you otherwise. Yes, there are circumstances beyond our control, but most of our success (or lack thereof) lies within our control because of our mindset and actions.
To reiterate, be honest, get clear on your targets, and take three daily actions towards your goal. Follow these steps, and you'll find that your situation can change pretty damn quickly. You're just a few honest moments and deliberate actions away from reshaping your world. Get to work!
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