Your five-point personal action plan for January
Saturday, January 02nd, 2021
This 2021 plan for builders could help you personally whether you’re a building firm owner or manager. It’s not another new years resolution article. And we’re not suggesting you aim big or set your sights high. But we know that many builders want to nail 2021 after the nightmare that was 2020. But don’t hang around. Your competitors could in all seriousness be already working on 2022 quotes…
1. Set small (realistic) goals. We’ve got some ideas.
Don’t go all in. It can be overwhelming. We’ve provided a whole list of different ‘small goal’ suggestions here. As you pick off each small step you get closer to the bigger goal. No one starts out running a marathon and it’s no different when it comes to making positive plans for you and your business. Ignore the ‘think big’ messages all over social media.
2. Fill the cracks in your admin
How efficiently is your business running? How are you managing each project? Do you know what materials you need at any one time? Who needs to be where? Could you press a button and see what jobs are profitable? Is the health and safety paperwork for each new phase of a job ready to be presented or acted on? Is each new job nicely tied up with a bow – contract, covering letter, schedule of payments…
Of course we’re going to say all the problems can be solved on your computer. But it’s true. Take a look at our article on the exact software tools that could help make your admin rock solid.
3. Keep educating yourself
I’m not talking an Open University course… I just mean keeping on top of your construction knowledge. New methods. New materials. New rules. Have you heard about ‘digital transformation’? In construction specifically, digital transformation is about using technology to solve traditional problems.
‘You’re on mute’. If you’ve used Zoom you know what I’m talking about. That’s digital. Your bookkeeping probably went ‘digital’ years ago. But that tends to be where it starts and finishes. Think how much better your quoting would be if it came from digital drawings? Or how organised your health and safety paperwork would be digitally stored, automatically completed, and available in different formats at the touch of a button?
4. Talk to the right people
Being positive won’t guarantee success, but being negative will guarantee it won’t happen… You know the ‘fun sponges’ out there who suck the life out people’s ambitions. They’ll tell you not to waste your money, don’t believe the hype, better the devil you know, you’ll never get your head round IT, now’s not the time to start tinkering with the business…
Fortunately there are just as many positive people in the world. Take advice from those who can help you reframe your thinking. Talk to family, friends and work colleagues – people who will encourage you to take a step into the ‘unknown’, whether it’s a new software programme or the type of work you would like to go after. 2021 demands a different way of thinking.
If you need an independent ear, then you can always call The Better Business Group, network partners of HBXL. The clue is in the name. They’ll give you an hour of their time completely free to hear about your business and make some initial observations. Read about them here.
5. Enjoy yourself!
Hopefully you enjoy what you do as a builder or business owner. But there’s more to life than apex roofs and evening’s spent estimating. Over the years we’ve heard some tragic stories of relationship breakdowns and general absenteeism that come from being knee deep in paperwork. Build in time for you, your family and your mates. And if you use the points we’ve listed above, free time will automatically follow. Just our estimating software EstimatorXpress, alone, could buy you literally weeks and weeks of freedom each year, it’s that effective.
What next?
Give some thought to our 2021 plan for builders. Phone us on 0117 916 7898 for a chat about taking your business up a gear. Busy now doesn’t mean busy in nine months time. The savvy businesses will ‘mend the roof while the sun is shining’. To really nail 2021, book yourself an online demonstration of one of our software tools. You can set it up here or give the team a call.
