I have talked about focusing your attention on just the 1, 2, or maybe 3 things you do well and make the most profit on. Doing a good job of advertising and promoting those things will get you the lions share of the business in your area on those particular type of jobs. This takes a good advertising campaign and a little time, but it works.
Brian Tracy talked about profitability recently in a newsletter that he sent out. He said: “You begin your profit analysis by determining the exact gross sales revenues that you receive from a product or service after all subtractions for defects, returns, breakage, etc. Take every single deduction so that your gross dollar amount is completely accurate, and you are crystal-clear about the exact amount you are netting from sales.”
Brian went on to say: “You will probably find that fully half of your product and service offerings are generating very little profit or even causing you to lose money with every sale. A turnaround specialist would immediately either raise the prices of the low-profit items or discontinue them altogether.”
Amen. Focus your efforts where you make the most profit, stop doing everything for everybody. It is hard if not impossible to be all things to all people, and in business that approach can be costly.
Stay focused my friends, do what you make the most money doing.
The knowledge and experience Michael Stone gained in his 60+ years in construction has helped thousands of contractors improve their businesses and their lives. He is the author of the books Markup & Profit Revisited, Profitable Sales, and Estimating Construction Profitably, and is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.