Customers will ask for discounts for all types of reasons. This is a toss up. You don't go to the grocery store, load up your cart with groceries and then ask for a discount when you check out. Veterans, law enforcement officers, senior citizens, are the most common requested discounts. Keep in mind that some senior citizens have a ton of money stashed away in the bank. Retired engineers, retired NASA employees, retired financial brokers, you name it. Even a veteran who

I have never offered customer financing. Well, let me take that back. I did help out a very few select customers in the past. I let them pay me back over time as they got paid from their work. One was a single mom raising two teenagers. Super human being. It was a real pleasure to help her out. If you are wealthy, you can offer your own financing. You can charge interest too. Make sure you do some background checks on the customer first. You would be surprised at how

This is a tricky one. I don't really ask for any money up front. This includes very expensive jobs. There are many ways to look at it. First, you ask for money when you haven't done any work. Many customers have been taken advantage of because of this. What I like to do is set up a payment schedule. If it is a three week job then divide the payments up by three. The customer can pay at the end of each week. At least this way, they are getting work completed before pa

If you think you get enough of spam email already, brace yourself.  You will get dozens of unsolicited emails every single day for bids, take offs, estimating services, SEO management, and lending.  It’s just down right annoying.  You can block every email but they just keep coming.  Never once have I engaged in these services. Why in the hell do I need someone to do my job? You can reply and ask to be removed from their email distribution list all you want.  They will just e

I bet you didn’t know it but you can get audited by the state. It was a very uncomfortable process.  I am one of those meticulous guys that pays attention to detail and has to have all of his ducks in a row.  So, if you’re not a detail-oriented person, you better become one or hire someone who is.  This will go a long way in covering your ass in down the road.  Keep detailed records on your estimates, work orders, invoices, materials receipts, profits, w-9s, and more.   Havin

There is a lot to learn so my best advice is to find an accountant who knows the industry that you want to work in.  Yes, there is a difference between an accountant whose primary customers are hospitals and healthcare versus one who’s primary customers are construction companies.  There is so much to learn.    For instance, when I created my company, I set up my LLC and I established my EIN.  Now I didn’t open doors and start my business that year.  It was the beginning of t

I am not sure how to address this but getting reviews is like pulling teeth.  You can do the best job in the world and still not get a good review or any review at all.  A customer will tell you so many wonderful things.  The work looks amazing.  The guys were amazing.  I will recommend your company to all of my friends.  They will give your guys cash tips.  They will give you food and make cookies for you.  However, when you ask for that review, you get nothing.  Absolutely

This process is a joke.  You will eventually get screwed. Meaning you will get stiffed by a customer.  You can pay the fees to take them to small claims court.  This is usually a few hundred dollars.  However, be prepared to wait a year or even two years before your day in court.   You can also piss off the customer by suing them and they end up counter suing you.  Now if they don’t show up to court you get a default judgement.  If you don’t show up, they get the default judg

You need to put as much language in your invoice as possible.  This should include payment terms, methods of acceptable payment, and consequences of nonpayment.  Cashier’s checks and money orders are better than personal checks.  Fortunately, in six years I have only had one check bounce.  The customer was very nice and immediately rectified the situation.  In today’s world there are so many different ways to accept payment.  Venmo and Zelle are both very popular.  We encoura

There is that old saying that has been around for decades: The customer is always right. Let me clarify as nicely as I can: Bullshit! My God, if you do this work long enough you will come across the absolute worst customers you can possibly think of. Too bad you can't make your customer take a psychological exam before taking them on as a customer. If you have a customer that is a contractor or states, my dad was a builder, you may want to think long and hard before takin

When you write your estimates, the goal is to make money.  Your profit margin should be reasonable.  It should cover the cost of doing business and making enough money to pay the bills and re-invest into the business.  Expenses such as business insurance, employee benefits, SBA loans, marketing fees, and cost of goods sold should all be considered when calculating your margins.    Things that can affect your margin are poorly written estimates.  Going over on time and driving

This one is always fun.  Be prepared for an onslaught of threats.  I would say about 99 percent of your firings end with threats, foul language and zero accountability.  Maybe it is a blue color mentality. I like to give a person a few chances before letting them go.  I try to coach them as much as possible.  You would think that providing feedback would encourage professional growth.  You will have issues like not coming to work on time, doing shitty work, not cleaning up,

As your business grows you will find yourself needing additional help.  Sub-contractors can provide you with the extra help you need.  These personnel usually get paid on a 1099 basis.  Now let me enlighten you what you can expect.  There are some important things you need from a subcontractor such as cleanliness, neatness, hygiene, timeliness, quality of work, and communication skills.  Good luck finding all of these attributes in one person.  Don’t be alarmed by the presenc

Customer’s sometimes fire contractors.  Well guess what?  Sometimes contractors fire customers too! A customer can be completely overbearing.  They will stand over your shoulder and tell you how to do your job.  They will pick your work apart. They will demean you.  They will complain about the smallest, most insignificant things.  It’s like a game of strength and resolve.  How much can you endure before you throw in the towel.  If feels like their goal is to cut into your pr

This one is scary.  So, you show up to the customer’s house.  You do a walk through and capture the details for the estimate.  You develop a rapport with the customer.  The next thing you know, you’re talking and laughing and boding.  It’s like you’re becoming best friends.  They are so excited to award you the job.  Hell, you haven't even given them an estimate and they have already stated the job is yours. You drive home feeling so good.  Then a few days later the job star

You hear it all the time.  Veteran this, veteran that.  Veteran owned.  Oh, I just want to help out the veteran owned business.  I get it.  Hell, I too am a veteran.  However, the term veteran does not define a person.  There are good veterans and there are shitty veterans.  So don’t just go by the title of veteran.  I have been screwed over royally by several veterans.  Just keep in mind that people are people and a title doesn’t define someone’s personality, integrity, or c

Be careful when doing work for friends and neighbors. This can get ugly really quick and can cost you some relationships.  Imagine doing a job for a neighbor and they get really pissed off at you.  Ultimately you finish the work.  Then you have to chase down your money.  Now they won’t speak to you because of some stupid silly BS that occurred during the job.  So, day after day you get that cold icy stare from once was a friendly daily greeting from thy neighbor.  It’s childi

Make sure you have language in your estimates regarding hidden damages.  Sometimes you open up a wall and find mold, or termite damages.  You need to stop work immediately. You should provide the customer with a new estimate to repair the unseen damages. Now, if it’s mold, you really need to get the customer to hire a company that deals with mold remediation.  Once that is resolved and the customer is given a certificate of completion, you can resume your work.    You will co

Now don’t get me wrong.  I love animals.  I have two dogs of my own.  You are going to see some crazy shit.  I have a pet own owner that had a dog as big as a small horse. Then there is the pet owner that has like 12 dogs.  I have seen all kinds of pets, to include ducks. Those aren’t really big issues. The real issues are the smells and the feces.  You will meet homeowners that let their pets pee and poop in the house.   You also have the pet owner that doesn’t clean the d

Every now and then you will come across someone who smokes a lot.  You can’t even breath when you enter the house.  I had a customer with an insurance claim for water damage.  Part of the repair process in included drywall work and paint.  However, the walls were so yellow from years of cigarette smoke.  During the walk through I noticed ash trays everywhere and lots of bottles of pills too.  I had to excuse myself to step outside to get some fresh air.    You have to find a