One of our most popular business coaches is Paul Winans.  Many of you know Paul from his days as President of NARI or from his many blog posts and articles in the industry press.  Today, many of our members call on Paul to share practical steps they can take to improve their company performance.

Many times, these steps include a thoughtful assessment of your business situation and tactics to reduce stress and help understanding that it won’t always be like this.  If you’re feeling burnt out and overwhelmed, listen to Paul as he shares what he learned from being a remodeling company owner just like you.

Tomorrow Will Come

In my work as a consultant to remodelers I am hearing from clients about the challenges they are facing. A downturn looks different in each person’s world. A signed job (or two or three) is canceled. Permitting obstacles delay or prevent a project from starting. Pricing pressures tempt or force the reduction or absence of profit, as work is needed simply to cover overhead. And so on.

It is worth noting that there are remodelers who have work and are doing more than well. Why? To some extent the answer to this question is the same for both situations, both good and not so good. For most remodeling companies, getting the job or not makes a huge difference. If your company does twenty jobs a year and you don’t get 5 in a row that can be devastating. On the other hand, if your company gets an unusually large job the business can be carried for several months until more sales occur. In doesn’t take a lot to make a big difference, one way or the other.

So what can you do?

Consider all possibilities

In general, people tend to get wrapped up in the way things are. The thing is that is just the starting point. Take some time for yourself to reflect on what you would do if…. Many of us never think about such things. We just work a little harder and a little longer thinking it might make the difference.

In the meantime we are miserable, finding very little satisfaction with anything.

Break the patterns and do something different. A client loves to fish but had a hard time finding the time to do so, particularly with the down market he is in. He realized he could take a great client fishing, building the relationship that will translate into more business and referrals, while doing what he loves. What is the equivalent for you?

Live in the present being pulled forward by the future

It is very hard to get up every day and go to work when yesterday was not as successful as you wanted it to be. More of the same old, same old, with likely the same results being realized.

That mindset can cripple your business. You set the tone for your entire company. If you are in sales it is imperative to be focused in a positive way on your future, not being anchored by a yesterday you wished you never experienced. How can you do that without being a wishful thinker?

A client was experiencing real hurdles with his team. They just were not performing the way he thought they could. At the same time, he was not clear about his own goals, the life he wanted for he and his family.

Sales were down. This was before the downturn. Getting people to commit was impossible.  He started getting clear about the life he wanted. He began by doing some simple exercises that got out of his head thoughts that were in there but to which he was not paying much attention. The resulting clarity changed his expectations of his people so that all in the company feel more successful. Clients are signing contracts and the company has work, even when many other companies don’t.

I am not saying it is magic and it works in all cases. I do think that being clear about the point makes you more effective in all areas of your life, not just in business.

For many of us our work is how we define ourselves. After all, we spend most of our working life at work.

Running a small business is very hard, even in the best of times. It does not take much to make it close to impossible to succeed.

I remember in the early 90’s living through a set of circumstances that felt like a perfect storm. Dealing with several difficult remodeling clients, the prospect of no upcoming work in the foreseeable future, and new challenges coming every day: when was it going to end? I was doing everything I could think of and nothing seemed to be working.

I found that stepping away, in even little ways, made a big difference. Carving out some time for me to stop being a remodeler and be a person made me able to be more effective doing what the business needed me to do. For me it was taking walks, reading, spending time with my wife and children, and taking inexpensive short vacations.

You are not your business. Things will get better. What do you want your tomorrow to be? Craft a vision that will pull you forward. And start living it today.

Thanks, Paul!

If you’re looking for an experienced business coach to help you improve the performance of your remodeling business, contact Remodelers Advantage Inc. today.  Our team of coaches are ready to dive in and share the best practices that they have seen work over and over again. Why struggle alone when you can have a business coach to help you become more profitable and productive. To get started, call us at 301-490-5620 x106.