Tricks Of The Trade

All trades, industries, and services have insider skills, competencies and short cuts, more commonly know as ‘Tricks of the Trade.’ Running a business is a trade in its own right, and there are tricks within this trade also. Tricks that can help you save time, gain time, increase profits, reduce stress, and that is what we’re gong to talk about on this weeks episode of the Construction MPa Podcast.

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Disclaimer: This Podcast is for Construction Industry Business Owners who want to hear the truth no matter how much it might sting. If you’re looking for nicey, nicey Construction Leadership advice? Best you watch a TED talk! This podcast is filled with Blue Collar Business Conversation only.

Not That Trade

The first trick is recognizing that the trade we’re talking about isn’t the trade service your business performs; it’s the trade of running a business. Being skilled in a trade isn’t enough to guarantee business success.

As a business owner, you must become skilled at making decisions under pressure, decisions that can have significant consequences. Consequences you never had to consider before as an employee.

Rabbit out of a hat

Managing labor is a fundamental part of running a small business in the construction industry. We get paid for the skills and services our people provide daily.

However, the real challenge kicks in when the clients we depend upon have last-minute requests. Need people or resources the same or the next day, and we don’t have them available. What do we do, what do we say?

Do we hire more, or should we inspire more? Do we ask for more from our people or hire more people? How do we navigate these challenges?

Even if we have enough people, how do we manage them, coordinate the projects, and ensure we meet the needs of our clients? Is it in our heads, our diaries, or do we leverage the nerdy power of a well-structured spreadsheet?

Business is no joke… but a touch of humor can go a long way. Getting through to our people, increasing standards, and policing quality is tricky. Therefore, a spoon full of humor might make the medicine go down!

Conclusion

This week’s episode of the Construction MPa Podcast answers the above questions and statements. No shortcuts, just 25+ years of experience-based help and advice to help you navigate the minefield that is running a small business in our beloved Construction Industry.

Good luck!

Program vs. Podcast?

The Construction MPa Program is a different beast than the Construction MPa Podcast. However, it was ultimately built with the same end goal in mind, too:

A) Help small business owners strengthen their businesses.

B) Provide a home for small business owners to openly discuss the challenges they face in a sales and bullshit-free environment.

If you want to know more about the Construction MPa Program, check out: Program Outline Page.

Business Owners Only.