Industry: Residential Remodeling
Once again, an overworked business owner sat in front of me. His heavy sighs filled the room as he filled me in. He was running in an endless cycle of 80+ hour work weeks with no time for his family or personal interests. And despite his best efforts, his company had been stagnate in sales and profits for several years. There was a list of lost potential work because he couldn’t keep up with delivering estimates to prospective clients. He had lost trust in his employees, so his hands were in everything leading to delays and unhappy clients. Luckily, it is never too late to plan, perform and grow.
Digging Deep:
- Manual, disjointed systems meant no real-time availability of data and poor communication between the company, subcontractors, and clients
- Lack of incoming tracking or profitability analysis across various project types
- Overused independent contractors in critical company positions
- Owner was lone employee providing estimates
- No consistent structure for project management
Plan of Action:
- Hired full-time, experienced project managers and administrative staff
- Implemented project management software
- Hired proficient estimator
- Developed formal policies and procedures for office and project management
- Hired professional bookkeeper
- Developed financial controls to include job costing, expense control and profitability tracking
Moving Forward:
- Sales increased 250% from 2012-15
- The 2016 projected net profit is 400% higher than 2012
- Professional staff manages projects without the need for direct oversight of owner
- The owner works under 60 hours per week and focuses on business building
- Client purchased building for the company in 2016
Digging Deep:
- Multiple case management systems, including large amounts of paper files and no firm-wide file management system
- Lack of central firm calendar and inconsistent schedule keeping
- Rudimentary financial systems that were improperly maintained by the firm’s CPA
- Lack of proper staff training and leadership
Plan of Action:
- Researched, tested and purchased cloud-based legal case management system with a central calendar and advanced billing capabilities
- Hired professional bookkeeping service and accountant to clean up books
- Designed monthly billing system and revised retainer agreements
- Developed hiring and staff management procedures
- Created client onboarding and file maintenance procedures
- Coaching services included strategic business development, client management, and client relations.
Moving Forward:
- Attorneys and staff have organized, controlled calendar and work load
- Financial controls set to track income by practice area to create focused growth
- Firm raised rates, receives larger retainers, and regularly invoices for better cash flow and increased income
- Firm has qualified professional staff who are productive assets to the firm
- There is a collaborative environment for attorneys and staff resulting in higher productivity
Industry: Professional Services
Talk about a law firm that was ready to lay down the law… this small firm’s attorneys felt extremely overworked and the stress level in the office was evident just by looking at the staff. Cash flow was top of mind because clients weren’t paying bills. Disorganization led to a frantic pace of work and inability to easily locate case and financial information. Add displeasure with uneven caseload and court coverage assignments and it was not a place anyone wanted to work. Time to plan, perform and grow.
Industry: Field Services
Money is coming in, but the amount of work is completely unsustainable. Such was the case for this company who provided field tech services for municipalities all over the country. The owner was working over 80 hours a week and found himself on the road more than 40 weeks a year, personally supervising crews. He also handled all administrative duties so there was no rest for the weary when he was home. The company worked solely for a few large clients which created periods of extreme stress followed by times of inactivity. Strategic work on the business instead of in the business was long overdue.
Digging Deep:
- Lack of written systems for hiring or managing field technicians
- Non-existent administrative support for the owner
- Limited time to seek new business or diversify client base because owner was hands-on in the field
- Overused independent contractors
- Lack of income tracking or profitability analysis of different project types
Plan of Action:
- Conducted search and hired business operations manager
- Developed key field tech employee into a field manager and training coordinator
- Upgraded financial software
- Developed financial controls to include job costing, expense control, and profitability tracking
Moving Forward:
- Sales increased over 100% from 2012-15
- Owner travel limited to quality assurance purposes
- Operations manager promoted to COO to run day-to-day business operations
- Owner assumed role of CEO, focused on high-level relationship building, investigating different lines of business, and additional business opportunities
- Owner has plenty of time to enjoy his family and pursue other personal interests