Poker players don’t work on their game when they are on a winning streak. I mean, why screw up your good fortune?
No, it takes a losing streak to get them to go back to the drawing board and to sharpen their skills.
It’s the same thing for us contractors. We’ve enjoyed a ‘winning streak’ for the last several years.
When customers have tried to negotiate:
- payment terms
- project cost
- start date
- pretty much anything
Our response has been- NEXT!
The tide is shifting
Not so anymore. It’s time to work on our game.
The game that we’ve let go because we thought all the success we were having was our own doing.
All of those things that we put off because they weren’t urgent and we didn’t have time to do them.
How not to get demolished in a recession
The key to doing well during a recession is to keep your expenses low and have job leads flowing in.
This keeps you out of trouble. You’re not forced to negotiate and take on projects that you don’t feel good about.
Keeping your expenses low
Over a year ago, I wrote about inflation before it became the everyday topic that it is now.
The information is still relevant. Inflation is a tax that makes everything you are already buying more expensive.
So, try not to purchase anything that you don’t need.
Hold off on the new truck for now. Pay off any and all bills that you can so your cash flow doesn’t get tied up.
If you haven’t raised your prices yet then you’ve waited too long. Now you are going to have a tougher time raising them during a downturn.
The more flexibility you have with your bills the more you can be patient and wait for the right jobs to come along.
Otherwise, you’re going to be stuck entertaining jobs that you don’t want or underbidding jobs that you need to get.
Generating leads
The other part of the equation is the part that we can work on to improve our game. Things like:
- Business cards/branding/logos/lettering
- Network with designers/builders
- Establish a presence in local NextDoor and Facebook groups as the ‘helpful’ contractor
- If you are going to run ads, start now! Have your ads designed and ready to implement quickly. Experiment with what works and what doesn’t.
- Improve your online presence
- website
- Google business listing
- other online listings
- Work on your sales skills
Conclusion
It’s no fun to take on a job that you know is a loser but you have no other choice.
You don’t want to be lowering your prices because you are desperate for the next project.
The more you get ahead of things the better off you will be.
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