EP263: You’re optimizing the wrong thing: Why Contractors Struggle to grow

Prioritize optimizing your sales process by pre-qualifying leads and charging for estimates, which significantly reduces the number of estimates you need to perform and saves time.

Avoid hiring full-time estimators or designers if your revenue is under $5 million, as these roles can inflate overhead unnecessarily; consider subcontracting or partnerships instead.

Establish clear systems (SOPs) and processes before hiring project managers or other staff; roles should support existing efficient systems, not be hired to create them from scratch.

Address profitability first: If your business isn't making enough money when small, scaling it will only magnify inefficiencies and lead to greater losses.

Solve root problems, not just symptoms; for example, a 'lead problem' might actually be a 'sales follow-through problem,' and 'employee issues' often stem from leadership or hiring the wrong people.

Evaluate your hiring practices to ensure you're recruiting B or A players, rather than creating elaborate systems and checklists to compensate for C-level employee inefficiencies.

Seek objective external advice from mentors or coaches to identify bottlenecks and fundamental issues in your business, as an unbiased perspective can reveal significant areas for improvement.