n Shop Management
Identify areas of your business that might need some improvement to create more time to focus on leadership rather than management. By Ron Coleman
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n part one of this article, the focus was on the issues that have arose due to the ongoing labour shortage and how to deal with those issues. There are other factors that still should be reviewed when looking at our businesses. Several methods of making more money and having a successful business don’t involve growing your labour force. Many companies would rather focus on growing sales, but I believe it is better to focus on growing profits by improving efficiencies already in place and focusing on the right customers. Growing sales often means your business struggles to keep up with processes, staff, and customer needs. Artificial intelligence is proving to add value to many businesses. There are three growth areas in artificial technology— building information modelling (BIM),
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customer relationship management (CRM), and data collection. We need to use technology more effectively. Design, estimating, accounting, invoicing, payroll, scheduling, and materials handling are all areas we can use technology to enhance our business model. Virtually every facet of the industry can improve productivity by using technology. Augmented reality, while in its infancy in Canada, has potential for safety training, realtime project information, team collaboration, project planning, and modifying projects. I predict this will have a major impact on the way we run our businesses over the coming decade.
Plumbing & HVAC – November/December 2021
Good vs. Great A good contractor will talk his way out of a situation, but a great one would not get into in the tricky situation in the first place! Good is not good enough anymore. Most of your competitors are good, and with the upcoming labour shortage, you need to be great. Good contractors make money on one job and give it back on the next. Great contractors don’t give it back. To be a great contractor, you need to be proactive. By spending your time putting out fires and focusing on just keeping your business afloat is surely not a strategy for survival. And certainly not one for success. Real leaders are focused on the long-term future—they have a vision.
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