On Part 1 of the A-Team series on The Site Shed, Al Levi joins host Matt Jones to discuss how Al finds the right team members for his organizations. Find out how you too can recruit the best people for your business. Listen now!
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5 Ways to Set Yourself Up for More Success in 2018
Ready for a new year? Well, whether you are or you’re not, it’s right around the corner.
Most of us are excited about the new year ahead. I think that’s the case because it’s a great time to push the reset button and leave behind what didn’t happen or what happened in a bad way and to look forward to having a brighter future.
That’s why we make New Year’s Resolutions…. right?
As someone who every year swore to eat better and get to the gym on a regular basis but quickly fell off the wagon, I can share that a New Year’s Resolution has no power unless you give it real power.
For your business, that means you need to do the following 5 things if you want to set yourself up for more success in 2018…
Planning for a Successful 2018 | The Contractor Fight
On episode #124 of The Contractor Fight, Al Levi joins hosts Tom to discuss how to use the 4th quarter of 2017 to make 2018 successful. They also discuss how to make goals that you’ll stick to, as well as the importance of finding the right people to hire. Listen now!
Contractors Attend ‘Build Your Operating Manuals’ Workshop with PM Columnist Al Levi
Eleven contractors from five service-contracting businesses across the country joined PM columnist Al Levi November 15-16 in Phoenix for the The 7-Power Contractor® Build Your […]
Hiring, Employee Retention, and More | Blue Collar Proud Show
On this episode of the Blue Collar Proud Show, Al Levi joins hosts Carter Harkins and Taylor Hill to discuss hiring, employee retention, and more. Learn what works,what doesn’t, and how to make it work so you can run your business with less stress and more success. Listen now!
Planning for 2018 | Contractors Secret Weapon
On this episode of Contractors Secret Weapon, Al Levi discusses with host Dave Negri how you can be planning in this 4th quarter of 2017 for the upcoming 2018 year. Learn how to create a list of the top 10 things you need to do in the upcoming year, not the top 10,000, so you can run your business with less stress and more success. Listen now!
Creating a Business to be Thankful For
“I hate my business!”
That’s what I hear periodically when I talk with Contractors. And to me that is sad. But, I get it.
For many, the business they started didn’t turn out the way they planned when they took that big leap and typically left a secure paying job as an employee to go for the brass ring as an owner. It seemed like it would be easier.
The most common complaints I hear are:
1. “This business is making me go broke. I have to keep putting in my own hard-earned savings, borrowed money or what I had hoped would be my retirement money to keep things going and nothing positive seems to happen.”
2. “I work all day and when I get home there’s more work to do. Things like billing, returning calls, putting together bids and a whole lot more than I realized. The day never ends.”
3. “I can’t do at 60 years of age what I did when I was 50 years old let alone what I did in my 20s, 30s and 40s. So, what do I do now?”
4. “I can’t stop working or there’s no business. Heaven forbid I get hurt or sick. It’s scary.”
5. “My employees are infuriating. They act like they’re the owner and I’m their employee.”
Yes, business can be hard. But, it doesn’t have to be.
Handing It Off Without Losing Your Mind
“Why won’t people at my company take responsibility for getting things done?
Seriously, if I don’t do it myself, it’ll never get done. I don’t know what they do all day but they don’t spend time getting done what I want them to, especially when it comes to important projects.”
This is a standard complaint I get from frustrated owners. And I get it. But, these owners never seek to change their method so they keep getting the same result but only more frustrated as time goes on.
The definition of insanity: Doing the same things over and over expecting different results.
Here’s the sad fact. You’ve trained your staff that if they don’t do what you want the way you want you’ll lose your mind and take the project back. And that is training them to NOT take responsibility or action because you’ll never be pleased with what they do anyway.
When you’re done complaining privately or publicly or both, you take back these projects and things that need to get done at your company so you remain overloaded. Am I right?
I know why you stopped delegating anything to anyone and it’s because you’ve been trained by your staff that it’s a waste of time and money to do so.
This used to happen to me at my company. Keep in mind we had grown to 70 employees and still no one was able to help me get things done. I blamed them. But, the problem was actually me.
Yes, me.
I never took the time to delegate anything to anyone properly because I was in too big of a rush and I assumed they were too. So, I dumped it on them vs. delegating it to them.
What’s the difference?
The Danger of Trying to Do It All
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” That was told to me by a very smart contractor who had reached the end of his career and was lamenting how he had wasted so many business opportunities.
What he was speaking to is what he felt he learned all too late and that is…just because you, the owner or manager, CAN do something it doesn’t mean you SHOULD or that you’re the right one to be doing it.
It’s a fact that most of us owners and managers started as Techs and it was our ability to do pretty much any tough job they could throw at us that helped us rise through the ranks. It’s also what enabled us to believe we could succeed when we chose to open our own business.
Unfortunately, your ability to do everything is a double-edge sword. In fact, this skillset and mind set may well be what stymies the growth of your business. Because if you’re always the best choice to do it all then you better figure out how to clone yourself. The reason is you’re going to run out of both time and energy and then opportunities will be squandered.
Systemizing Your Business | Plumbing & HVAC Marketing Show
On this episode of the Plumbing & HVAC Marketing Show, Al Levi shares with host Josh Nelson the operations of business and how you can systemize your business to run with less stress and more success. Learn how to make your business run smoothly and stress free… Listen now!