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Category: Get Confident in Your Numbers

Controlling Cash Flow – 2 numbers you need to know

by | Jun 18, 2020 | Get Confident in Your Numbers | 2 comments

The one report I see most business owners don’t look at very often, if ever, is their business is the Balance Sheet. It’s not because they’re lazy or don’t care. Mostly it’s because they don’t know what exactly the numbers mean, or how to use the information in a useful way.

Can you relate?

Your Balance Sheet is a powerful management tool if you know how to read and interpret what the numbers are telling you.  In fact – two key numbers.  Just like having the right tools when working on a project can help you produce better results, the same is true of your company’s financial reports.

What kind of results? Sufficient cash in the bank when you need and want it.  Cash reserves on hand when unexpected events occur – like a pandemic or downturn in the economy. While no one could have predicted a pandemic, the clients I work with who have cash reserves did and will continue to fair much better during this time than those who didn’t.

In this week’s video, I walk you through how to read and use your Balance Sheet as a powerful management tool.  I show you the 2 most important numbers to look at that will let you keep your finger on the pulse of your company’s financial health.  In the process, you’ll learn what targets successful contractors use in their business to manage these numbers.

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Stop Project Profit Leaks

by | Jun 4, 2020 | Stop the Profit Bleed, Price for Profit, Get Confident in Your Numbers | 0 comments

Let’s face it, every contractor strives to attain profitability. You want financial stability, success, and freedom. There’s absolutely no shame in that. When we own a business, we focus on providing great service, building a remarkable reputation, which in turn, should lead to a strong client base, and a highly profitable company, at least in theory.

Yet, time and time again, contractors run into walls. Despite the best of intentions and all that hard work, their income is barely covering overhead costs.

In hopes of reaching a higher profit, they end up taking on more work, chasing after anything they can get their hands on, which leads them into a vicious cycle. Seemingly overnight, they’re giving up weekends; abandoning their own health, relationships, and happiness in exchange for endless coffee sipping and yet another late night at the office.

Sound familiar? (more…)

How to Nail Profits in the Bid Stage

by | May 21, 2020 | Stop the Profit Bleed, Price for Profit, Get Confident in Your Numbers | 0 comments

Contractors live and die by gross profit margin.  And if you don’t learn how to control that one element in the bidding stage, you will always be chasing after profits.

The contractors I know who have learned to manage gross margin when bidding, nail project profits right from the start, and the result is a construction business that produces a consistent profit.

Gross profit dollars vs. gross profit margin:

Gross profit dollars are the difference between your bid price and your project costs. Often I see that contractors only look at that number before a bid goes out.

The gross profit margin is your rate of return and is measured as a percentage.  It’s that percentage that you want to learn to manage in the bidding stage in order to make a more consistent profit in your business.

So how do you manage gross profit margin? In the video and the post below I show you how.

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Knowing this ONE number can increase your profits

by | May 7, 2020 | Stop the Profit Bleed, Price for Profit, Get Confident in Your Numbers | 2 comments

In over 25 years of working with contractors, there is one number that a lot of folks I meet don’t understand – and getting that one number wrong is killing their profits!

What sparked this post was a recent call with Joe – a remodeling contractor. We were barely on the phone for two minutes, when Joe launched into a rant about how he felt he’d been doing all the right things in his business, and yet, his bottom line and bank account were not showing the return for all his hard work!

Maybe you’ve been there too at some point?  It’s super frustrating.

Making a profit begins with the markups in your bid

When I asked Joe his strategy for marking up his costs in bidding he replied – “I mark up what I think I can get. I mark up according to what I hear other contractors in my area are marking up, like 10% and 5%, or 15% and 10% on some projects.”

This was part of Joe’s problem.  I explained to Joe that unless you have a large company, your overhead percentage is never that low.  I know this because in the past 25 years I’ve worked with hundreds of small to mid-sized contractors, and I see their numbers.

I could see the irritated look on Joe’s face as I spoke.  “Well, then how the hell do people who only mark up that much on their bids make any money? And how am I supposed to compete against those guys?”

As I asked Joe more questions, I could see he was not clear on the one number I knew was a factor in how he priced his work, and ultimately in the profits, he was or was not making.

Watch today’s video and learn what Joe and I figured out in his business that allowed him to start being more strategic in his bidding, and let him start adding more profits to his bottom line.  You can also read more below.

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Control Your Business So It Doesn’t Control You

by | Apr 9, 2020 | Stop the Profit Bleed, Increasing Production Efficiency, Get Confident in Your Numbers

During this time, many contractors are feeling a lack of control over their business.  Being forced to stop working and shelter in place can feel like someone else is driving your destiny.

I get it. And while this can be super frustrating, there IS something you can do to have more control.

The one thing that always gives us more control is information. Information give us..

Clarity so we can have…
Confidences, so we can take…
Powerful Actions

Today’s video is an interview I did with Devon Tilly, host of the podcast, Art of Construction.  In this interview Devon starts out bay asking me…

How do you see contractors are being controlled by their business?

As you watch and listen, here are a few questions to ask yourself…

What DO I know and how can I get more clarity?
How CAN I plan for the unknown?
What choices do I have now?

Want to hear what other contractors are doing right now to improve their businesses?  Join me next Wednesday 4/15 as I interview 6 contractors who are using this time to make their companies better.

Wishing you good health, well-being and success!

Warmest,

 

Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently.  Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of contractors achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.

Just 3 Things to Always Make a Profit

by | Dec 12, 2019 | Stop the Profit Bleed, Price for Profit, Increasing Production Efficiency, Building Great Teams, Get Confident in Your Numbers, Close More Sales

Contractors learn how to get control over your business and start increasing profits, working less hours, and having more fun. In this video, I walk you through the key areas where profits are made and lost in a contracting business, and how to identify for yourself what to focus on to start improving profits, and ultimately work less and love what you do again.

Warmest,

 

p.s. If you find this video helpful, you might want to check out my book, The Profit Bleed.  For a limited time, it’s FREE – you just pay shipping and handling.

Vicki Suiter helps people see their businesses differently, then gives them the tools to do things differently.  Since beginning her business in 1990, Vicki has helped hundreds of companies achieve the kind of success they never dreamed possible. Today, in addition to consulting, Vicki is an in-demand speaker at industry conferences nationally and internationally. Vicki’s articles and opinions have been widely shared in print and across the web. She is also the author of the book “The Profit Bleed” How managing margin can save your contracting business.

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