Taking Care of Business

… And working overtime. We all did it right … long hours …. Going over budget on a job so you work late to make up for it …. Going out on calls at twelve at night …holidays... Birthday party’s … taking care of business.

I assume that a lot of guys reading this article are like me, guys who started their business by working hard out of a second hand truck and trying to keep up with the bills on the weekend. Some got an apprentice and liked working with just the two of them and some, like me, hired techs as the work load increased. We can all do the work. Some of us started on our own because we were really good at what we do. We decided to run our own business. Freedom from the man... Be our own boss. But it’s not easy. Taking care of business

I learned the hard way that being a Master Plumber and being good at it doesn’t make you a businessman. It’s a whole different game and some guys don’t make the grade.

I struggled with running the business. Tax’s... payroll … insurance… HEALTH insurance… and don’t even get me started on starting a retirement fund. A good friend told me something I’ve never forgotten, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Think about it. You think you’re doing okay, you think you’re doing the right thing, until Uncle Sam comes calling with his hand out. We all hire (or at least most do) an accountant. That’s should keep things going smooth, right? But an accountant just keeps score; YOU play the game. I had to learn that. It took me a few years to realize that my accountant was just telling me what I had done, where I had been. You need to know where you are going. You need to know: what’s the plan?

How about a budget? What will I need, how will the business grow? It’s a lot of business work for a guy who sweats pipes, right? Or at least used to sweat pipes. Now it’s all pro-press. I’ve become the old guy… but I’m getting off-track.

We haven’t even started talking about running the business every day. Answering calls. Most guys get frustrated (I know I did... still do sometimes). The phone is ringing all the time. Meanwhile, you’re trying to finish a job... it’s not going well... and the phone keeps on ringing. Or at least you hope it keeps ringing. Some guys hate answering the phone but that’s a big part of the business. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve gone to a job and the customer tells me, “You know, you were the only one to return my call.” Just imagine, all you have to do is answer a phone call and you’re better than all your competitors. Low hanging fruit.

Once I got over three or four guys working for me I hired someone to help run the office. I started out part time and then added more hours as the business grew. Hiring someone to help get the bills out quickly is huge. How many of us use to take a month or two before we got a bill out? (Be honest.) Getting the bills out quickly is just as important, maybe more, than doing the job. The old timers used to tell me, “Get the bill out before the solders cool.” I guess now it’s, “Get the bill out before the pro-press shuts off.” (Sorry, I can’t help it.)

You know, speaking of Pro-Press, (which I have been) how many guys budget for tool purchases? Do you just get a big check and buy it, or save up? I put money aside to pay for tools when I can. Sometimes I’ll ask the supply house the spread it out over a couple of months. If you’re a good customer they will do it for you.

How about budgeting for trucks and truck repairs, do you do that? I try and save up for new trucks so that when I need one I have a good amount to put down. It keeps my overhead down and when things get slow it’s easier to get by. Putting down a little extra every month on the payment is a good trick. Pay an extra $50.00 on your truck payment every month and make sure it goes on the principle. It lowers down the amount owed and you pay less interest over the course of the loan.

What’s tough is maintenance on trucks. Tires, oil changes, new brakes. One of the trucks will need work and I tell my mechanic, “How’s everything else look, what should I be expecting?” and they say, “ No it looks good everything’s fine.” Then two months later I’m changing the emergency brakes. Tell me what looks bad and I’ll do it ahead of time. It’s a lot better to schedule repairs than having a truck break down un-expectedly. By the way, that works well for water heaters, too. “This tank is looking pretty rough; you might want to think about changing it on your schedule, not the tanks schedule.” Water heaters like to fail on the weekends or holidays. They have a mind of their own sometimes.

All these little things make a difference. You know what else the old timers would say? Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves. Those three boxes of 90s you found in the back of the shop add up and cost money. Watch your business and pay attention. You make a lot more money when you’re taking care of business. Yeah, and sometimes “working overtime …. work out.”

Scott Milne is the owner of Milne Plumbing and Heating. He and his company have been serving the greater Boston area for nearly 30 years. He specializes in high-efficiency heating systems for custom homes.