Progress of my plumbing company

[PursueLiberty]

So you're ditching the plumbing company that does 6-figures a year?

Who is the client as a consultant? Is the business repeat, or one and done?

Has someone already paid you a few times as such, enough to warrant this gigantic pivot?

I fear you are falling into "grass is greener" syndrome because scale in a trade is hard. And hard is when people quit.

Nonetheless, thanks for the share, look forward to see how things unfold.

To answer your questions:

I don't think I'm "ditching" the plumbing business, I'm just trying to move up to bigger projects/clients with a different service. All my knowledge of the past 4 years as a plumber is very helpful and definitly needed to start what I am visualizing.

No one has paid me yet but that is because I need to do the necessary exams and get my license (barrier of entry), I'm starting with the most basic exam which will set me back around €2k. Then I will "ditch" according to the need.

The business is very diverse across multiple levels of construction. Repeat business will be more on the B2B side, one and done with consumers who are for example selling their house.

I thank you for the honest response, I have taught myself to not make radical changes out of excitement as I have certainly done in the past. I'm building a 3/6 month plan around this so I can test with the minimal amount of friction to my current business.

My initial response:
I have been looking for business opportunities that could fix my "problems" with the plumbing company such as:

- Needing 2 people for most jobs (heavy lifting)
- Expensive tools that break and get dirty
- Low entry barrier
- Etc etc

I'm going to follow a course on energy performance that allows to me to rate houses and utility buildings, these ratings are only valid for 10 years in The Netherlands so people need them most of the time when they sell their home. I have made a list of about 9 services that I could expand towards within the same industry premise. These are services that one employee could do(no heavy lifting etc). Most of the services have to do with home inspection/rating, advice on making the house/building more sustainable, legally obligated calculations for new construction and so forth.

 

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[PursueLiberty]

So you're ditching the plumbing company that does 6-figures a year?

Who is the client as a consultant? Is the business repeat, or one and done?

Has someone already paid you a few times as such, enough to warrant this gigantic pivot?

I fear you are falling into "grass is greener" syndrome because scale in a trade is hard. And hard is when people quit.

Nonetheless, thanks for the share, look forward to see how things unfold.

I have reflected on this for the past few weeks MJ, I believe you were right after all. I cancelled the course and I’m back to the original plan. I realize that I hoped to find a “shortcut” but I discovered that i’m currently in a position that I’ve been hoping to reach for the past 5 years.

Everything is going kind of “slow” but this is simply because this is the way my industry works and the business is getting more serious. I’ve set the ambitious goal of going 5X this year, which means €550K in revenue.

Thanks for the response and making me realize that this was needed.

 

[Sirrom]

Good decision! Stick to the plumbing!!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I believe you were right after all.

I'm copying this and sending it to my wife.



Check out this thread about constraints -- it seems to be really relevant to companies that have a large human resource / skill component.

ASK THE AI Thread 'Solving Bottlenecks: The Theory of Constraints and the Book "The Goal" by Goldratt'

Dec 23, 2024

Inspired by these posts...



Can you please give a detailed summary of The Theory of Contraints as explained by the book, The Goal, written by Goldratt.

• MJ DeMarco
• bottleneck bottlenecks goldratt the goal theory of constraints
• Replies: 13
• Forum: Ask the AI

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• 

 

[PursueLiberty]

I'm copying this and sending it to my wife.



Check out this thread about constraints -- it seems to be really relevant to companies that have a large human resource / skill component.

ASK THE AI Thread 'Solving Bottlenecks: The Theory of Constraints and the Book "The Goal" by Goldratt'

Dec 23, 2024

Inspired by these posts...



Can you please give a detailed summary of The Theory of Contraints as explained by the book, The Goal, written by Goldratt.

• MJ DeMarco
• bottleneck bottlenecks goldratt the goal theory of constraints
• Replies: 13
• Forum: Ask the AI

• 
• 
• 

Funny you mention this, I've been listening to Alex Hormozi's podcasts in the car for the past few weeks and this was a very important message that I took from him. I'll order the book, seems interesting.

In order to grow I need to narrow down, last year my attention was diverted everywhere. I'm now allocating my resources towards "simple" growth, more long term projects and bigger clients. This will keep me more focused and I can hire freelancers/fte's to grow the company.

 

[PursueLiberty]

Current course and progress:

Hi everyone! here's a little update + a update on my focus for this year, hope you enjoy.

Progress!

2025 is starting out pretty well, I don't have to worry about not having enough work and i'm already close to €10k revenue this month with about 50/60% profit margin. But as said in my last post I need to hit €550k revenue this year so this ain't gonna cut it. I'm currently focusing on niching down towards more projects instead of 1/2 smallers jobs in a day. This will fill my agenda for a longer period of time + i'll have more security for hiring a new employee.

Focusing on growth.

I shifted my mindset from profit % towards creating a high revenue business because well, it seems better to do €1M in revenue each year with 30% profit margins then €150K with 50/60% margins. I made a worst case scenario calculation with a new employee and that would change the numbers as following: (per month)

Currently:

Revenue: €8-10k
Profit: €6-8k

Potential:

Revenue: €14-20K
Profit: €9-15k

In my worst case scenario i'm still growing + i'll be able to provide more value since we'll be able to work indepent of the clients personnel so these numbers will probably grow higher throughout the year. I have always been pretty impulsive but i'm starting to get better at just sitting back and thinking these steps through, and trying to make the best long term decision. (Except for the recent memecoin mania )

Nothing spectacular but I hope you enjoyed, and as always i'm open to any advice!

 

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[PursueLiberty]

Hi everyone, I'm posting this here in the hope that you guys read it. I didn't want to start a seperate thread but if the responses are minimal I might.

After about 2 or 3 months of delays and problems I'm finally done with my preparation to go lead hunting, because I'm selling B2B I wanted to have a professional appearance to have better chances. Now the thing I'm wondering is what would be the best way to acquire leads? I don't think SEO + google ads is top of my list, although important in the future. What I'm looking at is to simply contact managers via LinkedIn but the needed premium subscription is €52,50 p.m, If I buy for one year it will cost me €407,88 so that's a €225 discount. Does anyone have experience with contacting through LinkedIn and maybe we could discuss in private message whether it would be a good strategy for my goals?

Of course a simple €35 dollar subscription is nothing compared to a bigger FB ads campaign, so that's something to consider.

Basic info is that we offer project support and plumbing services to large plumbing company's, we are basically a subcontractor but at a premium.(sorry @Sirrom ). If I could go from simply 1 client to 5 this would already be enough for me to grow exponentially this year.

A little update on revenue is that I'm currently at €30K this year with around 50/60% profit. I need to scale in order to hit that €550K this year and I'm more focused than ever, I wake up thinking about strategy and growth and I go to sleep with the same thought. It feels great.

I Hope someone is able to help and as always thanks for reading!

 

[Sirrom]

Hi everyone, I'm posting this here in the hope that you guys read it. I didn't want to start a seperate thread but if the responses are minimal I might.

After about 2 or 3 months of delays and problems I'm finally done with my preparation to go lead hunting, because I'm selling B2B I wanted to have a professional appearance to have better chances. Now the thing I'm wondering is what would be the best way to acquire leads? I don't think SEO + google ads is top of my list, although important in the future. What I'm looking at is to simply contact managers via LinkedIn but the needed premium subscription is €52,50 p.m, If I buy for one year it will cost me €407,88 so that's a €225 discount. Does anyone have experience with contacting through LinkedIn and maybe we could discuss in private message whether it would be a good strategy for my goals?

Of course a simple €35 dollar subscription is nothing compared to a bigger FB ads campaign, so that's something to consider.

Basic info is that we offer project support and plumbing services to large plumbing company's, we are basically a subcontractor but at a premium.(sorry @Sirrom ). If I could go from simply 1 client to 5 this would already be enough for me to grow exponentially this year.

A little update on revenue is that I'm currently at €30K this year with around 50/60% profit. I need to scale in order to hit that €550K this year and I'm more focused than ever, I wake up thinking about strategy and growth and I go to sleep with the same thought. It feels great.

For what?

 

[PursueLiberty]

For what?

You told me to get away from subcontracting as soon as possible hahaha, and I made it my main USP.

 

[PursueLiberty]

The focus that I've been looking for has developed inside me for the last few months. I don't feel like partying anymore, I watch a movie for 1 hour and then I get bored and get back to researching, finding new leads, thinking of new strategies. I used to smoke the occasional joint but even that doesn't do it anymore because mentally I just can't relax. This simply has to work now, there is no other way. This forum is the only place that will probably get it. Good things are coming, back to work.

 

[PursueLiberty]

Victory!

At least, we'll see how this pans out. Got the confirmation today for renting my first office, this means that I'll be moving out of my parents house and into a new city(only a 1 hour drive, Holland is small ). Still have to find a place to sleep but the office was my priority, I don't care if I would have to do with an attic and a mattress for a some time. Currently focused on finishing of my last projects in this area and making sure that I finish here with no broken promises to clients.

I don't think I've ever had such a great feeling of responsibility over my future and trust in my own capabilities as this decision is doing for me. I think the coming year is going to be pretty tough but I can only look forward to the lessons that I will inevatibly learn, and apply the hard learned lessons of the past years.

Just wanted to document and share that here, pictures of the office might follow soon!

 

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[Andy Black]

Now the thing I'm wondering is what would be the best way to acquire leads? I don't think SEO + google ads is top of my list, although important in the future.

What would people be searching for on Google? Have you used the Google Keyword Planner to estimate monthly search volumes, and find more search terms?

Does anyone have experience with contacting through LinkedIn and maybe we could discuss in private message whether it would be a good strategy for my goals?

I've messaged many people over the years. What are you trying to do?

 

[PursueLiberty]

What would people be searching for on Google? Have you used the Google Keyword Planner to estimate monthly search volumes, and find more search terms?


I've messaged many people over the years. What are you trying to do?

Some of the search terms are around 100-1K, since I'm selling B2B this seems pretty normal to me. Change over 3 months and 1 year on some terms is 900%, is this something to take serious or are these not "real" metrics?

If I get location specific basically all search terms go to a volume of 10-100, bidding ranges from €2 to €30. What do you think?

I came to LinkedIn with a sales mindset but then I started to like the platform and I've started connecting with people that I find interesting. This has shifted my perspective and I've become interested in growing my LinkedIn organically so that's my focus for now. Google Ads seems like a pretty targeted ad strategy and I don't really need new clients for projects, but I want to see the response to some of my other offers (recruitment and freelance mediation)

 

[Andy Black]

Some of the search terms are around 100-1K, since I'm selling B2B this seems pretty normal to me. Change over 3 months and 1 year on some terms is 900%, is this something to take serious or are these not "real" metrics?

If I get location specific basically all search terms go to a volume of 10-100, bidding ranges from €2 to €30. What do you think?

Don't worry about those metrics. Load everything and get real data.

I came to LinkedIn with a sales mindset but then I started to like the platform and I've started connecting with people that I find interesting. This has shifted my perspective and I've become interested in growing my LinkedIn organically so that's my focus for now. Google Ads seems like a pretty targeted ad strategy and I don't really need new clients for projects, but I want to see the response to some of my other offers (recruitment and freelance mediation)

I prefer connecting and building relationships on LinkedIn. I've dabbled with growing followers via content but it's not as fun for me.

 

[PursueLiberty]

Don't worry about those metrics. Load everything and get real data.


I prefer connecting and building relationships on LinkedIn. I've dabbled with growing followers via content but it's not as fun for me.

I’ll start the ad campaigns this week and post updates, thank you.

That’s what I meant as well, I just want to post some business/personal growth related content on LinkedIn and I’ll see who follows me or is interested.

 

[Andy Black]

MARKETING Thread 'How to get profitable or fail fast with AdWords'

Mar 19, 2015

(Originally posted on the inside here.)

How To Get Profitable Or Fail Fast With AdWords

Here's how I often determine whether a project, niche, seed, or keyword has legs, or needs a bullet.

Note1: I use blanket bid prices throughout the steps below, meaning the bid price within a campaign for each ad group or keyword is identical. I can then judge how much supply/competition there is based on the average position.

Note2: When I say "higher ad position", I mean higher on the page. A "lower ad position" is a worse ad position on the page e.g. position 3 is...

• Andy Black
• Replies: 32
• Forum: Marketing Strategy

• 
• 
• 

MARKETING Thread 'How to read Google Ads metrics'

Jun 2, 2022

Hope these help.

Let me know if you have any questions.

View: https://youtu.be/svxkKfn0Z5k


Here's how to setup those columns:

View: https://youtu.be/4Eql3ybEP80

• Andy Black
• google ads
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Marketing Strategy

• 
• 
• 

 

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[Andy Black]

Check out the video I posted at the end of last year on LinkedIn too.

 

[PursueLiberty]

Instead of sharing my Google ads talk with @Andy Black in private chat I'm going to do it here, maybe there is value for some people.

First of all very fun to see that Andy does about everything about which Google says "Are you sure about this?!".

Followed the "shortest google ad turtorial" video, only thing I changed is that I've added 2 keywords to 1 advertising group, I'm targeting freelance plumbers as well as electricians. Because they lead to the same outcome this seemed fine, Max CPC is at $2 currently with a shared budget of $10 across 2 campaigns. 1 campaign for acquiring freelancer leads and 1 for clients who might want to hire those freelancers/my own future employees.

If I understand correctly from the video Andy you don't add 100's of keywords to 1 advertising group but separately across multiple groups? It seems intuitive for me to add multiple keywords to 1 group and rake up the budget there to see which ones perform best but this might be wrong.

Edit: The shared budget of course counters my last question, but since I'm targeting nationally this might change how to group this?

 

[Andy Black]

Instead of sharing my Google ads talk with @Andy Black in private chat I'm going to do it here, maybe there is value for some people.

First of all very fun to see that Andy does about everything about which Google says "Are you sure about this?!".

Followed the "shortest google ad turtorial" video, only thing I changed is that I've added 2 keywords to 1 advertising group, I'm targeting freelance plumbers as well as electricians. Because they lead to the same outcome this seemed fine, Max CPC is at $2 currently with a shared budget of $10 across 2 campaigns. 1 campaign for acquiring freelancer leads and 1 for clients who might want to hire those freelancers/my own future employees.

If I understand correctly from the video Andy you don't add 100's of keywords to 1 advertising group but separately across multiple groups? It seems intuitive for me to add multiple keywords to 1 group and rake up the budget there to see which ones perform best but this might be wrong.

Edit: The shared budget of course counters my last question, but since I'm targeting nationally this might change how to group this?

So you have one ad group with keywords for *both* plumbers and electricians?

What does the ad say when someone looks for an electrician?

What does the ad say when someone looks for a plumber?

(Lol.... This is quite depressing as a course creator. I had chats with loads of people who took my course where I say to use one keyword per ad group, and the vast majority of people decide to do something different. I've no idea why.)

 

[PursueLiberty]

So you have one ad group with keywords for *both* plumbers and electricians?

What does the ad say when someone looks for an electrician?

What does the ad say when someone looks for a plumber?

(Lol.... This is quite depressing as a course creator. I had chats with loads of people who took my course where I say to use one keyword per ad group, and the vast majority of people decide to do something different. I've no idea why.)

No see the ad targets freelance "installers" as we mostly call them here who are looking for freelance projects, example would be that let's say I would target construction freelancers in general then that one ad would target all of those freelancers, but my ad is just a bit more niche. I need them to create an account on the site, after that my company does the mediation between the client and the freelancer. They can specify on the site whether they are skilled in electrical or plumbing. Hope this makes sense

The ad says "W-(plumbing) and E(electrical) installers wanted" "Get access to projects" "Freelance mediation in technology", literally translated it makes more sense in Dutch. But you are right, why not just listen hahaha. Changed everything to separate groups and currently adding more keywords

 

[Andy Black]

No see the ad targets freelance "installers" as we mostly call them here who are looking for freelance projects, example would be that let's say I would target construction freelancers in general then that one ad would target all of those freelancers, but my ad is just a bit more niche. I need them to create an account on the site, after that my company does the mediation between the client and the freelancer. They can specify on the site whether they are skilled in electrical or plumbing. Hope this makes sense

The ad says "W-(plumbing) and E(electrical) installers wanted" "Get access to projects" "Freelance mediation in technology", literally translated it makes more sense in Dutch. But you are right, why not just listen hahaha. Changed everything to separate groups and currently adding more keywords

Give me examples.

Campaign names.
Ad group names within each campaign.
Keywords and ads in each ad group.

 

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[PursueLiberty]

Give me examples.

Campaign names.
Ad group names within each campaign.
Keywords and ads in each ad group.

Campaigns: (literally translated)

Search 01 Freelancers
W- and E installers wanted, Get access to projects, Freelance mediation in technology.
Search 01 Clients
Proper technical personnel, Always a solution, Contact us now.

Search 01 Freelancers ad groups:
Keyword: "Freelance plumber jobs"
Keyword: "Freelance job plumber"
Keyword: "Plumbing jobs wanted"
Keyword: "Freelance jobs electrician"
Keyword: "Freelance mediator"
Keyword: "Freelance installment"
Keyword: "Freelance jobs installment"
Keyword: "Freelance electrician"
Keyword: "Freelance plumber"
Keyword: "Freelance electrician wanted"

Search 01 Clients ad groups:
Keyword: "Freelance wanted urgent construction"
Keyword: "Subcontractor plumbing wanted"
Keyword: "Freelance mediation"
Keyword: "Freelance plumber wanted"
Keyword: "Subcontractor"

 

[Andy Black]

Put it into a Google Sheet and screenshot it.

Columns will be:
Campaign
Ad Group
Keyword
Headline 1

 

[Andy Black]

This LinkedIn post will help:

A Common Google Ads Mistake | Andy Black

A common Google Ads mistake is to add multiple keywords and ad headlines into ONE ad group thinking the right headlines show when keywords are…

www.linkedin.com

 

[PursueLiberty]

First freelancer lead came in about 2 days ago via the Google ads(probably I'm setting up conversion tracking). Currently at a CTR of 7% for the freelance campaign and 1,3% for the client campaign, going to sit in for a few hours with a fresh mind this weekend to optimise and make some changes me and Andy discussed in our chat. After that going to crank up the budget a to €20 a day(double) to see what kind of changes this will affect.

Fun to again see this, earlier (2/3 years ago) I would have been optimising the page right now and looking at "Good SEO words", this stuff of course is important but to a degree. Now by running the ads I'm seeing the cracks in my site and I'm working with my web developer to fix these issues and hopefully get better results with that soon. We are adding a platform to which clients could post their employee needs for free and and we will mediate a match, also the freelancers could then see if we have any interesting jobs before they commit to creating an account.

 

[PursueLiberty]

Almost forgot! Here are pictures of the office. The top floor is almost 3,5 meters high in the back so I’m wondering what to do with that space, maybe a big LED sign. First need to move and start making bigger €€€ in the new city. Exciting times

 

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[PursueLiberty]

@Andy Black headline of the ads is now congruent with the keyword, budget has been doubled. I'll share a before and after on metrics in 2/3 days. What I'm seeing now is that if people search for "company name employment agency" they find my site, would you add these company names as negative keywords since these people are specifically looking for a different company? Or make the keywords exact match instead of phrase maybe?

 

[PursueLiberty]

I’m actually converting too well at the moment, so I’ve paused the ads. I got 6 conversions of which 3 were pretty high quality, the constraint is that I don’t have the network and systems to actually mediate for these freelancers.

I have around €30K of work left from now till mid June so I’ll focus on finishing that and not taking on any new project for the new city. I’ll give myself one month to completely focus on the mediation and recruitment offer, this option has much higher leverage as I would only need to mediate for 6 freelancers at 15% margin to replace my current income.

The mediation offer has continuity, 15% on top of the freelancers hourly rate.
Recruitment is more “one and done” but high margins 20/25% off the employee’s yearly salary + holiday bonus.

 

[Andy Black]

@Andy Black headline of the ads is now congruent with the keyword, budget has been doubled. I'll share a before and after on metrics in 2/3 days. What I'm seeing now is that if people search for "company name employment agency" they find my site, would you add these company names as negative keywords since these people are specifically looking for a different company? Or make the keywords exact match instead of phrase maybe?

I'd probably go exact to start with and see what the volume is. You could build a competitor campaign, bidding on their brand names.

 

[PursueLiberty]

To make sure I've got no woman in the red dress, I want to check my pivot to the mediation offer through CENTS. Here we go!

Initial offer (plumbing/instalment subcontracting service):

Control = Decent control over arbitrage, and full decision capability over the accepted projects
Entry = Needed to learn plumbing for 3 years, skilled employees will go through the same learning period
Need = Need is large enough since we are dependent on construction/renovation continuing and this not happening falls into doomsday scenario in my opinion.
Time = Not able to make money on a sick day, of course this would be possible at a large enough scale but that's for almost any business
Scale = Hard to scale, small net margins + expensive scaling through HR

Freelance mediation/recruitment offer (in plumbing/instalment sector)

Control = We "own" the network and we will mediate the terms and needed contracts, backstabbing is possible but I see this as a possible cost of doing business. More control since we can operate nationally instead of locally.
Entry = Need to create a large network of freelancers and clients, I've already gotten in at pretty big firms over the past 3/4 years. Knowledge of the market is important to offer a premium(which I'm planning on doing)
Need = Need is basically the same as for the other offer only difference is that we're slightly more expensive now in total cost (freelancer + mediation). But in offering the premium and making sure that all freelancers are up to a certain standard this will create the right client avatar.
Time = If 10 freelancers are working on a day and I'm hit with the flu there is no problem, probably some small fires will burn but I'm still able to make money.
Scale = Easier to scale, more control over HR and smaller downside risk. More "sales" orientated which makes monthly revenue hard too foretell (which is basically possible with the first offer)

I think the time and scale difference of the second offer makes this no "grass is greener" or "woman in the red dress", I've just learned a few proper business lessons over the past 1,5 years and want to pivot the offer to something more strategic.

Just thought it would be fun to do this on here, any feedback is as always appreciated.