User Power
Value/Post Ratio
144%
- Mar 8, 2022
- 41
- 59
In the past my service businesses have been a poor model...sell the work, do the work, get paid, have a lull in work because I was doing instead of selling, sell more work, repeat. They were jobs, not businesses so I'm trying to break that mold.
I need to scale my General Contracting business, but I'm recognizing my need to implement a human resource system. I'm a one man show now who just uses sub-contractors. That isn't working. I have been in business almost a year now and I'm struggling to get things done and get to the 'next level'. Between all the administrative tasks, on site work, project management, (this list could go on forever) I'm creating a bottle neck where I don't have enough time to keep selling. I feel like my role primarily needs to be marketing, sales and strategy so that I can continue to bring in new business and hedge said business against hiring, personnel and other costs.
Here is my problem. I hate debt, it stresses me out. I have worked hard to be relatively low debt with my personal finances. However, I think I might need to take some debt on for the business to fill some gaps (slow periods or non-revenue type work) and have a backup plan for payroll which will allow me to start hiring some help. The problem with selling construction (and I'm sure other industries) right now is long material lead times and subcontractor availability. If I sell 5 jobs today that doesn't necessarily mean I can start any of them tomorrow. I take deposits but there still might be a gap before the rest of the revenue starts to flow. But if I had a couple people tackling administrative tasks, procurement, permitting, project management, etc. then I could keep selling and focus on new business and growth. I have a ton of sales and marketing experience so I'm pretty confident in my ability to fill the pipeline IF I have the time to focus on it.
I'm just curious what experiences you all have had with taking debt to hire/scale, good and bad. Am I on the right track here? Is this the next move I need to make? Also looking for any advice on where and what kind of debt to take or just general advice on executing this and if I even should be taking debt. Maybe I'm missing something and there is another way to go about this. Thanks in advance for any help
I need to scale my General Contracting business, but I'm recognizing my need to implement a human resource system. I'm a one man show now who just uses sub-contractors. That isn't working. I have been in business almost a year now and I'm struggling to get things done and get to the 'next level'. Between all the administrative tasks, on site work, project management, (this list could go on forever) I'm creating a bottle neck where I don't have enough time to keep selling. I feel like my role primarily needs to be marketing, sales and strategy so that I can continue to bring in new business and hedge said business against hiring, personnel and other costs.
Here is my problem. I hate debt, it stresses me out. I have worked hard to be relatively low debt with my personal finances. However, I think I might need to take some debt on for the business to fill some gaps (slow periods or non-revenue type work) and have a backup plan for payroll which will allow me to start hiring some help. The problem with selling construction (and I'm sure other industries) right now is long material lead times and subcontractor availability. If I sell 5 jobs today that doesn't necessarily mean I can start any of them tomorrow. I take deposits but there still might be a gap before the rest of the revenue starts to flow. But if I had a couple people tackling administrative tasks, procurement, permitting, project management, etc. then I could keep selling and focus on new business and growth. I have a ton of sales and marketing experience so I'm pretty confident in my ability to fill the pipeline IF I have the time to focus on it.
I'm just curious what experiences you all have had with taking debt to hire/scale, good and bad. Am I on the right track here? Is this the next move I need to make? Also looking for any advice on where and what kind of debt to take or just general advice on executing this and if I even should be taking debt. Maybe I'm missing something and there is another way to go about this. Thanks in advance for any help
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