Where does a trades owner’s week go?
A trades owner who still works on the tools spends the working day on jobs and runs the business in the evenings. Quotes are written late, invoices go out when there is time, and the chasing happens when the bank balance forces it. Business coaching for a trades firm starts by measuring that week.
- 34 hrs On the tools
- 8 hrs Quoting and pricing
- 6 hrs Invoicing and admin
- 3 hrs Chasing payment
- 5 hrs Buying and collecting materials
An invented example of a 56-hour week. The free Owner Time Audit measures your own.
In this example, an owner who takes £44,000 a year out of the business and works 56 hours a week for 48 weeks earns about £16 for each hour worked. Pricing jobs for the hours they take and handing the evening work to someone else are the two ways to raise it. The Owner Time Audit works out your own figure.
What does the coaching change?
The price of a job
What your price has to be to cover the materials, the hours, the van and the yard, and a fair wage for you. Then sending it without knocking money off on the phone, and knowing what a 5% discount does to the work you need.
Getting paid on time
Deposits on larger jobs, stage payments, invoices that go out the day the job finishes, and VAT set aside in its own account. The cash forecast you keep yourself shows the tight week before it arrives.
The first hire off the tools
Whether the next person should be another tradesperson, an apprentice or someone in the office. The free True Cost of a Hire tool puts a figure on it before you decide.
How does coaching fit around jobs?
Sessions run in person or by video, from the site, the van or the kitchen table. Accountability Coaching, at £495 a month plus VAT, suits an owner on the tools and keeps a short list of commitments moving with weekly or fortnightly check-ins. One-to-one business coaching at £1,500 a month plus VAT works on pricing, margin and the shape of the business in ninety-minute sessions every fortnight. All the prices are on the programmes and prices page, with no minimum term. For a contractor running several sites with site managers, see the construction business coach page.
Coaching for other situations
Frequently asked questions
I am on the tools all day. When would the sessions happen?
Sessions run in person or by video, and you can take a video session from the site, the office or the kitchen table. Accountability Coaching uses short weekly or fortnightly check-ins. One-to-one Business Coaching is a ninety-minute session every fortnight, roughly three hours a month plus the actions you agree between sessions. The session times are agreed with your coach at the start. The first six weeks take the most time, because they measure where your week goes and what each type of job earns.
How do I know if my prices are too low?
Work out what you earn for each hour you work, including the evenings spent quoting and invoicing. Take what you drew from the business last year and divide it by the hours you worked. If the answer is below what you would pay a skilled tradesperson to work for you, the prices are too low. The free Owner Time Audit does the sum from one week of your own hours. Coaching then costs each type of job you do, so you can see which ones pay and which ones need a new price.
Should my first hire be on the tools or in the office?
It depends on where your hours go and what each hour earns. If you are turning work away, another pair of hands on the tools adds sales. If you are busy but the quoting, invoicing and chasing happen late at night, someone in the office gives you those hours back, and you can spend them on the tools or on pricing. The free True Cost of a Hire tool shows what either person costs once pay, pension, National Insurance and the time to train them are counted.
What does business coaching cost for a trades business?
The same as for any business, because the fee depends on the programme. Accountability Coaching is £495 a month, Financial Coaching £950, Leadership Coaching £1,250, one-to-one Business Coaching £1,500 and Strategic Growth Coaching £1,950, all plus VAT and billed monthly with no minimum term and no joining fee. Every engagement is reviewed at ninety days against the measures set in your first month. The discovery call is free and lasts thirty minutes, and it works out which programme fits the business you have now.