Are you struggling as a builder to get off the tools, step back from site, and embrace the administrative side of running your building business?
Well, it’s time to get off the tools and lead your home building business effectively.
Discover how to make the shift from site work to running a more profitable home building business.
Watch the video now, or read the transcript below. Be sure to also subscribe to the Live Life Build YouTube channel.
One of the biggest challenges for builders is stepping back from the job site and embracing the administrative side of running a home building business.
Many builders believe they have to be on site to keep things running smoothly, but this often prevents them from focusing on the financial and operational aspects that drive growth.
In this blog, we share the inspiring journey of Simone and Steve, who, with the help of ELEVATE, managed to get off the tools, understand their numbers, and turn their building business into a profitable operation.
Facing Financial Realities and Taking Action
Duayne
One of the most common stories we get told from builders who reach out to us and their partners is that builders find it very hard stepping back and getting away from the job site because they think that’s where they have to be.
And to be honest, a lot of us probably use that as an excuse to shy away from the administration task and everything else that you have to do to run a successful business.
And we’ve recently seen this with one of our newer members, Simone.
The growth she and her husband have had in only a few months has been unbelievable.
Amelia
They knew they were doing a beautiful product.
They knew they were building great homes.
They just couldn’t understand why they weren’t in a better position financially.
Coming into ELEVATE and started to give them, obviously, the tools and the knowledge to:
- be able to understand their numbers better
- be able to see how they were going to structure their business differently, and also,
- be able to get Steve off the tools and work in the administration of the business and doing the PAC Process effectively with their clients, which then just sets up much better processes in your business overall.
Getting Off the Tools and Building Profits
Duayne
It was a really tricky one.
They’d come off like a lot of bills off the back of COVID and had been building for the last couple of years, not making money, and didn’t understand their numbers.
And we’re actually running most jobs at a loss.
They booked a sales call and we got them on. We had this conversation, and everything we’re talking about, “That’s us, that’s us, that’s us.”
They’re like, “We don’t know that, we don’t understand that.”
And they jumped on board straight away and literally took action in the first two weeks.
From that initial call to the second call in Live Life Build, there are no excuses with us. We are constantly touching base, following things up.
In the first 30 days, our member success coordinator and I touched base. And literally on my 14 day or 21 day call, they were jumping around.
They’d started to understand their numbers.
We deep dived into their numbers and they could clearly see why they’d been having all the troubles they’d been having.
And then, like always, when you work through people’s numbers, you get them to understand things.
The first thing they do is freak out and think that they’re never gonna win any more work because they can’t charge more.
Live Life Build does a lot of work with you, to help you understand who your market is, so you’re attracting the right types of clients.
And I don’t even know how long it’s been now, I don’t think it’s even been six months. They’ve currently just won some of their biggest projects.
The projects they have won, they are covering all their overheads, their company’s making profit. And for the first time, they’re paying themselves the correct salary to run their business.
The Power of Knowing Your Numbers
Amelia
It’s game-changing what they’ve been able to put into practice in their business. And again, the change can be almost overnight.
And to that thing that you said, not knowing the numbers, we see lots of builders put their heads in the sand because the data is too scary. But what is incredible is when you actually face it, it gives you so much intel about what you need to change.
And we’ve seen this with Simone and Steve about how quickly they’ve been able to turn things around.
Duayne
They were pretty shocked when we worked through the numbers and they figured things out, but they were strong enough to stick with it and trust us. And yeah, the results have just been absolutely phenomenal.
But one of the other really big wins is, like you said, Steve hasn’t been able to step back off the tool.
Amelia
We always cheer when we see Steve on the Zoom, don’t we? It’s like, “You’re here, awesome!”
Duayne
It’s such a hard thing. I know myself coming from that background. It is super hard when it’s your business, you’re the builder and you love the banter. You want to be on site with your team.
And that was Steve, just like all of us. But now…
He’s got our systems and processes
He’s got the finances in place.
He’s going to site in the mornings.
He’s setting the team up.
Everyone knows what they do.
They all got clear roles and responsibilities.
And he’s now been able to work in the business with Simone.
I cannot wait to see the growth they’re going to have over the next 12, 18 months.
Amelia
Yeah, me too.
Simone and Steve’s story shows the importance of getting off the tools and focusing on the business side of things.
By understanding their numbers and putting the right systems in place, they not only turned their business around but also set themselves up for sustainable growth.
For builders struggling to step away from the job site, this story serves as a reminder that taking control of your business isn’t just possible—it’s the key to long-term success.
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