Blog

The situation seems right for you to start the job. During an initial conversation, the prospective customer has a need. You have the talent and tools to help them. It should be a no-brainer that you’re going to move forward, right? That’s when you hear, “Sounds great. We’ll get back to you soon.” While some […]

You like to think of yourself as a customer service master. You’re someone who’s always there to answer every last customer question. Phone call for you? No problem. Emails later at night? Sure thing. Even that customer who loves to chat with you when a job wraps up when you’ve got another job to get […]

“Mike, it’s important to me to be as efficient as possible in my business, so I can maximize my income. Call backs are always the #1 threat to that, so what can I do to significantly decrease the occurrence of those?” Let me perfectly clear on this: The more you skip steps and substitute cheap […]

Small businesses don’t always have small expenses. As larger needs with your business come up, you’re going to want to explore some financing options. And that’s where it’s smart to know what a lender will be looking at in order to potentially approve you for financing. Credit is credit, right? Wrong. There’s a difference between […]

In the most recent release of its home price index, the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed that the prices of U.S. homes rose only .8% in the second quarter of 2014. That’s important because while that’s the 12th quarter in a row that we've seen a home price increase, it suggests that compared to the […]

“Hey Mike, I’m thinking about exhibiting at a Home Show, but I’m not sure. Do you think it would be a profitable experience?” Sure, that upcoming home show on the calendar looks like it could bring some good exposure to your refinishing business – and it very well may. But if you have a booth […]

Believe it or not, everybody needs to be networking. Even tradesmen. Sure, your customers will hopefully refer you to others and that’s terrific. But in between those nice referrals, you’ve got to make connections among people who might be able to introduce you to prospective customers. Where do you begin? Especially if you dread the […]

Some jobs may seem like “no-brainer” deals where your customer has a need, you’ve supplied a solid bid and the stars should align for a project to come through. And then you wait. And wait. And wait. Time to give up and move on? Before you throw in the towel, ask yourself these questions and […]

You’re busy. You have another tub to get done today and you’re running late. What do you do? Maybe skip a safety measure or two to save a few minutes? Think again. Recently in San Diego, a refinisher wasn’t using a fume exhaust system and caused an explosion, rocking an apartment building. The explosion and […]

How do you always know just what your customer has in mind so you can used those well-polished skills to deliver on the project when it counts? It’s not just about being better when it comes to being hands-on. It’s about using those instruments attached your head called ears – because by improving your listening […]