During your well-deserved seasonal downtime, it is important to start planning for the months ahead. The economic outlook for Canada in 2016 looks like there could be some challenges faced by all businesses. Following these 3 tips for growing your contracting business in 2016 and beyond.
Expanding beyond housing
The real estate market in Canada has been growing at a fantastic rate over the previous decade, resulting in great business for contractors servicing the industry with new builds and renovations. While this trend may continue, low oil prices and a sluggish economy may result in a slowdown in housing starting in 2016. This could have a serious impact on many contracting companies that rely on the housing market to provide consistent revenue.
Whether or not this potential slowdown happens in your area, 2016 is the time to diversify your business by looking to new markets. Make sure all your eggs aren’t placed in one basket. Start looking into different industries and begin building those relationships today!
Work-life balance
We know that running your own contracting business requires not just passion and dedication, but also long hours. Spending your evenings doing invoicing, paperwork and other administrative duties on top of your day of work makes for a pretty exhausting week. Creating a proper work-life balance for yourself can be difficult when you wear so many hats.
Make 2016 the year you get serious about your work-life balance by hiring someone to take care of the administrative tasks. Having someone who knows their way around billing, payroll and administrative tasks can help make your business more efficient and allow you to focus on what’s most important: growing your business. Start today because finding the right candidate that fits your needs can take some time, but it can really pay off in the end.
Gain credibility
Having a good reputation for doing excellent work on time and on budget are keys to the success of a contracting or trades business. Contracting businesses that have unsatisfied customers and bad reputations quickly get weeded out of this competitive industry. Tales of shoddy workmanship, incomplete quotes and missed deadlines are some of the horror stories that customers are all too happy to share with their friends.
On the other hand, contractors that do great work and provide good customer service often succeed by word-of-mouth referrals from their clients. You can amplify these positive reviews and let your work speak for itself. Registering for a website like Home Stars or Angie’s List can help market your company by letting your work and customers speak for themselves. It’s especially useful if you don’t have a website or social media page that is updated regularly.
These are just a few of the ways that you can work towards making 2016 a success for your contracting business. Stay connected to our blog throughout the year and we will provide you with new tips and advice that will help make your business a success.
