Build a business that can run without you

By Jesse Sanchez. 

Documented processes, clear ownership and better visibility can help contractors reduce bottlenecks and build a company that operates without constant owner involvement. 

For contractors who have built their companies from the ground up, growth can create an unexpected problem: The owner becomes the person that every decision, question and update must pass through. ContractorHUB suggests a simple test for identifying that bottleneck: Consider what would happen if the owner stepped away for two weeks with their phone turned off. If operations would stall, the company may depend too heavily on one person to keep work moving. 

Reducing that dependence starts with documenting how work actually gets done. Processes that live only in the minds of owners and key employees can create delays whenever questions or exceptions arise. Writing down how successful crews and representatives handle recurring work gives the entire team a consistent standard to follow. 

Clear project ownership is equally important. Assigning each recurring responsibility to a specific person helps prevent tasks from falling through the cracks while reducing the need for employees to continually ask who should handle an issue. Contractors can also reduce time spent chasing updates by making job progress visible in one place. Accessible information about customer communication, material orders and project status allows owners and team members to identify potential problems earlier. 

Finally, sharing performance information can help employees make more decisions independently. When team members have access to the same relevant data as company leadership, decisions can often be made closer to where the work is happening. 

Together, these practices can shift an owner's role from constantly holding operations together to focusing more attention on business growth. As ContractorHUB explains, “The goal was never to work in the business forever, it was to build something that runs well whether you're in the room or not.” 

Learn more about ContractorHUB and how its platform brings processes, ownership, job status and performance information into one system!