Sounds like a nice contract. I would advise not to put all you eggs in one basket. If that customer or business market segment changes or goes out of business, then you are screwed. I actually advertise more when I am at my busiest part of the season. When advertising you are trying to make sure you have a pipeline, so the slow parts of the year, become busy. Just because you are busy, you should not stop growing to grow more business. Take some of the money you make and reinvest it in your company. Marketing, advertising, employees, etc... There is a basic rule that I have always followed and it nothing new. 80% of your business typically comes from 20% of your customer base and marketing tactics. That 20% changes almost every year and can sway the 80% dramatically. If you only focus on one segment of service, you just shrunk that 20% down to 1%.
I think you have a unique opportunity with these hog houses, but you should not abandon your other efforts, you should increase the momentum.
Jeff Wible said
Feb 19, 2017
I agree to an extent,..I actually think you should maybe keep some interest in residential,..at least until you REALLY know where you stand with this commercial work.
Commercial work is nice because it's always there,.until it's not there,...simply due to being outbid. There is a guy on another board that is currently in the process of a selling alot of equipment due to being beat out of a large contract that it seems he counted on. My first thought was the "All the eggs in one basket" analogy.
Residential,.. I think is more consistent as a whole,.some may argue that,.and that's ok,..just my feeling on it. I personally have a residential clientele that is excellent,.they are loyal and don't even look for other contractors,..at least to my knowledge, Ha,Ha,.. Unlike commercial clients,..who are sometimes bound to price search.
Jeff
BlueRidge said
Feb 19, 2017
Jeff Wible wrote:
I agree to an extent,..I actually think you should maybe keep some interest in residential,..at least until you REALLY know where you stand with this commercial work.
Commercial work is nice because it's always there,.until it's not there,...simply due to being outbid. There is a guy on another board that is currently in the process of a selling alot of equipment due to being beat out of a large contract that it seems he counted on. My first thought was the "All the eggs in one basket" analogy.
Residential,.. I think is more consistent as a whole,.some may argue that,.and that's ok,..just my feeling on it. I personally have a residential clientele that is excellent,.they are loyal and don't even look for other contractors,..at least to my knowledge, Ha,Ha,.. Unlike commercial clients,..who are sometimes bound to price search.
Jeff
Both you and John make great point Jeff. It is true, residential, for the most part will stick with a company they trust. Commercial has that aspect but it is very small so getting out bid by just a few dollars can close the door without notice.
Sounds like a nice contract. I would advise not to put all you eggs in one basket. If that customer or business market segment changes or goes out of business, then you are screwed. I actually advertise more when I am at my busiest part of the season. When advertising you are trying to make sure you have a pipeline, so the slow parts of the year, become busy. Just because you are busy, you should not stop growing to grow more business. Take some of the money you make and reinvest it in your company. Marketing, advertising, employees, etc... There is a basic rule that I have always followed and it nothing new. 80% of your business typically comes from 20% of your customer base and marketing tactics. That 20% changes almost every year and can sway the 80% dramatically. If you only focus on one segment of service, you just shrunk that 20% down to 1%.
I think you have a unique opportunity with these hog houses, but you should not abandon your other efforts, you should increase the momentum.
Commercial work is nice because it's always there,.until it's not there,...simply due to being outbid. There is a guy on another board that is currently in the process of a selling alot of equipment due to being beat out of a large contract that it seems he counted on. My first thought was the "All the eggs in one basket" analogy.
Residential,.. I think is more consistent as a whole,.some may argue that,.and that's ok,..just my feeling on it. I personally have a residential clientele that is excellent,.they are loyal and don't even look for other contractors,..at least to my knowledge, Ha,Ha,.. Unlike commercial clients,..who are sometimes bound to price search.
Jeff
Both you and John make great point Jeff. It is true, residential, for the most part will stick with a company they trust. Commercial has that aspect but it is very small so getting out bid by just a few dollars can close the door without notice.