Business coaching for contractors, from a contractor
You're good at the work. Make the business pay you for it.
I've run a Denver-area contracting company since 2011. I coach trades owners on the four things that decide whether you keep the money you make: your numbers, your pricing, your sales and your crew.
Sound familiar?
Busy isn't the same as profitable.
Most contractors were never taught the business side. They learned the trade, got good at it, and the work found them. Then the business started running them.
You're busy every single day, and the bank account doesn't show it.
You price jobs by gut feel, or by whatever the last competitor charged.
You find out a job lost money weeks after the crew left.
Every decision, every call and every problem still runs through you.
You can't take a week off without the phone pulling you back.
Good people leave, and every new hire feels like a coin flip.
Why listen to me
I'm not a professional coach. I'm a contractor who had to fix my own business first.
My roofing customers don't pay a deposit. Not a dollar changes hands until the job is done and they're happy with it.
That only works if you know your numbers cold: what every job costs, what it has to sell for, and when the cash comes in. Every customer gets an exact written price before we start, and I run everything I coach in my own company, every week.
More about DavidWhat we work on
Four areas. Fix them in order.
When a contracting business is stuck, the problem is almost always in one of these four places. We find yours, fix it, then move to the next.
Numbers
Know what every job actually made.
Job costing, margins and cash flow you can read in ten minutes a week. Most owners find out a job lost money months later. You'll know within days of finishing it.
Pricing
Charge what the work is worth.
Prices built from your real costs and overhead, not from what the company down the street charges. No more discounting to win jobs you didn't want anyway.
Sales
Close more jobs without the pressure.
A simple, honest process for estimates and follow-up. Homeowners hire the contractor who's clear about the price and shows up when promised.
Crew
Build a team that runs without you.
Hiring, written standards and accountability, so the work gets done right when you're not standing on the job site.
How it works
Simple, direct and built around your business.
Book a free call
You tell me where the business is and where it's stuck. I tell you honestly whether I can help.
Find the leak
We look at your real numbers and pick the one or two changes that will make the most money. Not twenty. One or two.
Fix it and make it stick
Regular calls, a clear plan and someone who holds you to it. Once it sticks, we move on to the next one.
Straight talk
This isn't for everyone.
This is for you if
- You own a residential trades business and the work is already coming in.
- You're willing to look at your real numbers, even the ugly ones.
- You want to run a business, not just own a job.
- You'll do the work between calls.
This isn't for you if
- You want someone to hand you leads.
- You're looking for a marketing trick to fix a pricing problem.
- You want motivation without changing anything.
- You want someone else to do it for you.
The Playbook
Free to read: how the business side works.
Pricing, job costing, cash flow and sales, written down the way I run them in my own company.
Should Contractors Take Deposits? Why I Don't.
My company takes no deposit and no progress payments. Customers pay when the job is done and they're satisfied. Why I do it, what it takes, and who it isn't for.
PricingHow to Price a Roofing Job From Your Real Costs
Stop pricing off what the other roofer charged. Build every roofing price from materials, labor, overhead and profit, with a worked example you can copy.
NumbersContractor Job Costing: A Simple System You'll Actually Use
Find out what every job really made within a week of finishing it. A plain job costing system for residential contractors, no expensive software required.
Questions
Before you book
I'm not a roofer. Is this for me?
Yes. My company does roofing and remodeling, but the problems are the same in every residential trade: pricing, job costing, cash flow, sales and crews. If you sell to homeowners and run a crew, this applies to you.
How much does coaching cost?
It depends on where your business is and what it needs, so we cover it on the call, once we both know whether it's a fit. No surprises and no pressure.
How does payment work?
Coaching is paid in advance, month by month, and we agree on the commitment before we start. The no-deposit rule you'll read about on this site is for my roofing and remodeling customers, who can inspect a finished job before they pay. Coaching is time set aside on my calendar, so it's paid ahead.
How often do we meet, and how?
Usually every week or two, by phone or video, whichever fits your schedule. We set the rhythm on the first call, based on what needs fixing first.
Can I reach you between calls?
Yes, for quick questions. If a bid is due tomorrow and you want a second look at the price, send me a message. Bigger topics wait for the next call, where we can do them properly.
What size business is this for?
Owners who already have steady work and at least one crew, or are about to hire one. If you're still looking for your first customers, coaching on pricing and crews is probably early for you.
What happens on the free call?
It's about 30 minutes on the phone. You tell me where the business is and where it's stuck. I'll tell you honestly whether coaching makes sense for you right now, and if it doesn't, you'll still hang up with something useful.
Are you still running a contracting business?
Yes. I still run Colorado Roofing and Remodeling in the Denver area. What I coach is what I do every week, not theory out of a book.
Next step
Is your business paying you what it should?
One phone call is enough to find out where the money is going.