IN THE MIX
Train Like You Mean It
If your team’ s returning next year, invest in them now.
Host a Saturday workshop on sealcoat mixing, line-layout accuracy, or safety procedures. Go over your top jobs from this year, what went right, what could be better. Let your foremen teach too. It builds pride and sharpens leadership. Look into companies that provide training platforms. Even if you’ re solo, train yourself. Read business books, watch equipment demos, shadow another contractor for a day or DM asking to join our In The Mix Contractor group. Growth doesn’ t always mean buying more gear, sometimes it’ s about sharpening the person behind it.
Build a Real Marketing Plan
Don’ t wait until spring to start marketing. The best leads of 2026 are being warmed up NOW. Update your Google Business profile, collect reviews while the season’ s still fresh in your customers’ minds, and refresh your website photos. Get next season’ s job photos,
testimonials, and before-and-afters organized into folders so content creation doesn’ t get buried when you’ re busy. I think Facebook ads are still the best“ bang for your buck” for smaller contractors and LinkedIn is THE spot for commercial client campaigns. If you’ ve got the resources, batch-create social posts or videos for January – March. Consistency online builds trust, and trust builds contracts before the first truck rolls out.
Reflect and Reset
Lastly, breathe. Take stock of what went right and what didn’ t this year.
Ask yourself:
• What were my biggest wins?
• Where did we waste time or money?
• How can I make next year simpler, smoother, and more scalable?
Write those answers down. The offseason isn’ t about doing everything, it’ s about doing the right things, in the least stressful way as possible. Proper preparation is the key to that.
Because come March, when the calls start rolling in again, you’ ll be grateful you took this season to invest in yourself, your crew, and your systems.
Final Thought
The best contractors I know don’ t chase the next season; they build it. So, while others are packing it in, stay intentional. Learn something new. Fix what’ s broken. Meet people who are where you want to be. When spring hits, you’ ll roll out not just ready but ahead. As always, if you have any questions, insight or criticisms about this article or anything in it, please feel free to email me at marvinjoles @ gmail. com and of course, reach out to me using any form of social media(@ inthemixmj). Listen to the“ In The Mix with Marvin Joles” Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Watch on YouTube. Visit www. inthemixmj. com to learn more. Asphalt is Opportunity.-Marvin
Marvin Joles is the owner of Wis-Coat Asphalt Maintenance. Visit his website at
https:// marvinjoles. com.
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