FEATURE
good start to the season .” End of season does cause reflection on the business . The pause of the daily grind . “ The biggest thing it will cost you stays the same really ... and that is time ,” Ascione said . “’ Downtime is what you will experience . Often the mentality of ‘ I ’ ll do that later ’ or ‘ we ’ ve got time ’ is your biggest enemy . Yes , you do have time ... now . Think of it this way . You don ’ t actually get paid to talk to customers , work on your equipment , bid jobs , or even do the work . You get paid to solve problems and when you invoice . So , think about it in this way , ‘ Where can I make an improvement to serve my clients more efficiently ?’. Do you know where that area is and how to improve that ? Where are you spending your time and HOW are you spending your time ? Winter is where you get all of those elements out of the way that don ’ t get you producing quickly , efficiently , and still holding a high level of quality .” So , what is the best sequence or process for shutting down your operation for the season ? “ The best shut-down sequence to follow is to first clean the unit thoroughly ,” Hutchings said . “ The next step is to perform a detailed inspection and schedule any necessary repairs , including ordering parts . The detailed inspections stage is the best time to review next year ’ s workload for the machine and determine if the repairs are best route to take financially or should you consider purchasing a new machine .” Ascione said the following in reference to a recommended series of steps to take when shutting down before winter : “ Critical , Sizable , Desirable .
Let me explain ... most likely you have some critical things that need to be done whether its communicating with clients and giving them an update of what to expect for next year or some maintenance items on your equipment that have really been in need of attention for some time ... do those things first , because when they ’ re done , you can clear that demand out of your mind and then focus on the sizable tasks .
“ The sizable tasks might be a paint project or complete rebuild of your equipment . It might be finding a ( new ) CRM to use and fully building that out to be easy to use and completely streamlined . Basically , the sizable items are things that are going to require the most of your time . Well , now is the best time you ’ ll have and you can schedule it out and work on it consistently vs feeling like you ’ re in a rush and you have better things to do . “ And then , the desirable things are those that you WANT to do but aren ’ t a necessity . The reason that you can take on the desirable tasks is because all of the necessities are out of the way .” With the work year ending , get your plans in order for the off season . And don ’ t forget now is the time to look back on all that ’ s been accomplished this season and to thank your crew and customers for the success .
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