A lot of tradespeople dream of becoming successful business owners, of building a thriving company, a legacy that can be passed on to their children.
But when many tradespeople try to make the move from employee to business owner, they find that building a business is much harder than they imagined. If that’s you, if you feel stuck and wonder whether you made the wrong decision, let me assure you: it’s not too late to turn things around. You absolutely can be the successful entrepreneur you always dreamed of becoming.
I would know. I had that dream too. I moved to the U.S. with only $1,500. We got jobs as carpet cleaners, then used what we learned from that experience to open our own carpet cleaning service. That humble start grew into 911 Restoration, now recognized by Entrepreneur as one of the best and fastest growing franchises in the United States.
So it’s safe to say the dream is possible. But you can’t get there if you’re still stuck in a tradesperson’s mindset.
I meet a lot of business owners who struggle to keep their company afloat. Like me, they have a background in the trade itself. They know their field backwards, forwards, and inside out. They do outstanding work, but they’re not seeing the profits they want. Why not?
Struggle is often a signal that something needs to change, a sign that you’re out of alignment with the person you hope to become. If you’re a tradesperson turned entrepreneur, there’s probably a good reason you’re not seeing the numbers you want in your bank account. It’s not about skill. It’s about mentality.
To Succeed in Business, You Need a Business Mindset
If you’re running your own company, it’s time to stop thinking like a tradesperson.
Your hands-on knowledge about the service you provide is valuable when it comes to relating to employees and upholding a high standard of service. But to really see the profits grow, you also have to become an expert in business.
What’s the difference between thinking like a tradesperson and thinking like an entrepreneur? There are many layers to a business mindset, but the transformation happens one step at a time. The first, most important step is this:
Know Your Numbers
As a tradesperson, you’ve probably measured a lot of your success by how you feel. Concrete wins matter, a problem solved, a paycheck earned, but when it comes to the business itself, most employees find satisfaction in thoughts like “that customer interaction felt really positive” or “it felt good to do such a good job.”
As a business owner, you can’t afford to judge success by feeling, and you can’t base major decisions on a hunch. You have to turn your focus to cold, hard facts: goals that can be measured with numbers, and statistics you track closely to see how your efforts are actually performing.
Step One: Start With the Key Metrics That Drive Growth
It’s easy to get lost in the weeds once you start digging into numbers, so keep it simple by starting with the metrics that matter most.
Say your goal is $1 million in sales with a 20 percent profit margin. Start with that target, then break it down into the numbers needed to get there:
– Total Sales: the goal is $1 million.
– Average Job: say the average job brings in $2,500.
– Number of Jobs Needed: divide the sales goal ($1 million) by the average job value ($2,500) to find how many jobs are needed, in this case, 400.
– Conversion Rate: look at your current conversion rate, or set a goal to improve it. Say the target is 50 percent.
– Leads: at 400 jobs with a 50 percent conversion rate, that means generating 800 leads.
– Profit: to hit a 20 percent profit margin on $1 million in sales, the target is $200,000 in profit.
Now the goal is right in front of you in black and white. You know what to aim for, and how to measure progress toward it.
Step Two: Create Monthly Goals
Break these metrics into monthly targets. How many leads are needed each month? How many jobs?
Make a habit of checking in on progress constantly. These numbers reveal whether your efforts are actually getting results. If a goal is missed, the specific number that’s off shows exactly which part of the business needs attention, whether that’s conversion rate, lead generation, or something else entirely.
The biggest problem I see among business owners is defaulting back to feelings and instinct when making important decisions. It’s common for new entrepreneurs to blame the marketing, assuming business would improve with flashier ads or a bigger budget. But the numbers often tell a different story. Maybe leads are coming in fine, but the conversion rate has dropped. In that case, the fix isn’t attracting more customers, it’s figuring out why the customers already showing up aren’t converting.
Once you learn to focus on the numbers and examine them critically, you start to see real changes in the health of your business.
The Key Is to Be Patient With Yourself
Many of us fall into the business we’re in because a family member or friend connected us to the industry. Like a lot of entrepreneurs, you probably haven’t spent your whole life training to be a business leader.
You’re learning as you go, which means you’re bound to stumble. But you’re more than capable of growing your business into something you can pass on to the next generation, as long as you’re willing to keep learning and evolving.
Start with a simple change: shift from a trade perspective to a business mindset. For your first step, set feelings aside and focus on the numbers. That single adjustment will have the most powerful, immediate impact on the health of your company.
You’ve got this. I promise.
Cheers,
Idan Shpizear, CEO, 911 Restoration Franchise
If this resonates and you’re exploring what franchise ownership could look like for you, we’d love to talk. Download our free starter kit to learn more about 911 Restoration.