I was monitoring a conversation on a Service Round Table forum and the question arose whether anyone knew of someone who had switched back to T&M from Flat Rate. I did.
By the way, if you don't, won't, or can't switch to a proper way of doing business, the following scenario is exactly what will happen to you. I guarantee it.
This guy switched back because, “Flat Rate's a rip-off and gives our industry a bad name.” This was his conclusion despite watching my company successfully evolve; despite the clients I took from him when he couldn't get to them in time; and despite the clean-cut, uniformed, happy, well-paid employees he saw driving around town in my new trucks.
This man is 12 years younger than yours truly but looks grisly. He's got that “victim” mentality; walks like he hurts; is overweight; is physically disintegrating ... but still thinks I'm the bad guy, especially since I successfully sold my business and was living the American Dream. (He's attempted to sell his biz but it's literally worthless.)
So, he can't quit; he has little or no savings; uses his clunky old van as his family car; his home is mortgaged to the hilt to support his business; his kids owe college debts in the hundreds of thousands; he's had no vacations for umpteen years; his once attractive wife's turned into a shrew after being an unpaid serf forever; and, they're both so sour on life you'd think they were the original Grinch family.
These are the poster-children for your future if you stay in T&M, yet they still argue they're doing the “right thing” and are more ethical than us “rip-off” artists. Gimme a break! Twenty-five years ago this gentleman called me “friend.” Now he glares at me every time he sees me headin' out for a fun ride on my mountain bike. I still wave, he don't.
And here's the real sad part ... yeah, it can get worse! He's one of the lucky ones! I mean it! He's actually lucky enough to continue toiling for table scraps every day! What happens to those we never hear about? What happens to those who get sick, get injured, or come down with a disability? What will happen to your finances if you so much as break a toe? Are you listening?
So, what about you? How's your health? Can you afford medical insurance, or are you hoping Obamacare will kick in before you have an accident, or heart attack, or a stroke? How do your knees feel? Your back? How much do you weigh? Look in the mirror, ol’ buddy. What do you see? Do you like the image gazing back? Now imagine 10 years down the road. Will it be a trim, fit, healthy prosperous dude or dudette lookin' back at you, or will you be suffering the same fate as my poor, stubborn, loser of an ex-friend?
You can always stay where you are. Avoid change. Keep feeding off the bottom while leaving the fun — money, vacations, nice homes, kids' paid educations, expensive all-carbon mountain bikes — to those of us who ain't afraid to move onward and upward; to walk in the sun.
And thimpk about this — I accomplished my success with only six service trucks, so huge ain't necessarily the answer. I was too dumb to manage a larger company, but not too dumb to work smart in my smaller one. Small can still be beautiful!
There may not be enough room for you up here at the top with the winners (grin), but, hey, it's your choice ... and it is a choice you know. Really, it is. You know? Good luck down there on the bottom. Give me a holler if you decide to ask for a leg up.
Ed O'Connell is a business coach for small contractors. He is the founder emeritus of O'Connell Plumbing Inc. and he can be reached at 415/453-2291 or at [email protected].