Many times we are dealing with tradies who have been in business for a few years but want to improve and grow. James from Greater Western Electrical in Bacchus Marsh is a great example.
Greater Western Electrical
We started coaching James Baum from Greater Western Electrical in the Bacchus Marsh - Melton region. James had been in business for 7 years and wanted more from his business and thought a business coach was an ideal mentor for him.
James was a one-man band specialising in repairs and maintenance for residential homes, local primary schools, real estate agents, other small commercial businesses, and on the odd occasion a new home build. But he knew he had the capacity for more, but where did he find these new clients and how?
James knew he was lacking in direction and was overwhelmed with options he could take in his business and needed more clients. Hugh coached James to:
- come up with a vision of how he would like his business be in 5 years time,
- set goals for his business and personal life
- create an action plan of activities to work towards to manage and grow his business.
Business Growth
Hugh and James analysed his existing advertising and realised it wasn’t getting the returns James wanted so they stopped it.
They looked at his pricing and tightened a few things there.
James bought a new van (but still managing to keep the old one… thinking ahead). He rebranded all his marketing material from van signage, a new website, flyers, magnets and stickers.
He’s looking to the future and has a new employee in the pipeline – he’s already got the old van ready to go, and is creating the processes that he wants them to learn about how he runs his business, so they can hit the ground running.
By making these changes within his business in the first 4 months of working together, James can now say:
• Sales have increased by 19%
• Gross Margin has increased by 17%
• Profit has increased 80%
• His new van branding was paid for within the first week by securing a large job.
Having clear direction on where to spend his time, money and marketing and knowing what vehicle type to get and the branding that works helps.
James now knows exactly where his clients are coming from and has a focussed on reviews and referrals
- 2/3 of his customers are repeat clients
- another 1/3 are new clients.
- With the new clients, 25% are referrals, and 73% find him from his (new!) website.
Having an experts perspective can give any business owner a new set of eyes on areas to tweak within their business or new opportunities that they didn’t realise were there…. And you might just get a shiny new van too?!
Greater Western Electrical Vision Statement –
"To supply a 24 hour electrical service to the Bacchus Marsh and Melton community, that is known for being punctual, and providing a high quality workmanship. We strive to be a business that our customers would be happy to recommend."
Call Hugh Today
Hugh Bowman is a specialist in business coaching for trade businesses and is a former engineer and technical expert. He has lived and worked in many parts of regional Victoria coaching tradie business owners.
Ph: 0409 402 474