Learning Center · Fix My Business
Find the profit that is already in your business.
Most trades businesses doing $3M–$20M are not underpriced or under-marketed. They are leaking margin in four specific places, and all four are measurable in an afternoon. Start with the diagnostic, then fix in order of size.
4
Tools in this track
The premise
“The revenue is there. The profit isn't.”
The sequence
Do these in order. The order is most of the value.
- 01
Measure the leak
Put five numbers into the Margin Diagnostic and see where you sit against the benchmark band for your revenue size. It will tell you which of gross margin, marketing, or overhead is out of line — and what that gap is worth in cash.
- 02
Fix the price of the work
Most margin problems are priced in, not spent out. Check what you actually have to charge per hour, then test live quotes against the cost target before they go out the door.
- 03
Defend the spend
Marketing is the first line cut when profit is thin, and cutting it is usually what makes the next year worse. Build a budget from the jobs you need, not from a percentage someone quoted you.
- 04
Bank it
A margin point recovered is worth the same as a margin point grown — but it costs nothing to acquire. Run the exit-value math to see what those points compound into.
The instruments
Everything in this track.
- Profitability
Where is my profit actually leaking?
Compare your gross margin, marketing and overhead against the benchmark band for your size, and price the gap in cash.
- Margin vs benchmark
- Profit left on the table
- What the gap is worth at exit
- Pricing
Is this job priced to make money?
Check a quote against the 55% cost target before it goes out, including labor and commissions.
- Total cost
- Cost as % of sale
- Minimum viable price
- Pricing
What do I have to charge per hour to survive?
Work backwards from overhead, headcount, and billable efficiency to the rate that covers it all.
- Break-even rate
- Target rate at your margin
- Billable efficiency
- Marketing
How much should I spend, and on what?
Set a defensible budget from revenue goals and cost per acquisition, then split it by channel.
- Annual and monthly budget
- Channel allocation
- Leads needed
Background reading
The guides behind these numbers.
- Financial Management Guide The five reports that actually run a trades business, how often to read them, and what to do when they disagree.
- P&L Analysis Guide How to read a trades P&L in ten minutes: the four ratios that matter, and the questions each one should trigger.
- KPI Dashboard Guide The twelve numbers worth tracking weekly in a trades business, what each one warns you about, and what to leave off.
- Margin Benchmarks Operating bands for trades and home services by revenue size — gross margin, marketing, overhead and net — and how to use them without misleading yourself.
Partnership
Run the numbers, then bring us the output.
Our operators have run trades businesses themselves. Show us what these tools told you and we'll tell you what we'd do about it.