I was a Boy Scout growing up.
Our troop spent a lot of time in the Rocky Mountains.
The only tool a 12-year-old boy needed to traverse the woods was a Swiss Army knife.
A tool to do everything.
It was lightweight, cheap and could do everything.
With the serrated saw, I could get through a 2 inch thick branch in a minute of sustained effort.
It wasn’t as good as a proper hand saw, but it was a fraction of the price and came with a fixed blade, bottle opener, toothpick, tweezers and Philips screwdriver.
At 10 years old, it was all I needed.
As I got older, its limitations became obvious.
Cutting a tree branch was fine, but a 2×4? Hell no.
The first office employee for almost all contractors and builders is that Swiss Army Knife.
It’s the office manager who does everything.
Many office managers are wives, girlfriends, or your sister’s friend who sort of does bookkeeping.
They
- Pay vendors.
- Keep the books.
- Set up software.
- Post on social media.
- Take calls from prospects.
- Call customers about payments.
- And organize the chaos most owners create.
Their role is absolutely necessary at the beginning.
But as the business continues to grow (or stops growing) the Swiss Army Knife needs to be upgraded.
Specialized tools are needed.
Talented tradespeople know the value of a specialized tool.
Specialized tools cost more, but with their output and quality, they quickly pay for themselves.
If you’ve hit a barrier in your business, investing in specialized tools (professionals) can accelerate you past those barriers.
Using a specialized professional doesn’t necessarily mean that your office manager has to go, but you need to supplement what they do.
The major constraint with most office managers is that they still heavily rely on you to get things done.
Yes, they are doing the work…
But you’re still involved in providing instructions and making decisions for most things.
It’s another set of hands, but your brain capacity is still demanded.
Specialized professionals don’t need instructions. They only need final approvals.
They allow you to work on your business more.
And you get your brain bandwidth back.
Your office managers, who once freed you up at the beginning, start to slow you down as your business’s complexity and risk increase.
The biggest areas of constraint are:
- Financial oversight
- Tech implementation and standard operating processes
- and Marketing and lead generation.
If you’re serious about building a sustainable, viable business, you need to upgrade your processes and tools in these areas sooner rather than later.
We specialize in financial oversight and tech + automation solutions.
Send me a message and I’d be happy to show you how we can help.
You’ll definitely save money with a Swiss Army knife, but it will cost you more than you know.
