To follow up on my negligence to not posting blogs or podcasts, I changed my strategy on hiring by going a different route. A good friend of mine, Jonathan, a Union contractor, mentioned that I needed to log everything. He realized that even though I was self-employed for over 10 years, my failure to log information could hurt me in the future. We sat down in early September 2019, and told me the importance of logging everything that happens each day in a legal binding book. He even told me to log my own hours. He showed me some of his logs and the importance of logging minute, and critical data. He asked me how did I know how much I was making when I never track my hours or expenses. None of the business friends that “showed me the ropes” mentioned logging data, and I never seen them do it. I decided to take Jonathan’s advice. On the 3rd Chick Fil A, I started to log everything. Multiple trades were falling behind and the Super on the job would request me to relocate to different areas, bouncing me around. I logged it all. I logged when someone didn’t come in that would affect my job. I logged that the electrical boxes weren’t complete, so I couldn’t cover the walls. This gave me leverage to request overtime and proof that I was not causing delays. Having the proper information to prove that I did not hold back any trade willingly, saved me thousands of dollars, and bumped up my revenue. This was testament of the importance of logging and I happened to see its power firsthand on the commercial job. Jonathan was like a business coach, giving pointers he learned to save his crews from litigation and backlash. He expressed that if I am serious about growing, I need to start to log everything as clearly evident from the commercial job. Jonathan is a solid friend. On his down time, he would go on YouTube to find if there were contractors that were where I was looking to be. He told me that he found a software program called Buildertrend that could help manage mostly everything. He also mentioned that I should hire someone to take care of the books. In late December, we reached out to Buildertrend and they did a video conference (Zoom) to show Jonathan and I the features of the product. I decided to purchase it and use it for my 2020 jobs. (FYI, as the writing of this in January 2021, I am glad I use it).

The first new job of 2020 was a large 8-bedroom rental of over 3600 square feet. The job included about 400 linear feet of wainscoting, wrapping 3 large collar ties, install 20 solid pre-hung doors, picture frame about 20 windows as well as picture frame 10 high complex angle windows, install 2 railing systems, install base molding, put up pine tongue and groove ceilings in a game room as well as tongue and groove over the stairs going from the lowest level to the main level, and put in shelves in all the closets. According to my logging, I took 249 pictures, been on the job 25 days, with a total of 183 hours, and I gave the builder access to it. That data is accurate and I can access it anytime. Even though Jonathan and I were really good friends, we spent more time on the phone in the last few months than we ever have. He mentioned that another friend of ours was looking for work and suggested that I reach out to him. I took his advice, and Edgar wanted to help me out as an office helper. He already had a lot of experience with customer service and felt a change of industry may help. He was familiar with CRM (customer relation management) software and enjoyed to talk to customers. His job was to collaborate with me on proposals, do follow ups, and to help me with the things that an office person can handle, so I can focus on getting the physical work completed. The first job that we had was an insurance claim job for another friend of ours, Joe. This would put the trust to the test on how well we can work with one another and how friends will treat us, since there is always that kind of dynamic that could hurt friendships. I have heard from almost everyone that you should never mix friendship or family with business, but I didn’t agree, I always felt that if you do the right job and treat your friends and family like customers, everything would be just fine. I can proudly say that I never lost a friendship from any work that I have ever done and this was no exception. Edgar and I, completed Joe’s job as one of the first jobs during the official pandemic shutdown and Joe was extremely impressed on how well we all worked together.

With such uncertainty in the economy, we were planning on how we can stay relevant in the crisis, and we had to, we needed to make this work. Edgar gave me just a few hours a week, and those hours were powerful to streamline customer expectations and he officially came on the team in September. His self-given title, Director of Operations, gave him a sense of purpose and empowerment. It was in September that I figured that I can start to blog again, especially if we are going to focus more on revenue coming from our own customers, and not as a subcontractor.

In 2020, I have completed another 15 books and used the information to hone my personal life as well as business. Edgar and I have done about 18 jobs together in 2020, and his focus on customers frees me up to do blogs. My website will be updated soon, and 2021 will be an amazing year! We are looking forward to provide value to homeowners and contractors.

Throughout 2020, I have not stressed like I have done in the past. I truly did learn how to control my thoughts to have better peace of mind. Throughout the year, I wore a mask in every home to give homeowners peace of mind. In May, my little brother, Carmine, passed away in the hospital when family was restricted to see patients. The nurse there was able to FaceTime my mother and I to try to give him hope. Although unorthodox and painfully sad, I was able to control my stress. In August a vendor promised material delivery multiple times in which we relayed the message to the homeowner, making them very frustrated to know that it kept getting pushed back. We took extreme ownership on the delay and offered a nice discount, even though the vendor would not offer any due to their error. I believe that since Preferred Carpentry was hired, it is our responsibility to make it right. In November, Edgar got covid, and I told him to not worry, to rest and he will still get his pay. In December, a customer gave me covid, putting me out of work for 3 full weeks. Despite the setbacks, instead of stressing out, Edgar and I decided to be more efficient in the tasks we are already doing. Handwritten cards go out once a week to specific customers, trades, or vendors. We decided to have 2 or more vendors or subs in each profession to limit any setbacks. We no longer give specific dates; we give a range of time. We log all activities and as of January 2021, we are now measuring leads, signed contracts, and honing in how proficient we are on each job to make sure no more jobs put us in the red. Now that I can see that Edgar truly does care for the success of the business, it frees up time to provide value through blogs, podcasts, and other media. I also thank everyone that has reached out to me with words of encouragement.

I appreciate your time, and if you have any comments, please, feel free to email Edgar at edgarmarin@preferredcarpentryllc.com, because we are a team, and we appreciate you!