Excavation Profits Podcast: Insights from Service Industry Success Founder Brian Harding

5 Phases Of Scaling Your Business

In the latest episode of the Excavation Profits podcast, host Scott Andreasen sits down with Brian Harding, the founder of Service Industry Success and author of the book "Service Industry Success." Harding shares his journey from working in the steel industry to building a successful plumbing business and then transitioning into a coaching and consulting role, helping other service-based businesses grow and thrive.

The Five Stages of Business Growth:

Harding breaks down the journey of building a service-based business into five distinct stages:

1. Startup Phase:

- Focus on the basics: legal documents, accurate financial records, and cash flow management

- Understand your direct costs and gross margins

- Implement deposit schedules and avoid relying solely on good faith from customers

2. Scaling Up:

- Identify your target customer and what makes your business unique

- Compartmentalize tax money and don't commingle it with operating funds

- Understand employment law and consider getting employment practices insurance

3. Delegating Decisions:

- Transition from delegating tasks to delegating decision-making

- Develop a leadership team that can make competent decisions

- Establish clear processes and priorities, not just rigid procedures

4. Freedom for the Business Owner:

- Resist the temptation to disengage too quickly from the business

- Ensure your leadership team is prepared to run the business without you

- Focus on long-term planning and increasing the business's value

5. Mentorship:

- Pass on the knowledge and strategies you've learned to your management team

- Ensure the business can run autonomously without your daily involvement

- Shift your focus to vision, stability, and continued growth

Advice for Entrepreneurs:

Harding shares valuable advice for entrepreneurs starting out in the service industry:

- Don't get stuck on your initial vision - be open to pivoting and adapting as you learn

- Leverage mentorship and seek out advice from experienced business owners, not just your personal network

- Avoid overcomplicating things - focus on the critical criteria for success and make decisions accordingly

- Understand the key metrics and criteria to evaluate the success of your marketing efforts

Conclusion:

The Excavation Profits podcast episode with Brian Harding provides a comprehensive framework for service-based business owners to navigate the different stages of growth. By understanding these stages and implementing Harding's strategies, excavation and septic professionals can build more profitable, efficient, and sustainable businesses. Listeners are encouraged to check out Harding's book, "Service Industry Success," and explore the additional resources he mentioned, such as his podcast and free webinar.