Question for the one man shows or business owners whom have been the injured list. What is your contingency plan for a major injury? Whether it be a fall from a ladder, a traffic collision, or a chronic illness. How long can your business survive?
I was pondering this question the other day, my solutions are either to grow and hire or find trustworthy subs to hire that won’t do terrible work or poach customers while I recover. I’d be interested to hear from others regarding your survival plan.
Is this hypothetical or actually what is going to happen soon ?
And when you say " Survive " do you mean :
A - How long you can go and not service a customer before they find someone else ?
or B - How much money do we keep in the business emergency fund ?
And clarify do you do both commercial - route - residential ?
I was coming down from the roof of a house I was working on, missed the ladder rung and stumbled a bit on the ladder. I thought to myself if I fell and broke something, I would be screwed without some sort of plan. I was curious what the veterans here have figured out regarding this scenario. It is hypothetical, but also a serious inquiry.
As WDW wrote, need specifics on your business. I have been pondering this myself for awhile now, but dont have any serious plans in place yet so I will be watching.
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I set money aside for personal expenses and all my business assets are free and clear. I have two PT employees that can cover for me. I need to be able to deal with this contingency because I have had to go out of town several times to assist my wife with medical issues.
My business has revenue stability 12 months a year due to janitorial contracts. Naturally they provide lower $PMH but the offseason revenue is important.
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How do you retain your part time employees? I ask because from October to June I’m turning away work, but only booking enough for one person in the summer. A full time employee is not feasible at this point.
Finding the right employees is HARD. The employee I have had since June of 2019 is satisfied with the PT paycheck and he likes the flexible hours he works for the janitorial accounts. I also give bonuses such as steaks, turkeys, or extra pay.
My other employee is my son. He started working with me in May. He wants the freedom to be a snowbird and travel in the winter. Winter is slow for WC but I do get a few carpet cleaning and/or floor waxing jobs each month during the winter so I can easily do without him for a month or two during the winter. My son is working about 40 hours a week with janitorial, WC and carpet cleaning.
I imagine finding a good employee would be hard. I remember being an employee and the attitude some employees can have towards their employer regarding productivity, pay, and entitlement. Especially if the pay is hourly.
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I have had three hip surgeries (2 replacements) in the last 3 years. Can’t tell you how important it is to have at least one great employee (full or part-time) that can carry the load for a few months. Although I planned the surgeries out during slow months, I consistently think about safety every time I climb a ladder. It’s a reminder to use a lot of finesse and be deliberate about every step.
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Ryan your profile page says Casoer, Wyoming. FYI. Is that suppose to be Casper ?
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Ouch, that sounds like a lot of down time. At least you had the forethought to prepare.
