Al Levi  is an author, business consultant, and president of The 7-Power Contractor®. Today, he shares how to implement clear systems and train the right people so that your home services business can run with less stress and more success. 

Learn From Your Mistakes

No one is immune to making mistakes – we are all human, after all! But if we simply acknowledge the problem and carry on as before, we're in danger of repeating the same errors. 

Al says it is essential to learn from your mistakes and consciously think about how to do better in the future.

>“I’m not brilliant. I fell in every single hole as a business person, climbed out of the hole, dusted myself off. And the only one thing I will give myself credit for is, I said ‘That really hurt, let’s not fall back in that same hole.’ But you know, having been a consultant now for 19 years, I’ve watched others do what I did for so long, which is just continually fall back in the same hole... To solve today’s problem with no thought about tomorrow. And that’s what really robs your progress and kills your growth.”

Learning from your mistakes is one thing. Putting what you've learned into practice is another. Look ahead and change your ways. Or else, you may never reach your goals.

Run Your Business Systematically

Al learned the hard way how lacking formal systems and documented processes can lead to a lack of progress. He shares how important it is to have everyone in your business on the same page, following clear, established processes. 

He lays out seven simple business powers that hundreds of owners have applied to run their businesses successfully:

1. Planning
2. Operating
3. Staffing
4. Sales
5. Sales Coaching
6. Marketing
7. Financial

>“Until you have systems, you can’t leverage. Until you bring people in that are trained right, you can’t leverage.”

Staffing Power

When it comes to staffing, Al encourages business owners to flip the script. 

Instead of finding skilled people and retraining them, find willing people and teach them skills. When you train service techs the way you want them to be trained, you have less rewiring to do later.

>“Let’s start building techs from scratch, from young, willing apprentices, and move them up the ladder. And let’s build them our way, instead of trying to rewire these guys, trying to steal them.”

By putting time and work into finding the right people, you will improve your chances of hiring the best performers and avoid costly, painful mistakes. To increase employee satisfaction and strengthen your staffing system, Al recommends implementing these five staffing actions: 

1. Always be recruiting.
2. Always be hiring.
3. Always be orienting.
4. Always be training.
5. Always be retaining. 

When you build a company of willing people equipped with strong training and clear systems, you will achieve success.

For more information on his business and services, visit 7-Power Contractor.