Today's Guest

Jim Johnson is Head Coach at ContractorCoachPRO. He helps contractors take control of their business and find financial freedom – but his message will resonate with you no matter what business you’re in. Jim has been involved in contracting for the last 22 years. He is also a board member of the Roofing Contractors Association of Texas. As a leader in his industry, Jim frequently speaks at conferences with a focus on educating contractors. Hear his insights on how to take control of your business, grow your customer base, and achieve financial freedom.

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Episode Summary

After moving to Wisconsin from Texas I started working as a carpenter’s apprentice who built custom homes. One day I saw an ad in the paper to be a home inspector. I worked for that company for a couple of years before starting my own contractor business in St. Paul, Minnesota. We grew to around $25 million in yearly sales and opened 7 locations across the country.

After exiting my contractor business and taking some time off I decided to start a contractor consulting business. About four years in, we had an epiphany about what the ideal business model for contractors should be. We found most contractors focus on operations, such as marketing, sales, recruiting, and hiring, but often they overlook foundational components like leadership, finance, accountability, and HR. You can’t have a great culture without a good leader and you can’t have good processes without accountability.     

The two problems we see most often that cause a contractor to go out of business are poor financial decisions and a lack of leadership. When we start working with a business leader, we help them get control of their business so they can achieve financial freedom. The biggest difference between a contractor that is doing less than a million in revenue and one doing 20 to 50 times that amount is the large business has strong leadership, a solid company culture, and a repeatable process. The smaller business is likely to not have processes and a leader that is shooting from the hip more than leading their team.

Anybody can be a leader, but I see a lot of confusion about what it truly means to be a great leader. We boil it down to two basic areas that focus on understanding your strengths and weaknesses. The confusion with weaknesses is sometimes people spend too much time trying to improve them. That doesn’t mean you ignore your weakness, but the truth is you will accomplish more if you simply hire someone strong in those areas and let them do what they are gifted in. The super skill that any leader can and should develop is the ability to connect with others on a personal level. Especially when it comes to our employees when they feel seen and heard it is much easier to align their interests with yours.

Resources Shared

• ContractorCoachPRO
• Contractor Radio Podcast
• Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & ‎Stephen J. Dubner
• Leadership and Self-Deception by Arbinger Institute
• Thryv
  

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