How to Stay Busy

I frequently talk to someone who will remark that some contractor is staying very busy. They say this with great respect and awe, and there was a time that I would have had a similar attitude. But staying busy really isn't such a great accomplishment. In fact, it is very easy to stay busy.

Staying busy just means that you have a lot of work. Actually, it doesn't even mean that--it really means that you are doing a lot of work. But if that "work" consists of putting out fires, are you really staying busy? If that "work" isn't profitable, is it really a good thing to be busy?

There is one way to stay busy that is almost fool proof. I say fool proof, because it is usually fools who use this method, and they don't seem to mess it up very often. That method is-- (drum roll please) charge dirt cheap prices for your work.

If everyone around you is charging $25 an hour, imagine how much work you can get if you only charge $15 an hour. You will have more work than you can ever imagine--everyone will want to hire you. Of course, you won't make any money unless you hire a pack of circus chimps to do the work. And then you will likely have lots of problems, which will keep you even busier.

Staying busy is really not what you should be worried about. Making money should be your primary concern. If you could make the money you want/ need and only work 3 days a week, would you complain about not being busy? I didn't think so. Certainly, we want to have an adequate supply of work. But that is vastly different from staying busy.

Some contractors seem to equate staying busy with success. Au contraire, mon frère. Try painting interior walls with a 2" sash brush--you'll be busier than a bumble been. And you won't be very successful if you consider being profitable the measure of success. In other words, you can spend a lot of time doing something, but if your efforts are inefficient, you won't accomplish the results you want.

Staying busy is wildly overrated. And usually, the contractors who focus on staying busy will soon be busy doing something else-- like looking for a job.