Your Remodeling Company Is a Business, Not a Family

Your colleagues may feel like family, but it's important to remember that you're a business owner first.

Owning a small business presents many challenges: Who are the ideal clients? Who should we never work with? How do we get the service we need from vendors and subcontractors? How do we keep overhead at a manageable amount? When will we make a profit?

One of the biggest challenges is how to manage the company’s relationship with employees. Particularly when the number of employees is small, the tendency is to regard the employees as part of the family. Why does this happen?

A Craftsperson Who Accidentally Started a Business
You start a business because there is more opportunity than you can satisfy working on your own. Now you are a businessperson. You find yourself thinking, “How did that happen?”

The objectivity that is necessary to making good business decisions is a skill that you need to develop, as you are used to looking at things more subjectively. Subjectivity can get in the way of making business-driven decisions when managing employees. Using a few simple metrics as the basis for a decision instead of simply going with your gut, for instance, is essential for success.