Business Operations Consulting | Custom Quote | 8-Session Program
Do you ever feel like you’re just working a really expensive, high-stress hobby? Are you tired of finishing a long week in the shop only to realize you didn’t actually make any money? Have you ever looked at your team and wondered how everyone got so busy doing the wrong things?
We’ve all been there. After 38+ years in the closet industry, I’ve seen the same patterns play out in hundreds of businesses, and I lived through them myself. I started in 1988 with a one-man operation and eventually grew it to a team of over 50 people. Along the way, I made every mistake in the book.
If I could go back and talk to "1988 Tim," these are the nine specific shifts we would focus on to stop reacting and start leading.
1. The Mindset Shift: Business vs. Hobby
The single biggest mistake we make is treating our craft like a hobby rather than an engine for profit. In the hobby trap, you are the business. You work in the business, you pay yourself last (if at all), and decisions are made by gut feel or passion.
When we shift to a Business Mindset, we start working on the business. We document our ways, make decisions based on data, and ensure the shop runs, and grows, even when we aren't standing next to the machines.
2. People: Hiring Slow and Training on Purpose
We’ve all hired out of desperation when a big project hits, only to regret it three weeks later. The mistake isn't just who we hire; it's how we bring them into our culture. We need to hire slow and train on purpose.
To fix this, we recommend a 90-Day Onboarding Plan aka a structured welcome period:
- Phase 1 (Days 1–7): Foundation. Safety training, product basics, and reading plans.
- Phase 2 (Days 8–21): Assisted Installs. Shadowing a lead and learning the staging process.
- Phase 3 (Days 22–45): Controlled Independence. Taking the lead on simple tasks with minimal corrections.
- Phase 4 (Days 46–90): Full Responsibility. Owning entire small jobs and meeting our quality standards.
3. Systems: The Backbone of the Shop
If your "system" only lives in your head, you don't have a system; you have a secret. We need SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) aka written instructions to ensure every job is done the right way, every time. Without checklists for everything from material intake to final cleanup, you are leaving your reputation to chance.
What does the complete SOP chain look like in a real closet industry business? It starts at the first touch and runs all the way to final payment. These are the critical documents that turn a hobby into a real company.
We need documented SOPs for:
- Marketing: How do leads find us? What message are we putting into the market? Which offers, campaigns, referral asks, or follow-up rhythms are we using consistently?
- Lead Qualification: Who is a real fit, and who is not? What budget, timeline, location, and project-type questions do we ask before we ever schedule a design appointment?
- Running the Design Appointment: What is our step-by-step process in the home or showroom? How do we ask better questions, uncover priorities, measure correctly, set expectations, and move the client toward a confident decision?
- Processing a Sale: Once the client says yes, what happens next? Who collects the deposit, enters the order, confirms selections, reviews details, and hands the job off to production?
- Processing a Lost Sale: What do we do when the client says no, delays, or goes quiet? Do we track why we lost it, schedule follow-up, and learn from the pattern, or do we just let the opportunity disappear?
- Ordering and Making the Job: How is the job reviewed before production begins? Who verifies measurements, materials, hardware, cut lists, and special instructions before the business commits time and money?
- Receiving Material, Producing, and Staging the Job: What happens when material shows up? How is it checked, labeled, stored, produced, quality-checked, and staged so install is set up to win instead of scramble?
- Collecting Payment: When do we invoice? Who confirms completion? What is our process for final payment, change orders, punch-list items, and closing out the file?
This is where we stop and ask the hard questions. Is every handoff clear? Does each team member know what document starts their part of the process? If a lead becomes a client today, could someone else in the business follow the paperwork from first call to final payment without needing you to explain it?
That’s the difference between owning a demanding job and building a business. A real company has a documented chain: first touch, qualification, appointment, sale, ordering, production, staging, installation, and payment collection. When we build that chain on purpose, we create consistency, accountability, and profit.
4. Number Sense: Managing by the Data
Do you know your "number sense"? Most creative, right-brained owners manage by their bank balance. Instead, we need to focus on these Profit Targets:
- Net Profit: Aim for 10%+.
- Close Ratio: Target 60% or higher.
- Gross Profit: We look for 45-60%+ depending on the project complexity.
If you aren't hitting these numbers, we need to look at your pricing and your processes. Are you charging enough for the expertise you bring to the table?
5. Planning: Stop Playing Whack-A-Mole
"Do you feel like you're playing Whack-A-Mole?" The same problems keep popping up, and you’re just getting faster at reacting to them. The fix isn't faster reflexes, it's anticipation.
We use the If/Then Model: If we know a problem recurs (like a missing part or a design error), we build a contingency for it before it happens. If you didn't write down how you solved it last time, it isn't solved yet.
6. Discipline: Doing It on Purpose
Most shop chaos isn't bad luck, it's the absence of discipline. We have two choices: Letting It Happen (Reaction) or Doing It on Purpose (Cause).
- Reaction: Firefighting, skipping routines when busy, hoping the month turns out okay.
- Cause: A 10-minute morning huddle, following the Reports Schedule, and reviewing the month-end close with a calm, patient eye.
7. Promotion: Avoiding the Peter Principle
The Peter Principle is the idea that people get promoted to their level of incompetence. Just because someone is your best installer doesn't mean they should be your Install Manager. We must promote into Ability, not just as a reward for past work. Rewarding skill with the wrong job loses you a great installer and gains you a frustrated manager.
8. Transitions: Parting with Dignity
Not everyone will stay for the whole journey. Whether it's an employee moving on or a client relationship that has soured, we must handle transitions with respect. Document the exit, share the knowledge, and move forward with your head held high.
9. Finance: Debt as a Tool, Not a Trap
We need to keep cash for the "moles" we can't predict. Use debt strategically to grow or to purchase more efficient machines, but never use it to mask a lack of profitability.
Bonus: The Extra Steps to Profitability
- Mind Your Buckets: We need to keep the Lead-to-Install Pipeline moving. Are your buckets for Sales, Production, and Installation balanced, or is one overflowing while the other is empty?
- Magic Numbers Pricing: Our framework for a healthy project is 40% Material / 15% Labor / 45% Gross Profit. If your materials are creeping up, your profit is the first thing to disappear.
- Kill the Go-Backs: A "go-back" is a profit killer. We have to build systems that ensure the job is finished correctly the first time.
- Never Run Out of Screws: Simple inventory management saves hours of wasted time. If your team is running to the hardware store twice a week, you're bleeding money.
The Summary: 9 Mistakes to Fix
- Mindset: Running a business vs. a hobby.
- People: Hiring slow and training on purpose.
- Systems: SOPs as the backbone of your shop.
- Number Sense: Managing by data, not gut feel.
- Planning: Setting the target before you aim.
- Discipline: Moving from Reaction to Cause.
- Promotion: Avoiding the Peter Principle.
- Transitions: Parting ways professionally.
- Finance: Using debt as a tool, not a trap.
Building a business is hard, and doing it alone is even harder. If you’re ready to stop reacting and start growing, let’s have a discovery call. We can walk through your current operations and see where we can tighten the screws, literally and figuratively.
We’re in this together, and I’m here to help you build the business you actually wanted when you first started.
Tim Coleman
Founder · Coleman Collaborations Consulting Group
tim@colemancollaborations.com
202-350-9725
www.colemancollaborations.com
