Busy or productive? Could estimating software solve the problem for building firms?

As a small building firm owner, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that being busy is equivalent to achieving success. However, this is not necessarily the case. In fact, being constantly busy quoting, dealing with paperwork, admin and emails, can actually have a negative impact on the success of your business.

So what do we mean by ‘success’ for a building firm? Success is of course the outcomes and results that your business achieves. Positive outcomes could be completing projects on time and within budget, making a good profit, generating new business leads, and achieving high levels of customer satisfaction.

Counterproductive use of your time

So if you’re not enjoying all these successes, perhaps something is going wrong. The thing is, not all activities are equally valuable. Some activities may actually be counterproductive or unnecessary, taking up time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere. For example, being busy spending hours and hours each day pulling together a single estimate won’t contribute to the success of your business if it reduces the time you have to go after other jobs.

Review what you want to achieve

Another problem with ‘busyness’ is that it can lead to a lack of focus and direction. Without clear goals and priorities, it can be easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer number of tasks that need to be completed, leading to a scattergun approach where time and resources are spread thinly across a wide range of activities. This can be particularly problematic if you’re a small building firm with limited resources and manpower. That’s why it’s really important to focus on the activities that will have the greatest impact on achieving your long-term goals.

And if you’re that busy do you even know whether you are actually making progress? How can you identify areas for improvement or make informed decisions about where to allocate your time and energy? Wouldn’t you rather be setting clear goals and measuring progress towards achieving them? Like making your business objectives, say, focussed on going after high value customers with sizeable projects, turning away the jobs with slim margins, and reviewing your sales and marketing approach? And that requires time to think.

Avoid feeling stressed and exhausted

You also need time to do nothing. Being ridiculously busy can lead to burnout and stress, particularly if you feel pressure to work long hours and take on a whole load of responsibilities. This can have negative effects on both physical and mental health, which can in turn impact on the success of the business. By prioritising the activities that really matter, finding solutions that speed up admin processes and delegating or outsourcing where possible, you can reduce the workload and stress levels, allowing you to focus on achieving your goals in a measured, sustainable way.

Next step

So where do you start? Well let’s go back to the earlier point about spending countless hours on each and every request for a quotation – that’s a real time killer. This is where you could see a significant change. High quality estimating software like EstimatorXpress, Take-off & Estimate Kit or BuildingWorks, would significantly reduce the hours you spend quoting each day. They’re easy to use, they speed up the estimating process and accuracy is assured. So do your research, and find the right package for you. Reduce your time estimating and you’ll be able to focus on your business goals. Then activity can equal achievement.