Lessons Learned From Doing Business During the Pandemic’s Roller Coaster Ride

The ups and downs of the past year and a half have been difficult, making it all the more important to stay consistent and continue to embrace the principles that have led to your business success

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Since the pandemic started, it’s been a roller coaster ride for drain cleaners. There have been times where you may have been plenty busy, and times where business was slow.

If you're slow right now, I will say that it won't last forever. You just have to focus on what got you into business in the first place. Whether it is commercial or residential work, one thing I learned in the last year and a half is that it does not pay to drop your prices. That will lead you down a path of being out of business.

A lot of companies made that mistake and they're feeling it now. The kind of work we do can be dirty and dangerous. When we charge the prices we do, it's for what we have to go through to get the job done. It costs too much to work for nothing. If you're getting all the jobs all of the time, you may be too cheap. There are a lot of companies that think because they run around and do 20 to 30 jobs a day for nothing that they're actually making a profit. That couldn’t be further from the truth. They can barely keep gas in their vehicles.

This roller coaster ride we’ve been on as an industry is frustrating, but it has also helped weed out the pretenders. I know a lot of my colleagues live for what they do and they put their best foot forward every day. For that our customers have to pay. 

So hang in there. Go back to the basics. Continue to provide top-quality work. Don't cut corners. Don't cut your prices. Just be looking at ways to reinvent yourself as needed.

Another thing I’ve learned during this time is just how important it is to use the internet to get yourself out in front of customers. We use it every day and have a big internet presence. Everybody today is carrying a smartphone so if you're still under utilizing that tool, you’re missing out on potential customers.

I want to wrap up by saying this: Stay healthy, stay safe mentally and physically because our country needs us. 

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me at Just Drains LLC Philadelphia or check out all of our videos on Instagram.

About the Author

Mike Williams is the owner of Just Drains LLC in Philadelphia, providing drain cleaning and plumbing services in the tri-state area.



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