Many business owners, including myself, are dealing with a mental health crisis. The upheaval from the last couple of years is taking its toll on everyone. But business owners, who were already struggling to handle the regular pressure and stress of business ownership, are really feeling it.

Just before I started writing this article, I reviewed the SIMA State of the Industry results, and I was reminded of all the pressures and the issues facing us as contractors. The majority of contractors who filled out the survey (over 84%) have been in business for 10 or more years. The changes we’ve seen in the last 10 years have been significant – more than at any other time in our industry’s history. Those changes have not necessarily made things easier for us – often they’ve made things more complicated.

Most regions dealt with low snowfall last season, and almost every part of the country is seeing significant increases in labor, insurance, and equipment costs. Many contractors (42% of those surveyed) are also concerned about workforce availability for this season ahead. With all these concerns and pressures, it is understandable to believe that the business you dreamed about building is out of reach. For some, the dream may have turned into a nightmare. I know I’m not alone when I say that this is the stuff that has kept me up at night! If you can relate…take a deep breath. There is hope! While you can’t control the snowfall, you can take steps to regain control of the business you have created.

Create a plan

Take some time away from the office to sit down and create a long-term vision for your company. What do you want it to look like in the future? What do you want from the business regarding lifestyle, compensation and vision?

If you have a management team, answer the following questions together:

• What do you want the company to look like 10 years, 5 years, and 1 year from now?
• What does your ideal client look like? (note: It might not be your current client base.)

Use your vision and the input from your team to create a plan and decide how you’re going to implement it.

Prioritize your time and energy

Set goals that are measurable and realistic. Then create a system and process to write down the tasks you must complete to reach those goals and how you’ll track the results. The task list can be digital or old-school with a pen and paper.

We all have certain times of the day when we are most effective and productive. Identify that time and prioritize completing tasks that only you can do. At Nextra, writing content is one of the tasks that only I can do; and I know that I need to be well rested and clear-headed to concentrate enough to complete this task, so I do this first thing in the morning when I am at my best.

Build a support system

Surround yourself with people who will make you better! I loved attending the Snow & Ice Symposium in June. I was surrounded by like-minded people for three days. I reconnected with people I have not seen for a while and had conversations and meals with new people I was eager to get to know. I felt energized and ready to return to the day-to-day operation of business ownership.

Jim Rohn says, "We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with." Look at who you spend the most time with and evaluate whether these people are helping you or hindering you.

This principle also applies to customers. Take some time to evaluate your customer list. As we enter the season of customer referrals, look closely at your customers and ask, "Do we like working for this customer?" If not, replace them with a new customer. Usually, the new customer comes with a higher profit margin or fewer headaches, and you and your team will not cringe every time the customer’s name comes up on your phone or e-mail!

Running a business is hard; surrounding yourself with like-minded people makes it easier and less lonely. Find a mentor or a peer group you can participate in. Having this person or group of owners will help you stay on track and provide an objective perspective, which we can often lose when we’re running the business.

Learn to say no

Most entrepreneurs can get distracted by new ideas or opportunities. We can get bored with the current business we are running and start looking for other things (business models) to start. We love the excitement of creating something and seeing it grow, but too often we quickly lose interest in it – resulting in a lack of profit. Meanwhile, it has taken our attention away from the core part of our business that actually makes a profit.

So, before you start to implement a new model or service, write down the idea, think about it for a couple of weeks, review it, and ask yourself and/or your team, "Does this fit with our vision and long-term plan for the business?" Since you’ll have that long-term plan written down, it should be easy to answer that question. If the answer is yes, go for it! If the answer is no, move on.

Although these are simple steps, they may not be easy. It takes determination and dedication to complete these tasks. You need to set aside time to think, discuss and evaluate, even when there’s many other things vying for your attention. But by completing these tasks, you will start to regain control of your business, so you’re running it rather than it running you. And that’s the key to building the business you dreamed of.

Grant Harrison is president of Nextra Consulting, based in Ingersoll, Ontario. Contact him at (519) 868-6398 or www.nextraconsulting.ca.