Most tradies get their scheduling all wrong – Here’s how you can master it

“It’s all about doing a schedule for me - if you looked in the backseat of my ute, you’d see I’m not an organised person, but I do like things to be organised. 

One of my biggest weaknesses was organisation and scheduling and all of those things. So I started putting things in place to improve that.

I’m getting so much more done now, I’m not fart-assing around trying to figure out what the hell I’m doing for my day. I’ve actually got a schedule and I know when I need to be at my next job. My wife is onto it as well and she’s putting all my personal appointments in and holding me to it. 

It’s all about the strategies for overcoming your weaknesses. Now that we’ve got our scheduling running strong, there’s been a huge turnaround in business. We love it”

Brendan Marshall, ESA Peak Performer

Implementing a Dynamic Schedule

Every electrician knows the feeling.

 Rushing from one job to the next, speeding through school zones, unplanned detours to the wholesaler, pushy clients holding you up, barely enough time to breathe, only to rinse and repeat the same process tomorrow.

Like a gazelle running from a lion the entire day, and then the entire week, flooded with adrenaline.

 What most sparkies lead themselves to believe is that the busier they get, the more money they’ll make. But it just doesn’t work like that.

 As we help Academy members scale their business and implement the right systems, they actually spend less time on the job, earn much more profit, and enjoy a better quality of life.

 If you’re trying to pack too much work into your day, you’re probably suffering from “schedule pressure”. This puts you in a high-stress, fight or flight response mode – which is going to wear you down and burn you out in the long-run.   

 If you’re working under schedule pressure, you won’t connect with customers, you won’t provide your best service, and you’ll be feeling like shit for most of the day. Meaning that your business won’t grow.

 That’s why this week’s lead article reveals the Academy’s epic strategy for implementing dynamic scheduling. You’ll be able to work less, make more money, provide better service, and feel less stress. It’s a no-brainer.

 So what is it, and why is it so powerful?

 The first thing you need to do is calculate your efficiency and your REAL hourly rate. So whip out the calculator.

 If you’ve been fixated on getting busier and busier, you need to switch your thinking towards becoming more efficient. That’s your true metric for profitability.

 Your efficiency is really easy to work out.

 Just divide the total number of hours you’ve worked during the day (Actual worked hours) by the number of hours you’ve billed your clients (billable hours)

 So for example, if you work from 9am till 5pm, your actual worked hours will total 8. If you’ve completed four jobs at a total of 6.25 hours, your billable hours will be 6.25.

 6.25/8 = 78%. If this sounds roughly like your working day, you’d be 78% efficient. Not bad, but we want to ramp this up even higher, and here’s why;

 Your REAL hourly rate is your hourly rate multiplied by your efficiency.

 For example, if you’re charging $90 per hour at 78% efficiency, your REAL hourly rate is only $70.20 per hour (90 x .78).

So how do you become more efficient?

 Decrease your non-billable hours

 This is all the time you spend between jobs – driving around, making pit-stops, and stocking up on what you need.

 If you think of your working day as blocks of billable hours and all the time in-between jobs, you want to reduce as much of the space between these blocks as possible.

 So the first thing you need to do is start being strategic about how you plan your day – Don’t waste time criss-crossing back and forth across town. Tighten up your schedule and arrange your jobs in a way that requires the least amount of travel.

 For example, you don’t want to drive to the western suburbs for your first job, then back to the Eastern suburbs for your next, and out west again in the arvo.

 If you’re mapping out your jobs, they should connect like a daisy chain.

 The hours saved by being mindful of this add up big-time – Imagine being able to take on an extra job at the end of each day!

 Increase your billable hours

 Chances are, you’re not charging enough – unfortunately, sparkies tend to undervalue the quality of their service and shy away from the sales side of things.  

 Pricing and salesmanship is a really complex topic which we cover in-depth through Academy programs with tailoring approaches for different circumstances.

 But generally we find electricians should just straight-up be charging more for the service they provide.

 If you’re really busy, it’s the perfect opportunity to test the waters and put your rate up.

 But whatever approach you take will depend on your clientele, your pricing system, and what you personally feel comfortable with.

 How can I do this?

 One of the ways you can increase your billable hours is by adding a call-out fee. You can offer a discount on the call-out fee if the job is close-by. You can also create price tiers based on distance to the job.

 Implementing a call-out fee will actually increase your efficiency significantly.

 How?

 Say for example your call-out fee is $99. Depending on your hourly rate, this is probably equal to about 40 minutes of labour. You can actually add the 40 minutes directly to your billable hours without having worked an extra minute. If you’ve got four jobs in a day, that’s almost three additional billable hours.

 The increase to your efficiency is insane.

 That’s why a dynamic schedule is so powerful. It will Increase your billable hours and reduce your non-billable hours.

 You need to leverage your efficiency to make your schedule dynamic

 Dynamic scheduling means you don’t have to pack your schedule to the brim each day of the week.

 Done right, it will actually ramp up your billable hours and allow you to chill-out and take a breather when needed, or invest energy in growing your business. 

 A dynamic schedule will create a number of free spaces on your schedule throughout your week, giving you flexibility, and freedom. But there’s no one size fits all way to do it.

 If you’re a sole trader without staff, we recommend something like;

 Monday: Full

Tuesday: Half-day (morning only)

Wednesday: Full

Thursday: Half-day (morning only)

Friday: Full

 If you’re doing that, you’ll actually leave yourself open for upgrades and urgent jobs.

 Why is this important?

If your schedule is chockers, you’ll only be able to book people in the following week after selling them on something like a switchboard upgrade. If you make them wait a whole week, they will tell you not to worry about it, or shop around for a cheaper price.

 If you can’t convert on-site, expect to lose the job. Dynamic scheduling creates the flexibility you need to nail valuable upgrades.

 It also creates more time for you to market and grow the business, or just use the time to unwind, if that’s what you want to do.

 Maybe the most important benefit is the way you will FEEL.

 With a tight, dynamic, flexible schedule you’ll be less stressed, and this will shine through in everything you do. Connecting with customers makes your job much easier and helps open the door for upgrades, additional work down the track, and recommendations. Think big picture.

 How can I get some more guidance around becoming more efficient and creating a dynamic schedule tailored to my needs?

You can book in for a chat with the ESA team or sign up for a FREE 7-day trial. 

At the academy, we’ve fast-tracked hundreds of electricians into the next phase of their business and watched them get epic results real fast. We’re passionate about helping electricians realise their potential and take their businesses to the next level. 

 You can also visit the website to check out some more content. We’ve got videos and articles designed to help electricians of all experience levels.

 Stop running yourself ragged – Implement a dynamic schedule today.