Hey /biz/, so I run a small business out of my home, and for

Raise your prices. Basic supply and demand. What are you doing anyway?

Meth is your only option.

>>1423589

hire an employee. if you get sustained business you should be able to afford it. you have a reputation it seems and if you can't deliver the same fast quality your reputation suffers amd your business peaks.

>>1423687
This

>>1423589
I do a similar thing, In roofing I had to drop all of my traditional roofing trades just to keep up with the demand of my higher end products.

As a result I ended up just passing the work along to another contractor.

>>1423792
This. Subcontract the easy stuff to someone else. Quality control will be your biggest concern.

>>1423589
cant you just schedule for the future?
>person calls: I need you to fix this
>sure, we have been very busy recently but can fit you in on X day, is that fine?

>>1423961
This is probably what I'm going to do. The problem is more that answering phones constantly (and driving to people's homes and businesses) is disrupting both my workflow and my sleep.

I'm due to switch back to a smartphone from a prepaid flip phone at this rate, what with the cost of my prepaid bill now rivalling that of a monthly payment, so I think what I might do is start using Google Voice again to screen calls and respond to customers at my leisure, so I can reply to all of the calls in bulk near the end of a given day to schedule future appointments.

That, or raise my prices, like >>1423629 said.

Grin and bear it and keep hustlin hard til you can afford employees and an office, then you won't have to work at all after a few months of hard work if you keep your expenses low and save all your cash.

>>1424083

Raising prices might not be a good idea. Demand isn't always that simple, and it depends on what you're selling. But try hiking it by 10% and see where it gets you. But yeah, you need to do appointments, and not answer your phone after a certain time.

>>1423589

OP I have been through this EXACT scenario. So let me help you:

(1) Raise your prices! Raise your prices! If you can't expand then just quote a higher rate. My rates went up almost 300% when my business got crazy. And with good reason. Supply and demand. They want you so bad, make em pay.

(2) Hire someone. Don't be afraid. The demand is there. Put an ad on Facebook or ask some friends. If you are unsure how to do it, just download a 1099 form and have the new guy fill it out. Then pay them for hours worked with a check. You can figure this shit out later come tax time. If they turn into a legit 40hr a week employee then call a local payroll company and have them set up the W2 system for you. They will do the work, this is not complicated.

(3) let your customers know what's going on. Put a voicemail up that says, "sorry if I don't get back to you right away I'm experiencing a lot of call volume". Put a post on your company Facebook page so people know. That's what I did when my business got cray cray.

(4) Put them off. Just schedule for later. At one point I was booked up 3 months out.

(5) Underplan! Underplan! Underplan! What I mean by this is set your weekly schedule up with extra free time. Why? Cause when unexpected shit happens, you'll have the time to do it. And if unexpected shit does not happen then just kick your feet up at home and enjoy the rest.

(6) Gotta change how you handle your cell phone now. A PROPER businessman has 2 phones. One personal and one for business. I only have one for both, so here's what I do: After work I turn the phone off. When I go to bed I put the phone on Airplane mode. That way someone can't wake me up at 7:30am with a business call. Also I keep my phone on vibrate. It never makes any noises. Missing a call is not a big deal OP, they will just want you more.

>>1423589
(7) let it go. This is the toughest part. But money is not worth suffering. In June of this year I turned away about $4k of business. Did I want to? No. But fuck it. I like being done at 5pm and having my weekends off. Don't sweat it OP, there's always another sale, another job, another way to make money. You HAVE to realize that YOU have the power now. Work 3 days a week and tell the customer to fuck off. You CANNOT think of these people as friends. They are not your friends. You offer a service for $. They are a paycheck that's it. And you collect that paycheck when YOU feel like it.

I own my own business, work about 25hr workweeks and will make about $75k this year. That number could easily be over $100k but I just don't give a fuck.

>>1423961
Terrible advice, they will go with someone else. If i need something done asap i will find someone who can.

>>1423589
two thoughts:

-increase prices as your demand has gone up
-set standard "work hours" for yourself ie 9-5

You're making the mistake lots of self employeed people make. You work for yourself so you feel like you have to keep working when work is around. That's not how a job functions. Give yourself full work shift. Add a few hours of overtime if absolutely necessary, but do NOT run yourself ragged, as you see the consequences of it.

I would recommend getting a second phone line to use as strictly a business line, and shut it off when you're not on the clock. Every morning check your txts/messages and work as normal, but at 5 it gets shut off and you don't worry about it until the next day.

Your customers will understand because for them going to you is like going into any other business, you have to use them during their normal operation hours. When they're closed they're closed.

Now, as a side note, you CAN offer "expedited service" if you like. Customer insists he needs you -now-? K, that'll be 2.5x the normal price. As a computer tech that made it worth my time to pull a midnight shift

by doing this you create the beginnings of a "real" business operation, and when the customer traffic becomes too much to handle with your work shift and you cant shrink the que anymore, then you know it's time to start finding more hands.

File: are you reggie.jpg (13KB, 534x432px) Image search: [Google]

13KB, 534x432px

I told you guys $KNPD was going to the moon

I went through the same thing with my business OP.
Its all part of the learning curve when operating a service industry business.

>>1424711
>>1424714
>>1424854
These guys essentially summed up everything that you need to do.
Most importantly RAISE YOUR PRICES and set a schedule. People pay for reputation.
Anyone that says otherwise is setting you up to fail by trying to make you burn out.
Some customers wont like it, but those aren't the people that you want to be working for anyway.
People that want the cheapest prices will often still have enough of an ego to fuck you over in online reviews.

>>1424753
Literally the most retarded post in this thread.
Have you ever even worked a service job? Or a job in general?
Only nig nogs and shithead entitled millennials have this mentality.
You can either get it done now or you get it done right.
Most people that need the ASAP fix will generally end up having more problems.
The ONLY time they actually need it immediately is something along the lines of a plumber to fix a busted pipe causing extensive water damage or some similar situation.