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Get the Most Out of Every Day

Written by Sheryl Nance-Nash

Time is money. With the right systems in place, a business can run efficiently, freeing the entrepreneur to focus on strategies that can boost the bottom line.

“One of the big reasons I became a franchisee was that although I was a great plumber, the skills I needed to run a great plumbing company were less than adequate,” says Glenn Gallas, owner of a Mr. Rooter franchise in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

“Because I followed the Mr. Rooter system, I was able to do what I did best while the systems they taught and coached me through helped me develop and build my business,” says Gallas.

He contends he was good at fixing faucets, but had no clue about how to market, develop a business plan, or use any other “common business practice necessary for growing a new business.”

Gallas imagines that he would have spent countless hours trying to get up to speed on his own. Having a playbook, so to speak, at his disposal has been an effective time management tool, and has served him well in prioritizing tasks and increasing productivity, not just his, but his staff’s as well.

He’s benefited perhaps the most from assistance with financial matters. “By using the tools and learning through many different training sessions and seminars and coaching by my Franchise Systems Manager (FSM), I have been able to maintain a level of profitability most companies dream of. I have learned budgeting, cost comparisons, key ratios, and how to decipher P&Ls, balance sheets, and cash-flow analysis,” says Gallas.

Gallas is also impressed with the training and information available in other critical areas like hiring and retention. The Mr. Rooter proprietary software package Zware, he claims, is “second to none in information and customer database utilization.”

Says Gallas, “I could not, nor would I want to do, all the mailings and marketing letters that I do on a daily business without it. This program, coupled with its dispatch software, helps me manage my company with confidence.”

Mark Miller also raves about how the Mr. Rooter system has given him a clear business advantage. “It has allowed us to unify everything so that all the technicians operate under the same system and we can keep our bookkeeping all the same way.” What’s been the impact? “We have several locations now. We wouldn’t have been able to do all that without a uniform system.”

The benefits of having finely tuned systems running go beyond business. Time management also means more time for other things that matter. Says Keith Pinkerton, who owns a Mr. Electric franchise, “You have your family, your church, your friends. There is more to life than working.”

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