You've worked hard to get control of your own numbers. You know your profit margins, you're tracking your cash, and you've got your expenses categorized. That's a huge win!
But here is the next big step if you truly want to scale your business and spend less time fighting fires: Your entire team needs to know the score.
I see so many business owners who are the only ones who understand the job costs or the difference between gross profit and net profit. This is exhausting for the owner, and it limits the business. When only you know the numbers, you are the only one who can make smart decisions.
The core idea is simple: You need to teach your crew and your managers the basic financial scoreboard. When they understand how their daily actions affect the company’s profit, they start acting like owners.
The Problem with the "Owner Knows Best" Approach
When your team doesn't understand the finances, a few bad things happen:
They waste materials: They don't realize that a little waste on every job adds up to thousands of dollars of lost profit by the end of the year. To them, it's just a few extra bags of mulch or some wasted hardware.
They misuse time: They might take shortcuts that hurt the quality, or they might not push hard to stay on schedule because they don't see the connection between wasted time and lost company cash.
They can't solve problems: If a foreman runs into an issue on a job and it's going to cost $500 to fix, they have to call you. They can't make a smart, quick decision because they don't know where that $500 stands in the total job budget.
The Fix: Teach Two Simple Metrics
You don't need to give your crew access to your bank account or teach them complex accounting. You only need to teach them two things that directly relate to their work:
Job Cost Budget: For every job, tell the foreman or team lead two numbers: the budgeted hours for labor and the budgeted dollars for materials. Just those two numbers. This creates a clear boundary. They now know if they spend more time or materials than planned, it cuts the profit right away.
The "Margin Saver" Mindset: Teach them that every time they find a smart way to save a little material, avoid a trip back to the shop, or finish on time, they are saving the margin. They are protecting the money that goes into new equipment, raises, and bonuses. When they feel like they are protecting the company's success, they take more pride in their work.
When you share these simple "scorecard" numbers, you change the game. You turn a laborer into a partner, and a manager into an owner. This frees you up to focus on the big things that actually grow the business.
This week, here’s one simple action you can take:
Pick one small, upcoming job that you are confident about. Before the job starts, print out a simple sheet for the team leader. At the top, write the Total Budgeted Labor Hours and the Total Budgeted Material Cost. Tell them the goal is to hit the target. When the job is done, share the final actual numbers with them. This one simple step starts the conversation and helps your team see the numbers for the first time.