The Cash Flow Contractor

Ever wondered how to transform a simple service business into a thriving design-build company? In this episode, Amy Hayes shares her remarkable 9-year journey from painting cabinets as a mother-daughter summer project to scaling three successful companies, including her $3.5M design-build firm. Her story proves that with determination and the right mindset, you can build something extraordinary without formal industry experience.

What You’ll Learn

• How to transition from a service-based business to a design-build model
• Why niching down can accelerate your growth and profitability
• How to build and lead an all-female team in a male-dominated industry
• Strategies for solving the proposal problem in design-build businesses
• The importance of finding resources and support systems in the contracting world

Time Stamps

00:45 - Episode & Guest Intro

01:11 - About Bloom: The Business Overview

02:33 - Women-Owned and Operated

06:15 - Starting with Cabinet Painting

10:21 - Challenges and Growth in Cabinet Painting

22:02 - Transition to Design-Build

31:56 - Monetizing the Business

32:28 - Exploring the Venue as a Lead Generator

34:13 - Addressing the Proposal Problem

35:04 - Challenges in Pricing and Communication

39:54 - Lessons Learned and Future Strategies

Snippets from the Episode

• "I think I had a pivotal moment there, saying, 'Am I really gonna let this stop something that is moving forward because of this one man and how he treated me?' And I decided, no, I'm not."- Amy Hayes
• "You have to invest in your business in order to grow it. It was just a really good time for us to do that."- Amy Hayes
• "A phrase that we used a lot, we would say we were building the plane as we're flying it, because that's what it felt like."- Amy Hayes
• "Find your resources, find your support... Don't be afraid to ask for help."- Amy Hayes

Key Takeaways

1. Start where you are with what you have
2. Focus on serving clients exceptionally well before worrying about pricing
3. Learn to price appropriately by seeking industry guidance
4. Set clear budget expectations early in client relationships
5. Find peer support even among competitors
6. Surround yourself with people who complement your weaknesses

Resources

Ever felt overwhelmed trying to track multiple jobs across your business? In this final installment of our three-part series on business function charts, Khalil and Martin demonstrate how to build a practical Kanban board system that gives you instant visibility into your sales pipeline. Learn how to transform your workflow chart into a visual tracking system that shows you exactly where your deals stand, without requiring technical expertise.

What You’ll Learn

• How to convert your workflow chart into a visual Kanban board
• The step-by-step process for setting up a deal tracking system in ClickUp
• How to create templates with subtasks that ensure consistent process execution
• Why mapping your business functions creates clarity for your entire team
• How to build process checklists that make delegation effortless

Time Stamps

• 00:37 - Episode Intro
• 01:04 - Mapping the Sales Function
• 02:40 - Understanding Kanban Cards
• 05:48 - Building the Sales Pipeline in ClickUp
• 11:46 - Customizing ClickUp for Sales Stages
• 25:51 - Core Activities for Specific Deals
• 26:50 - Lead Management Tasks
• 27:29 - Subtasks and Customer Qualification
• 28:33 - Creating Checklists for Core Activities
• 29:48 - Implementing Checklists in ClickUp
• 34:35 - Setting Up Task Templates
• 35:36 - Managing Sales Pipeline with Clickup
• 40:45 - Process Recap
• 55:52 - Final Thoughts

Snippets from the Episode

• "If you don't feel organized as a contractor, if you are curious what the status of your jobs are, if you feel like you don't have systems in your business and you don't know where to start... this is how you make sense of it."- Khalil Benalioulhaj

• "A pipeline is the critical path of a workflow. You're not going to say, 'I made a first call and a second call and then sent a text message.' We don't want that in our pipeline. We just want the critical path."- Khalil Benalioulhaj
• "One of the first things is just talk to it. Tell it what the hell you're trying to do."- Martin Holland on using AI

Key Takeaways

1. The Function Chart Is Not a Process Chart
2. Kanban Boards Create Visual Clarity
3. Templates Ensure Consistent Execution
4. AI Can Map Your Business Workflows
5. Checklists Remove Complexity from Delegation
6. Critical Path Tracking Beats Detailed Documentation
7. Your Admin Team Can Implement This System

Resources

Struggling to visualize how your business actually functions? In this practical follow-up episode, Martin and Khalil demonstrate how to create comprehensive business function charts using AI tools like Claude. Learn how to map out your entire sales process, identify sub-functions, define core activities, and transform chaotic operations into clear, manageable systems for your contracting business.

What You’ll Learn

• How to create visual function charts that clarify business operations
• The difference between functions, sub-functions, and core activities
• Techniques for using AI to map and organize your business processes
• How to identify ownership of critical business activities
• Practical steps to transform abstract workflows into actionable systems

Time Stamps

• 00:39 - Episode Intro
• 01:27 - Visualizing the Workflow
• 02:56 - Detailed Workflow Breakdown
• 06:21 - Defining Business Functions
• 18:56 - Understanding Core Activities and Checklists
• 21:16 - Creating a Function Chart
• 23:42 - Exploring Wispr Flow
• 29:02 - Mapping Roles and Functions

Snippets from the Episode

• "When you think about SOPs and checklists, you really want to start with checklists at the core activity level. That basic level is where you create your checklists for the things you need to do."- Khalil Benalioulhaj
• "By having this function chart together, you can really start to map your business. You can map roles, identify who owns each activity, and figure out capacity issues across your team."- Khalil Benalioulhaj
• "How cool would it be for your business if you were thinking, 'Hey, I'm trying to work on my business. Where do we have the most problems? Which sub-function is causing us the most issues right now?'" - Khalil Benalioulhaj
• "Unlike an org chart, in a function chart one person can own multiple sub-functions. You're not saying this is your role, you're telling people these are the things you need to do."- Khalil Benalioulhaj

Key Takeaways

1. Function Hierarchy Matters
2. Start With Visual Mapping
3. Core Activities Need Checklists
4. AI Can Build Your Framework
5. Assign Ownership to Functions
6. Focus on Problem Sub-Functions
7. Map Your Tech Stack to Functions

Resources

Is your service department draining profits instead of generating them? In this practical episode, Martin and Khalil tackle a real contractor dilemma: how to transform service calls from costly overhead into a profitable business segment. Discover why your current pricing model might be leaving thousands on the table and the straightforward systems you need to fix it.

What You’ll Learn

• Why mixing service and install teams creates hidden profit leaks
• How to properly calculate service call pricing (hint: it's much higher than you think)
• Simple systems to separate service operations for clarity and profitability
• Why treating service as a "loss leader" is destroying your margins

Time Stamps

• 00:52 - Episode Intro
• 01:02 - The Service Dilemma
• 03:23 - Exploring Solutions and Pricing
• 17:37 - Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Snippets from the Episode

• "If I can't figure out what something costs me and what I gotta sell it for, then I shouldn't be doing it." - Martin Holland
• "I think the way that this gets created is you start thinking 'If I can't service these clients, the builder's gonna get upset and not give me new jobs.' So we have it as a loss leader. That's a recipe for disaster."- Khalil Benalioulhaj
• "Make some estimate and just make sure the estimate is high enough that it's worth it. If we get half of our estimated calls, we still make money."- Martin Holland
• "You gotta know your costs. That's the takeaway."- Martin Holland

Key Takeaways

1. Double your service department costs at a minimum when setting prices
2. Separate service from installation teams completely
3. Stop treating service as a loss leader
4. Understand the full cost of running a dedicated service department
5. Be bold with pricing until you get pushback
6. Service should have its own tracking and profit metrics
7. Service work requires specialized skills and dedicated resources

Resources

What if you could immediately add 10-20% to your bottom line without changing your sales strategy? In this eye-opening conversation with cost management expert Duane Deason, you'll discover why most businesses unknowingly waste thousands in unnecessary expenses and how implementing a simple cost management system can transform your profitability. Perfect for contractors who feel the cash flow squeeze but don't know where to start cutting costs.

What You’ll Learn

• Why most companies waste 10-20% of their budget on expenses that don't improve operations
• How to identify hidden cash flow issues without becoming a financial expert
• Simple strategies to create accountability for company spending
• Why cost cutting should be celebrated, not viewed as failure
• How to build a culture that protects your profit margins

Time Stamps

• 00:47 - Episode Intro
• 02:54 - Introducing Duane Deason
• 05:42 - Common Cost Issues in Businesses
• 22:10 - Identifying Cash Flow Issues
• 22:27 - Engaging Owners in Cost Management
• 27:05 - Implementing Cost Management Centers
• 31:04 - Incentivizing and Sustaining Cost Savings
• 39:36 - Signature Authority

Snippets from the Episode

• "Most companies I work with have 10 to 20% of their expenses that could be eliminated without changing how they operate, that's low-hanging fruit that goes straight to the bottom line."- Duane Deason
• "Learn to be comfortable with 'no.' You can't appease everybody. 'No' to things we can't afford yet helps us say 'yes' to what's truly important."
• - Duane Deason
• "If you want people to understand what the score is and they're responsible for the score, they need to know how to read the information."- Martin Holland
• "For every dollar of sales, you may pocket 10 cents. But for every dollar you save in costs, you keep the entire dollar."- Duane Deason

Key Takeaways

1. Start with Your Disbursement Journal, Not P&L
2. Create a Cost Management Center
3. Make Cost Savings Visible and Celebrated
4. Implement Clear Signature Authority Rules
5. Restrict Who Can Sign Contracts
6. Audit Utilization of All Resources
7. Reframe Cost Cutting as Opportunity Finding

Resources