Contractors are no strangers to long days, back-to-back jobs, and pulling double shifts to meet deadlines. But here’s a hard truth I’ve seen time and again:

You can’t outwork bad numbers.

If your pricing is off… if your job costs are out of control… if your overhead is bloated… working harder just digs the hole deeper. You’re burning energy without fixing the root problem: your margins.

A recent client — a remodeling contractor — told me he was working 70 hours a week, managing 4 jobs at once, and still had nothing left after payroll and bills. He couldn’t understand why the bank account stayed empty. Turns out, he was pricing based on gut instinct — not cost-plus, not margin targets, not reality.

When we ran the numbers, we found his average gross profit margin was 23%, but he needed 35% just to break even on overhead. In other words, every job was a loss — and no amount of hustle could cover that gap.

Real World Mistake & Lesson: He was “busy” but broke. Once we fixed his pricing and put a real estimating process in place, he started saying no to unprofitable jobs — and yes to more cash in the bank. Within 90 days, he was working fewer hours and making more money.

The lesson? Sweat equity can’t compensate for a broken financial model.

 Pick up your free copy of my new book, “The 7 Minute Conversation-How to Hear the Story Your Small Business Financial Statements Are Telling You-CONTRACTOR EDITION”.  Go to www.7MinuteConversationBook.com

Ready to find out where your cash and profits are really going? Book your free 15-minute Profit and Cash Flow Call with me. No pressure. Just real clarity. I’ll help you see where your money’s hiding — and what to do about it. Schedule at www.CashFlowCallWithLarry.com