Free assessment · about 7 minutes

Ready to Own a Trade Business?

A straight look at whether you, your money, your systems and your family are set up to run a service company.

Financial Literacy & Cash DisciplineYou understand your numbers and can keep cash in the business when it is tempting to spend it.
Sales & Customer AcquisitionYou can bring in work on purpose, not just wait for the phone to ring.
Systems & SchedulingYou build repeatable ways of doing things so the business runs without you on every job.
People & HiringYou can find, hire, pay and keep good people, and let go of the wrong ones.
Risk Tolerance & ResilienceYou can live with uncertainty and bounce back from a bad month or a lost account.
Personal & Family ReadinessThe people at home are on board, and your personal finances can absorb a slow start.

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Ready to Own a Trade Business?: questions

Rate each statement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

I can explain the difference between profit and cash in the bank.
I know what it costs to run a truck for one hour, including labor, fuel, insurance and overhead.
I have saved, or have a plan to save, at least three months of operating costs before I start.
When money comes in, I tend to spend it before I know what bills are coming.
I am comfortable asking a customer for the job and naming a price.
I have a clear idea of who my first 20 customers would be and how I would reach them.
I ask happy customers for reviews and referrals.
Selling feels pushy to me, so I avoid it.
I have written down, or could write down, the steps for how a job should go from first call to final payment.
I have used or looked into scheduling, invoicing and dispatch software for a small company.
I would rather build a checklist others can follow than keep everything in my head.
I know roughly what a good technician in my trade and area expects to be paid.
I could describe the kind of person I would hire first and what they would do.
I am willing to let someone go when they are hurting the crew or the customer.
I can go a month without a steady paycheck and still sleep at night.
When a plan fails, I look for what I can change rather than who to blame.
I am willing to make a decision without having every piece of information.
My spouse or partner, if I have one, knows what starting this business will ask of our time and money and supports it.
I have talked with my family about what the first year will look like, including long hours and tight money.
My personal debts and monthly bills leave room for a slow first year.

Score it online at the machine-readable version.