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Business And Marketing Podcast With Andrew Blate
What is it like starting a contracting company at 24 and almost going into bankruptcy? Our guest today is Andrew Blate who is the co-owner of Beautiful Home Services. He is an accountant turned painting/remodeling contractor, and in this episode, he shares some critical information for every business owner. Andrew is also very enthusiastic about his company, which he started in his early 20’s with his best friend. They’ve created a company that focuses on their priorities, their strengths and their results. From almost going into bankruptcy to a successful rebound, you will definitely find valuable information in this episode for growing and managing your business.
It shouldn’t be surprising that as an accountant, he’s also a numbers guy. He knows how many estimates he’s given in his career, knows his closing ratio and what’s working and not working financially in the business. From my observations, I believe Andrew is an amazing sales person and he’s running a great business. In some ways it is a game to him but he also has a solid plan for closing business. Maybe that comes from his prior career, but honestly, every business owner needs to know their numbers, no matter what business you are in.
Best Ideas
This conversation touches on several essential issues relevant to business owners which include:
- What does it mean to be a good sales person? From being a people person to knowing your numbers, sales doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Andrew shares some simple ideas that anyone can implement that can help with sales. Most importantly, pay attention to your closing ratio, this year, last year and over your career of bringing in business to measure what is working, not working and look for areas that you can adjust to improve your percentages.
- How is the communication in your organization? From talking with your team to talking with your clients, is someone paying attention to this critical component of business? Andrews clients hire him because of his ability to communicate AND his ability to ask for the business!
- Why having enough capital when starting is important, particularly if business slows down. If you have overhead but don’t have any revenue, cut the overhead quickly! Unless you pay attention to the numbers, it could be too late before you see the problem.
Andrew has been a member of Select Business Team for almost 4 years and he’ll be the first to tell you that joining a group wasn’t at the top of his priority list. Once he experienced our format, he wanted to start his own Team. He was instrumental in being a founding member of our Tysons Thursday Team.
ABOUT OUR GUEST ANDREW BLATE
Andrew is the co-owner of Beautiful Home Services, a painting and remodeling company that does business in Metropolitan Washington DC. Learn more about the company on their website, or connect with them on Twitter, or Facebook. You can also connect with Andrew on LinkedIn.