We have our own subreddit now! Calling all service business folks — those who have been around for a while, those who are in the beginning stages, and those who are just thinking of being a service business entrepreneur. — We’ve just started up a new subreddit for service businesses — r/workweekinc. We hope you’ll come by and post your stories, questions, or anything else you might have on your mind when it comes to building, running, and growing a service business of your own.

Derek, who runs Roman Paint Pros, was kind enough to to answer several questions we had about the details of running a service business. We talk about why he decided to restart the family business, online marketing, and more. — We got in touch with Derek from Roman Paint Pros to ask him a few questions about being a business owner and a painting contractor. The business, located in Murrysville, PA, was originally started back in the 1970s and is still locally owned and operated. …

Finding new work can be a struggle for businesses of all sizes. Purchasing leads is an alternative to more traditional types of marketing. We go over how it works and if it’s worth the time and money for your service business. — In the past we’ve talked about several different kinds of advertising small businesses can use in our advertising to your local community post, and we’ve gone over why Google ads might not be right for service businesses. There’s another type of advertising/marketing we haven’t touched on yet: directly paying for…

Don’t let the long summer days beat you down. If you’re working outside almost everyday, we have a few tips and trick to improve the quality of your life as well as keep you and your employees safe. — We’re right in the midst of summer, and it’s been a hot one. Heat can really drain you if part of your job is working outside doing landscaping, roofing, construction, or anything else outdoors. It can be doubly worse if you’re working inside attics where the heat of a roof…

Have you ever thought about what your ‘best jobs’ are? Take a minute, reflect, and make your life a whole lot better by finding what it is about running and working a service business that truly makes you happy. — Every service business owner that’s been doing it long enough can probably point to a job they’d consider their favorite. There are tons of reasons why it might be an ideal job; maybe it was a great customer, or you just enjoyed the work or service you were performing. It…

Every service business, big or small, should think about and consider their profit margins. We’ve created a new profit margin calculator for iPhones to make calculating them simple, whether your on the job or at home after work. — A few months ago, we talked about the importance of knowing profit margins for the jobs you do in our Finding More Work, Better Jobs, and Increased Profit post. Profit margins measure the amount of money out of each dollar earned that is actually profit, and they are a good…

We asked Matt, the owner of Hawkins Wildlife Control, several questions about running his business. From getting a business started, to hiring employees and advice for anyone looking to get into wildlife control. — We always love hearing from service business owners and their thoughts on running a business, so we wanted to do a series of blog posts where we ask them several questions about their business. …

Are you connected and in-touch with other service businesses? If not, you’re probably missing out on new work as well as someone to talk to about running a small business. We take a look at why you should reach out to other, different service business. — Networking is a term that gets used a lot in the white collar world, but as a service business owner, chances are you “know a guy” or “have a buddy” that specializes in a trade or one that runs a business providing services, much like your own business. …

It’s often easy to overlook in the chaos of running a service business, but simply picking up your phone and talking with new or previous customers can have a lasting impact on the growth of your business. — We’ve talked to a lot of small business owners throughout the years. One question we often ask is “What makes you different from your competitors?”. One answer that we kept getting regardless of the service industry was surprisingly simple to us. …