With a new year, most people look to the future, preparing goals and aspirations. As entrepreneurs, business owners and contractors, it is important to think about the future all year long. Staying on top of trends that affect your business, your customers and the industry is crucial to keeping your competitive edge.
Inflation
Several factors are keeping prices elevated across the country. One is the supply chain issues that came to fruition last summer. Some bottlenecks have eased; however, the issues are not fully resolved, which translates to higher costs passed down to consumers.
As experts predict, this will continue into 2022. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Economics Daily, Consumer Price Index: 2021 from December 2020 to December 2021, consumer prices for all items rose 7%, the largest December to December percent change since 1981. Among the items on the rise, gasoline prices were up 49.6% after falling 15.2% in 2020.
Contractors should be cognizant of this and continue to strategize the best course of action for the business. Communication is key, let customers know what you’re facing and how it is going to affect them and the projects going forward.
Read Next:The Inflation Opportunity, Survive Then Strategize
Companies Continue to Diversify Services
Diversification is a business development strategy in which a company develops new products and services or enters new markets beyond its existing ones. We have seen this in the pavement maintenance industry for a few years, and take note of it in our 2021 Top Contractor Survey. However, this strategy will continue well past 2022 because contractors want to be a “one-stop-shop” for their customers, bringing in additional revenue across different industry segments.
With any new revenue stream, there is risk associated with it. Contractors should weigh out the positives and negatives to adding a new service to their business before jumping in. Making sure your company has the staff, equipment and resources to perform the service. Also, make sure there is a need or market for that service in your area.
As a business owner, investing in diversification can be a risky undertaking, the benefits are such that every owner should take into consideration.
Temporary or Gig Workers
Trying to find qualified labor to fill vacancies seems like an ongoing occurrence across all industries. However, contractors should look at different resources to in finding workers, including supplementing your workforce with temporary workers.
Temporary or gig workers are hired differently than the employees you personally recruit. These workers are recruited for your company by staffing agencies or through websites and apps. No matter the mode of hire, temporary employees have benefits that may help you continue to move the needle on job completion.
Bring in these types of workers when someone calls in or if a crew member needs to be off due to an emergency. In most cases, when you hire temp workers, you can expect the workers to perform several different functions for you and offer advantages in terms of operations, depending on their knowledge base.
Again, the company should weigh out the pros and cons of using temporary workers and how it will affect the business as a whole. This is just one option at combating the labor shortage that some companies might find an effective alternative.
Keeping up with industry trends can be helpful in reaching goals and forecast future business. If contractors are able to find hidden opportunities by noticing trends in the industry, this could give the company a leg up over the competition and propel results and outcomes in 2022.
