A thoughtful reader email sparks a deeper look into how customer feedback — both good and bad — can guide contractors toward excellence, while offering smart strategies for dealing with difficult clients and protecting your business.

Running a successful PHC business takes more than technical skill — it’s a carefully balanced recipe of knowledge, business sense, pride, and the drive to deliver excellence at every turn.

Want to protect your business, boost your confidence, and silence the "could've-been-cheaper" crowd? Ask for customer feedback at the time of service—and put it in writing.

Columnist Richard DiToma explains how unapplied labor, or nonbillable hours, affects profitability and emphasizes the need for contractors to understand their maximum potential revenue-producing hours.

Knowledge, skills and performance excellence are essential for home services companies. However, understanding and accurately calculating tangible and intangible operational costs is vital for setting correct selling prices  — and achieving the desired profit margin. 

Contractors must understand business costs and how to turn a profit to succeed. To accomplish this, columnist Richard DiToma says that technicians must be trained to deliver excellent service and gain customer trust.