Five session topics, and how to pick the one to start with

How to tell which decision comes first

The quickest test is to follow the money backwards. Ask three questions in this order:

1. Does the average job make a real profit after every cost? If you're not sure, start with pricing and margin.
2. Does revenue fall off a cliff in spring and fall? If yes, the gap is usually recurring revenue, so start with service agreements.
3. Is the phone quiet even when the schedule has room? Then it's demand, and the marketing budget session fits.

If the answers are "yes, no, no" and you still feel stuck, the problem is usually the owner's own week. That's the hiring and owner-time session. And if you're thinking about the next ten years rather than the next season, go to exit thinking.

Pricing and margin

This session is for owners who are busy but not building cash. Ali walks through a real recent job: the hours on site, the drive, the parts, the callback rate on that type of work, and the share of overhead it should carry. Most owners discover at least one job type they've been pricing below cost. You leave with a price list you can defend, and a plan for raising prices without losing your best customers.

Service-agreement growth

This session is for owners with a maintenance program that never really took off. Ali looks at what the agreement includes, what it costs you to deliver, how techs offer it, and how many customers renew. The usual outcome is a simpler plan, a sensible price, and a script your techs are comfortable using at the end of a call.

Marketing budget

This session is for owners who are spending money on marketing without a clear idea of what it returns, or who are about to sign an agency contract and want a second opinion. Ali helps you set a budget from your own job values and capacity, decide which channels to test first, and agree what "working" will look like by the third month.

Hiring and owner time

This session is for owners who are the dispatcher, the estimator, the bookkeeper and the senior tech, all at once. Ali uses a one-week time audit to show where your hours go, then helps you decide which role to hire first, what it should cost, and how to hand the work over without it falling apart.

Exit thinking

This session is for owners who want the company to be worth something without them in it, whether a sale is three years away or fifteen. Ali covers what buyers of trade businesses tend to look at, which owner habits make a company hard to sell, and what to change first. It's planning, not a sale process, and it isn't legal, tax or securities advice.

Signs you're not ready for a session yet

If you can't yet name the decision, or you aren't willing to share any numbers, a session will feel abstract. Start with the owner numbers sheet and come back when it raises a question.

How the sessions connect

The topics overlap in a predictable order. Better pricing funds the marketing budget. Agreements smooth the cash flow that makes a hire affordable. A hire frees the owner to work on the business, which is what eventually makes it sellable. Ali will often suggest a sequence, but each session stands on its own.

Ready to choose? Read about the cost and how sessions are quoted, look at the guides for a preview of how Ali works, or call, text or email with the decision in front of you.