Business Systems
Business systems are not optional once your team gets big enough that you cannot be everywhere. I learned that the hard way with an electrician I was coaching. His vans kept wearing out faster than they should, costing him close to 80,000 dollars a year, all because nobody owned the simple job of checking oil and fluids. One checklist fixed it, and that home service checklist became the start of a real system.
I sat down with Chris Diroll, who co runs SMA Support, to talk about exactly this kind of fix. Chris has spent years helping home service businesses with business process mapping and the simple processes that keep a team running without the owner in the room. In this episode, we get into why so many owners are still the bottleneck in their own company, and what it actually takes to change that.
What You’ll Learn…
- Why having everything depend on you means you do not own a business, you own a job
- How Business Systems as simple as a checklist saved one fleet 80,000 dollars a year
- The one-three-one rule that gets your team making decisions without you
- Why knocking on doors can build a referral pipeline with zero ad spend
- How selling a process instead of a product changes the way customers say yes
- What a standard operating procedure looks like once your crew actually uses it
Key Moments…
[0:50] Meet Chris Diroll And Why Owners Get Stuck Doing Everything
[2:01] Why Business Systems Live Only In The Owner’s Head
[8:22] Documenting Business Processes With A Notepad And A Whiteboard
[15:34] The one-three-one Rule For Team Decisions
[23:48] Where To Start Building Business Systems Today
[30:29] Selling A Process Instead Of Shingles
[35:50] Building A Standard Operating Procedure Your Crew Actually Uses
[39:03] The 80,000 Dollar Van Checklist Story
[43:00] Turning Door Knocking Into A Referral Channel
Why Your Business Systems Only Exist In Your Head
Most home service business owners carry their whole operation in their own head. They know every step, every shortcut, every fix, and they figure their team will pick it up the same way they did. That almost never works.
The old way of training someone is sitting them in the truck and hoping they absorb it. No checklist. No process. Just whatever you remember to say out loud that day. That is not a system. That is hoping for the best.
Business systems start the moment you write down what is already in your head. It does not need to be fancy. A notepad, a whiteboard, and some sticky notes are enough to get the first version of documenting business processes down on paper.
The One-Three-One Rule For Team Decisions
If everything still runs through you, you do not own a business. You own a job. The fix is not working harder. It is giving your team a real way to make decisions without tracking you down every time.
One owner started using a simple rule with his crew:
- Name the one problem
- Name three possible solutions
- Pick the one that fits best
That single habit gets a team thinking like owners instead of just waiting for instructions, and it doubles as informal team training every time it gets used.
It will not be perfect every time. Decisions made this way are not always 100 percent right, but they are usually close enough, and they get made fast. That speed is worth more than chasing perfection on every call.
A Checklist That Saved One Fleet $80,000 A Year
I was on a coaching call with an electrician who could not figure out why his work vans kept wearing out early. After some discussion we determined that nobody had ever been assigned the simple job of checking oil, rotating tires, or watching the fluids. The crew just got in and drove.
We built one home service checklist. Oil changes. Tire rotation. Fluid checks. Someone now owns that job every single day.
That one piece of paper saved him close to $80,000 a year once we averaged the savings out over a few years of longer van life. A profit leak that big, fixed by something that simple, is exactly why a basic standard operating procedure matters so much.
Selling A Process Instead Of A Product
Most homeowners are not excited to talk about a new roof. Leading with shingles and product specs falls flat every time. The better approach starts somewhere else entirely.
Ask what the homeowner actually cares about. Sometimes it is a landscaping feature they do not want damaged. Sometimes it is a tight timeline before a family event. Commit to a clear process for protecting what matters to them, and for making things right if anything goes wrong.
That shift changes the entire sales conversation. Instead of pushing a product, you become the person with a plan the homeowner can trust. Sales gets a lot easier when you stop selling shingles and start selling a process.
Finding New Business Without Spending On Ads
Business process improvement is not only about what happens inside your company. It also applies to how you find new work.
One roofing contractor knocked on the doors of local realtor offices and introduced his services in person. He asked a simple question while he was there. Has any other home service business ever knocked on your door before?
At every single office, the answer was no. Nobody had ever shown up face to face, even though realtors talk to homeowners every day who could use his services.
That is an entire referral channel sitting untapped, and it does not cost a dollar in ad spend. It just takes a process for showing up.
What should you do?
Today, pick one piece of your business that depends entirely on you, build a simple process around it, and let your team start carrying some of that weight with you.
About Chris
Chris Diroll is the Director of Growth at SMA Support Services. As a seasoned operator, Chris famously generated $4.5M in retail sales volume on a razor-thin 1.6% marketing budget. He accomplished this without heavy ad spend, relying instead on tight internal systems and disciplined follow-up. Today, Chris and the SMA team help home service founders move away from the daily grind and build systems-driven companies. By embedding trained virtual assistants into contractor businesses, they help owners plug hidden profit leaks, master their speed-to-lead, and finally win back their time.
Connect With Chris:
Visit Chris’ Website
Follow SMA Support Services on Instagram
Connect with SMA Support Services on LinkedIn
Follow SMA Support Services on Facebook
Follow SMA Support Services on TikTok
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