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277 - Planning Your Exit: Building a Business That Doesn’t Need You with Aaron Mills
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Want to build a construction business that runs without you? In this episode, Aaron Mills shares how accurate financials and strategic systems can transform your company from owner-dependent to highly valuable and sellable. Learn how one electrical contractor grew from $30M to $90M in four years while the owner reduced his involvement from 60 hours to just a few hours per week.
What You’ll Learn
- How to transform messy financials into strategic tools for growth
- The importance of WIP schedules and how they reveal hidden profit opportunities
- Why pricing increases often meet less resistance than you expect
- How to strategically remove yourself from day-to-day operations
- The exact systems needed to triple net profits while working less
Time Stamps
- 00:55 - Episode Intro
- 02:32 - Financial Resource Optimization
- 04:15 - Challenges in Construction Financials
- 05:29 - Case Study: Electrical Contractor
- 06:48 - Growing Broke: Understanding Revenue Pillars
- 14:21 - Controller vs CFO: Roles and Responsibilities
- 22:25 - Exiting the Business and Personal Success Stories
- 28:51 - Understanding the WIP Schedule
- 31:41 - Dissecting the WIP Schedule
- 36:03 - Training Project Managers
- 44:28 - Challenges in Implementing WIP
- 46:03 - The Importance of Systems
- 49:16 - Daaxit’s Free Strategy Session
- 50:30 - Core Values and Asking for Help
- 50:55 - The Story Behind Daaxit
- 51:47 - Episode Outro
Snippets from the Episode
- "If your financials are on a roller coaster month to month—if you're making a whole bunch of money one month and losing a whole bunch the next—then your financials are inaccurate and you need some help."— Aaron Mills
- "When you're going to sell your business, it's so much more attractive if you're not in the business running it every day. You want a business that operates by itself."— Aaron Mills
- "A controller's reporting the history; the CFO bridges the history to the future with the business owner and the vision."— Aaron Mills
- "I just took my first two weeks off. I didn't answer my phone. This spring, this summer, I've been going to my kids' sporting events for the first time ever, and I have the best relationship with my wife ever."— Construction Business Owner (Client Success Story)
Key Takeaways
- Your financials should be strategic tools, not just tax documents
- WIP schedules reveal hidden profit opportunities when properly analyzed
- Raising prices on unprofitable clients is often easier than you think
- Building a business that runs without you increases its value dramatically
- Different revenue levels ($5M, $10M, $20M+) require completely different systems
- Project managers need monthly financial reviews to maintain profitability
- A business that runs without you provides both financial and personal freedom
Resources
- 24 Things Construction Business Owners Need to Successfully Hire & Train an Executive Assistant
- Schedule a 15-Minute Roadblock Call
- Check out OpenPhone
- Build a Business that Runs without you. Explore our GrowthKits
- Need Marketing Help? We Recommend Benali
- Need Help with podcast production? We recommend Demandcast
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