toolbelt hung on a cubicle wall Quitting Time by scottabbottWell, finally the time came that Taylor’d Home needs an office manager.  We are buried in estimates and are not doing the best job getting back to customers with our heavy work schedule.  So Michael and I decided to put on some new guys to replace me. I now have a new title, THI‘s Office Manager.

And now I get to figure out exactly what an office manager does.  Today I finished some estimates, scheduled some work, contacted some clients, and worked on my social media marketing.  I finished this all before noon!  I still have clients to call, websites to work on, and a conference call to complete.

But what is going to keep me motivated?  How am I going to go from working 75 hours per week to working closer to 45 or 50?  How am I going to earn my keep when I am not swinging a hammer?

This was not an easy decision for us as a company to make.  But when we realized that we were only closing on 35% of our estimates, we had to look at what needed to change. What we found was that we were not giving our customers the full attention they deserve.  So we looked at ways in which we could do this, and the most logical solution was to have me stay in the office and be there for the clients.

Now I will be able to meet with individuals at the times most convenient for them, and get back with them on their estimates more quickly and completely.  I can keep track of payroll and accounting so Michael doesn’t have to do that anymore.  It is going to be amazing.  I can finally do my marketing the way I want to, not in the frantic way like I did before.  And if I have some time, I can pull together marketing plans for other companies (that are not our competition, of course) and offer out my estimating services for a fee.

I am looking forward to this new role.  And even though it means I won’t have a chance to be so hands on with the projects, I can still help them run smoothly.  Who am I kidding!  I am still going to work 60+ hours a week.  I am going to make us so busy that we need another crew!  Now I just have to figure out where to get more qualified employees…..

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Note from the hosts:  Thanks again to Holly for a another straight-forward, tell-it-like-it-is post.  I would like to wish her luck in her new role. You should too, please leave a comment below. jb

Photo Credit: Quitting Time by Scott Abbott, here –> http://www.flickr.com/photos/28907931@N08/4443083626/