WorldWide Drilling Resource

What Does it Take to be Profitable? by John Christ J.C.’s Drilling Consultant Anyone who has been to my house or knows me at a , knows I have a pass on for cook ng. So, one of my favor te shows was Kitchen Nightmares . It wou d start out w th a restaurant about to go out of bus ness. They wou d on y have a m ted t me eft before c os ng the doors. They wou d be n debt hundreds of thousands of do ars! Some of these p aces turned out succeessfu , but others d d end up c os ng. The key part I got out of the show was these peop e shou d have adapted to the new suggest ons they were pro- v ded. What does th s have to do w th the dr ng ndustry? The major ty of pr vate res dent a water we s are dr ed by sma mom-and-pop bus nesses. Th s s an ag ng ndustry w th not enough young peop e fo ow ng nto the fam y bus ness, or want ng to work at a career where they w get d rty most days. At th s t me, I wou d ke to who ehearted y thank those young peop e who are tak ng on th s ndustry. We need you! So w th a th s sa d, t s a dy ng ndustry. There are fewer water we dr ng bus nesses today than a few years ago, and t has been trend ng th s way for years. Here n Oh o, n some p aces there may be on y one water we contractor for 100 m es. Of course, there are other areas where they are stacked on top of each other. Regard ess, you are trave ng to f nd and get work. Do you know what t costs to move a p ece of equ pment? Of course, you know every p ece has a d fferent cost. It costs more to move a dr ng r g than a p ckup truck. How many p eces of equ pment do you have to take to a jobs te? Can you eave anyth ng there overn ght f the job s onger than a day? Some jobs are b ed for mob zat on fees. The res dent a water we bus ness s not one of them. As you a know, I worked for a benton te manufacturer for years. They d dn t have a pr ce ncrease on some of the r products n decades! Yes, I sa d decades. We guess what? Th s ndustry s the same. I am w ng to say your cost of do ng bus ness has gone up. Th s must mean your prof ts have gone down. I don t know of a supp er who s go ng to et you get n debt so much you w owe them hundreds of thousands of do ars. I a so don t know of a te ev s on product on crew com ng to show you how to become prof tab e aga n. Wa t a m nute, t s my dea f you are th nk ng of stea ng t (as I augh)! When I wou d suggest tra n ng to a contractor, at no cost to them, I wou d hear the, “My Dad and Granddad d d t th s way and a ways made money.” Somet mes you need to backup a few yards and ook at the b g p cture. See what th ngs cost you. Does the p ece of equ pment wh ch s pa d for cost you noth ng to own at th s po nt? I rea y doubt t. There may be nsurance, ma ntenance, or someth ng st assoc ated w th t. What f t s not used every day?What costs are nvo ved to put t back n serv ce when the t me comes? I h gh y suggest you nv te the manufacturers of the products you use to come out and eva uate how you are us ng the r products. Ask for suggest ons on how to be more eff c ent w th the r product or processes. Afterward, cons der what th ngs cost you today and what you are charg ng for the product or serv ce. F rst and foremost, don t et your compet t on te you how much to charge by the r pr c ng. Exp a n to the customer why you may be d fferent. A few years ago, the Nat ona Ground Water Assoc at on put out a cost ca cu ator to he p you make a prof t. F rst you put n a ot of f gures, se ect the percent of prof t you want to make, then h t enter. It te s you how much per foot to charge. Th s s a great too . There s a ot of he p out there. Learn new ways of do ng th ngs. You never know, maybe mprov ng how you do th ngs may ncrease your prof ts w thout a pr ce n- crease. You prov de someth ng every homeowner wants and needs today, run- n ng water! Exp a n how much mun c pa water costs, then ask for a fa r market va ue on the product you prov de to them. The statements and comments in this article are based on information and refer- ences believed to be true and factual. If you have any questions or comments please forward them to me in care of WWDR . John John Christ may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com 2",/ # / 4%,/#03())$ ',+$ 5 ),4"$+1$/ ),,- -2*- *,#2)$0 /$ 3 () !)$ %,/ !,1' /$0(#$+1( ) +# ",**$/"( ) &/,2+# ),,- '$ 1(+& +# ",,)(+& 0601$*0 ,*- 1(!)$ 4(1' 1'$0$ -2*-0 ),4"$+1$/0 " + !$ ",+ %(&2/$# 4(1' ,/ -2*- 2+(10 1, * 1"' #(% %$/$+1 ), # /$.2(/$*$+10 /,#2"10 (+")2#$ ),4"$+1$/0 7 $,1'$/* ) ),0$# ,,- (11(+&0 7 $-) "$*$+1 2*-0 7 ,0$ (10 +# ""$00,/($0 7 /( !)$ -$$# 2*-0 15 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® OCTOBER 2016