The 15-Minute Quarterly Review That Changes Everything
Three questions. 15 minutes. The difference between growing and staying stuck.
Most contractors I work with haven't sat down in years to ask themselves three simple questions:
What should I keep doing? What should I stop doing? What should I start doing?
They're too busy running jobs, chasing payments, putting out fires. The business runs them instead of the other way around.
But the contractors who actually grow? They take 15 minutes every quarter to answer these questions. That's it. No weekend retreats. No fancy strategic planning sessions. Just three questions and honest answers.
Question 1: What Should I Keep Doing?
Start with what's working. This sounds obvious, but most people skip it.
For your business:
Which job types are actually profitable? Not busy—profitable. That commercial maintenance contract you've had for six years might be your most reliable margin. Keep it. Protect it. Don't let a shiny new opportunity distract you from the boring work that pays.
Which customers pay on time, don't haggle, and refer others? Those are your A-customers. Keep them happy. They're worth 10x the customers who grind you on price and pay late.
For yourself:
Maybe you review job costs every Friday morning. Maybe you walk the shop floor before the trucks leave. Maybe you call your top customer once a month just to check in.
Whatever habit is actually moving the needle—identify it and keep doing it. Success is often just continuing the right things long enough.
Question 2: What Should I Stop Doing?
This is where the money is.
Most growth doesn't come from adding things. It comes from stopping the things that drag you down.
For your business:
Things contractors should probably stop doing:
- Taking jobs under $5K that eat up a full crew day
- Working for that GC who slow-pays and nitpicks every invoice
- Offering services you're not actually good at (just because a customer asked)
- Bidding every job that comes across your desk
- Saying yes to "emergency" weekend work that destroys your margin
For yourself:
Are you still doing the bookkeeping yourself because "nobody else will do it right"? Are you running service calls because you're short-staffed? Are you checking email at 10pm because you can't let go?
Stop. Whatever you're doing that someone else could do—even if they do it 80% as well—is stealing time from the things only you can do.
Question 3: What Should I Start Doing?
Notice this comes last, not first.
Most contractors jump straight to "what should I add?" New services. New markets. New equipment. But adding things before you've stopped the wrong things just creates more chaos.
Once you've identified what to keep and what to stop, then ask: what one thing would actually move the needle?
For your business:
High-impact things to consider starting:
- Reviewing job profitability within 7 days of completion (not 90)
- Running a 13-week cash flow forecast
- Having a real conversation with your best customer about what else they need
- Tracking close rate by salesperson (not just total sales)
- Blocking 2 hours every week for strategic thinking—not firefighting
Pick one. Not five. One thing that, if you did it consistently for the next 90 days, would meaningfully change your business.
The 15-Minute Version
Here's how to actually do this:
- 1. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Don't overthink this.
- 2. Write down 2-3 things to KEEP. What's working that you should protect?
- 3. Write down 2-3 things to STOP. What's dragging you down?
- 4. Write down 1 thing to START. Just one. The highest leverage move.
- 5. Share it with someone. Your ops manager. Your spouse. Your CFO. Accountability matters.
Do this every quarter. January, April, July, October. Put it on your calendar.
The contractors who take this seriously—who actually stop doing the things that don't work and start doing the things that do—are the ones who break through the ceiling.
Everyone else stays busy. Busy isn't the same as growing.
Need Help Knowing What to Stop?
The Contractor Cash Flow Assessment shows you exactly which customers, services, and habits are costing you money. In one week, you'll know what to keep, what to stop, and what to start.