Behind the Scenes of a Startup, Month 1

I launched a new business on January 1st, 2023. Here’s how the first month went.

I’m chronicling a new business startup, Trinity Builder Solutions, and I’d love for you to join me on the journey. I’ll be providing monthly updates, and this is an update for month one. Want to receive these updates in your email? Click here to subscribe.

Overall, I’d say our first month in business was a success. We strengthened relationships, specifically with general contractors in the multi-family sector, and made massive strides in our estimating knowledge.

One of my favorite parts of this phase of a business is how much you can learn in a day, week, or month. It’s like listening to an audiobook at 3x speed. Aaron, Brian, and I are having a lot of fun, too. It makes the work much more enjoyable when those around you put in maximum effort and are well-aligned with the goals.

Wins from the Month

• What was once a sizeable vacant room in a building on our Salida, CA property is now the TBS office. Folding tables and chairs for our conference table? Yes, please!

• We were awarded and completed our first project, a retail countertop at the Del Rio Country Club Pro Shop in collaboration with Closet & Storage Concepts. It turned out swimmingly!

• The new saw and laser templating system continue to improve, and our efficiencies are now well-reflected in our pricing structure. It took us 10-20 estimates to dial in our numbers, but I think we’re locked in now and providing favorable pricing.

• Aaron is a bidding machine, having bid nearly half a million dollars of work so far this year!

The TBS office, version 1.0

Project # 1 is complete!

Brian, me, and Aaron with our first TBS check.

What worked last month?

• Aaron’s hand-to-hand combat in securing bid opportunities is paying off, as we now have a steady string of bid opportunities coming across our desks from 5-6 general contractors.

What did not work last month?

• My goal is to launch TBS utilizing a fantastic team, as opposed to me “bootstrapping” it for years to come. Sound lazy of me? Kind of. Is it an excellent way to start a business? Yes! Alas, since I have yet to systematize the proposal generation process entirely, I was heavily involved in proposals in January. I look to changing this in February.

• We discovered a general contractor for whom we’ve been doing a lot of bidding is partly owned by a countertop fabrication company. They accept bids from other fabricators as an occasion “check and balance,” but we had no chance of securing these jobs. Quite a bit of wasted effort there.

What do we need to keep doing?

• Aaron, Brian, and I are four weeks into EOS implementation. I’ve really enjoyed this facet of the launch. Not only is it helpful in aligning the three of us with the TBS vision, but I’ve also caught a few things that I’ve brought back to kitchen & bath CRATE. It’s a needed course correction for that business as well.

What needs to improve?

• You don’t grow a business by bidding on projects; you grow it by getting them awarded. So while there’s an inherent “send it and wait” element to bidding, we hope February yields one or two sizable awarded projects.

Financial Goal Tracker

Value of Proposals Generated YTD: $498,309

Value of Projects Awarded YTD: $10,976

Revenue Goal for 2023: $2,225,000

Revenue YTD: $4,365

Percentage of goal: 0.002% (That’s not much!)

Click here for the next post in this series!

Books of Note: For my history buffs out there, doesn’t get much better than Ian Toll’s Pacific Crucible. It’s the first of a trilogy on WWII in the Pacific theatre. Quite a tome, but Toll’s smooth prose and perfect pacing kept me engrossed throughout.

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