You have decided it’s time to outsource all or some of your estimating and supplementing. Congratulations on making this decision for your business. This will allow you to invest more time into gaining new business, secure larger scopes of work and provide more impactful restoration services to your clients. But, as with any industry, not all service-providers are created equal. Moreover, it’s not always the provider’s name or results you should be most concerned about – sometimes it’s how they are set up to operate altogether.
Essentially, how a provider is set up to operate and serve clients is called their business model and this should be considered before their reviews or work. This one thing is more important than anything else because they simply may not be the best fit for your needs.
Outsourced estimating and supplementing providers can be divided into four types of business models, each with their own benefits and potential drawbacks. This blog is part 1 of 2 created to help you explore the four options and weigh the pros and cons of each. We hope they provoke you to think beyond the basics when deciding which vendor is most suitable for you.
FOUR MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM
One-Man Band
Freelancer. Solopreneur. These terms define someone who operates as a one-man band, meaning they manage every aspect of their business from operations to the actual service provided. Freelancers do not have a staff or payroll, although some may have additional support in place from their own pool of subcontractors.
Mom & Pop Shop
A step up from the one-man band is the mom and pop shop. These types of businesses usually have 2-5 people on staff, with a CEO highly involved in the operations backed by admin support for organizing, communicating, accounting, etc.
Big-Box
The big-box model is similar to a large retailer like McDonalds. They are built to scale, and handling volume is rarely an issue. Because of their prolific capabilities and balanced processes, they generally target nationwide restoration businesses with multiple offices and a lot of work.
The Hybrid
The hybrid business model, like Aftermath employs, is mid-sized, practice a lean methodology, can handle work volume and is known for maintaining a focus on quality.
The above exploration of four models hopefully helped you begin thinking about your options, however don’t make your decision just yet! Visit the next blog called, “The Pros & Cons for Four Types of Outsourced Supplementing Providers“, in order to really challenge yourself by weighing critical information necessary to make this very important choice.
Jonah Story
