Keeping control over a growing business can be difficult, costs can spiral out of hand, cashflow may suffer and so may profit if you're too busy to take note of what's going on.
Here are some common mistakes I see and some tips to help stay in control.
Too many "mates' rates". I hear this one a lot, and sometimes doing favours can cost you more than you thought. Do your friends and family have expectations of getting a good price from you? If they approach you for work, make sure you set some terms.
A good way around this is to develop a friends and family discount policy on your retail price and let them know this before you do the work. They still get some sort of deal and you're still doing smart business that will resonate at social functions in the future.
You need some help but are not sure how to control the cost of labour. More often we're seeing piece rates in projects or jobs. This is where a contractor may do work for you at an agreed percentage of a total contract or job.