It goes against everything we’re taught, but sometimes turning down a job is actually the best thing you can do for your tradie business. From rush jobs to unmanageable clients, there are some cases where it might actually just save your sanity and your cash flow to just say ‘no’.

1. When the hagglers are out in force

Depending on what the job is, a little bit of pushback on price might be expected when you’re working with a client. But there are those out there who just don’t value the work you’re doing and expect to get a big job done for next to nothing. This is where you need to stand firm. It’s not just your time that you’ll be losing out on if you agree to a lower price, but you’ll have to take the hit on any supplies and materials too. Plus, if you agree to a lower price for them, next thing you know, they’ll have all of their friends calling up expecting that price too.

2. When you’ll have to rush to get it finished

If a client calls and wants a job done in an unreasonable amount of time, you might consider it, especially if it’s worth big bucks. But would you actually be able to get it done to a good standard in that time? The last thing you want is for you and your team to be stressing and frantically trying to get the job done, because that’s when mistakes happen. Make sure you’re giving the client a reasonable timeframe for completion, and if they won’t agree to that and want it now, go ahead and turn that one down.

3. When you really don’t have the time

Again, the job might bring in good money, but if you’re already chocka with other jobs, it might be a good idea to leave that one for someone else. If you take on more than you can handle, eventually something’s gotta give, right? You might end up putting more effort into the higher value one, but if you end up pissing off all of your other clients in the process, that’s just not worth your reputation. And being too busy for a job doesn’t have to be a bad thing – it brings a bit of exclusivity to your services and shows potential clients that you’re in demand!

4. When it’s not your area of expertise

There’ll be some jobs that are a good challenge, and some where it will be better just to refer them on to someone else. It might be a hard hit to take, but if the job is not really in your wheelhouse, you’re not going to do it justice and you might end up with more than a few issues on your hands. You can always bring someone else like a specialist in to help you with it, but you just need to check that there’s space for that in your budget and okay it with the client first. Better to be safe than sorry!