By Phil Harwood

One of the most common questions I’m asked by snow & ice management professionals is about how to grow using subcontractors. Often, these snow pros are afraid of relying on subs. Some are afraid of losing control over their properties. Some are afraid of the impact it may have on service quality and their reputation. Some are afraid of subs letting them down. And there are a variety of other fears present. 

At the same time, when these snow pros look around the industry, they see an increasing number of examples where subcontracting appears to be a successful way to grow and add profit. The knowledge gap seems to lie with how to pull it off. How does a snow pro move from being afraid of subcontracting to having a successful snow subcontracting operation?

Prior to starting my consulting firm in 2008, I was a snow and ice management contractor, running a large snow operation involving both self-performing branches and subcontractors. We partnered with subs – or service partners, if you prefer – in every way possible, including hiring operators with their own equipment to partner with us on properties where we had our own operators and equipment, hiring subcontractors to take over properties completely with none of our own operators or equipment, and everything in between. 

As we grew our snow business, our use of subs expanded greatly. Along the way, we learned how to find great subs, how to on-board them, and how to manage them for long-term success. We built positive, profitable relationships with our subs. There is a model for success. And there is no reason to be afraid. 

I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be presenting a free webinar Tuesday, July 2 from 12:00-1:00 ET to discuss this model for successful snow subcontracting. Click here to register. 

What you will learn by attending:

• Learn how to grow your business profitably with subcontractors
• Gain valuable insight into how to structure your organization for success with subcontractors
• Learn how to find great subcontractors, on-board them, and maintain ongoing quality relationships
• Learn best practices for negotiating prices, compensation, and incentives to keep subcontractors engaged and committed
• Learn how to avoid legal issues with subcontractor relationships

Who should attend?

• Owners, senior managers, operations managers, office managers, and anyone else involved with selecting, on-boarding, buying-out, managing, or paying subcontractors.

In addition, we will be getting much more in depth with subcontracting for snow at our two Snowfighters Institute OPS Management:

July 24-25, 2024 in Milwaukee, WI

• September 11-12, 2024 in Leesport, PA

Registration is now open for both OPS Management events. Click here for more information.

Now go forth.