Six things trade owners say that all mean the same thing

After ten years around local businesses, I can usually tell where a shop is leaking money before I see a single number, just from how the owner talks. Listen for these.

"My guy handles the phones."

"We are too slammed to call people back right now."

"I will follow up when things slow down."

"Word of mouth is our marketing."

"The good customers always come back on their own."

"I do not have time for all that tech stuff."

Every one of those is the sound of money leaking, said out loud. Not one is a character flaw. They are what a busy owner says when the business is running them instead of the other way around.

Here is the quiet part. "My guy handles the phones" usually means calls get missed when your guy is also doing three other things. "I will follow up when things slow down" means the quote is already cold. "The good customers come back on their own" means the ones who did not come back, you never noticed leaving.

None of this gets fixed by buying more software. It gets fixed by finding the one phrase that is costing you the most, and closing the leak behind it.

Which one did you just hear yourself say?