Do the trade well and the business follows

Luke Holle, a tile setter in Lincoln, Nebraska, who owns Superboy Construction LLC, thinks people overcomplicate making money in a construction trade. In his experience the most important thing is doing the trade well. If you do a good job, he says, the business will generally prosper.

What people overcomplicate

Luke says people think that to make money in a construction trade you have to do a lot of other things well. His experience points the other way. The most important thing is doing the trade itself well.

Quality first, then the business skills

He calls it his number one goal as a business owner: do whatever he is selling well, and then fine-tune the other skills, the business skills. He does not dismiss those skills. He puts them second. As he frames it, if you are selling a poor product, what is the point?

Profit and honesty

Luke also asks what the point is of having a profitable business if you are ripping people off. It is his opinion, and it shows his order of priorities. Good work and fair dealing come first, and the rest is built on top of that.

Questions people ask

Is Luke saying business skills do not matter?

No. He says to do the trade well first and then fine-tune the business skills.

Does good work guarantee a successful business?

Luke says the business will generally prosper if you do a good job. That is his experience, not a guarantee.