Trade Finance in Ten by Mainstreet MEP™

Episode 27: Sales Secrets No One Talks About, Part 5: Are You Really Getting a ROI on Marketing? Marketing can feel like it is working when the phone is ringing, people are booking jobs, and your sales team is coming back from lunches, golf outings, and conferences with “good conversations.” But good conversations do not always mean profitable work. In this episode of Trade Finance in Ten , Robyn...

Episode 26: Sales Secrets No One Talks About, Part 4: Stop Waiting for the Phone - Commercial Commercial work is a different game from residential, and it should not be marketed the same way. In this episode, Robyn talks through practical, low-cost ways commercial MEP companies can get more of the right work by focusing on trust, timing, proof, and relationships - not just ads or social media. The...

Episode 25: Sales Secrets No One Talks About, Part 3: Stop Waiting for the Phone - Residential Episode Description: Nobody taught you how to market your company. You learned how to do the work, not how to get it. This episode is a brain dump of every low cost, no cost, and high impact way to get your name in front of the right homeowners — from stuff that costs you nothing but 10 minutes to strate...

Welcome back to Trade Finance in Ten! Why do some companies have customers who keep coming back while others are constantly chasing the next lead? In Episode 24 of the More of the Right Work series, Robyn breaks down a simple but uncomfortable truth. Most customers don’t leave because of price. They leave because of small breakdowns in trust like missed calls, poor communication, late arrivals, or...

Episode 23: Sales Secrets No One Talks About, Part 1: The Right Work Everybody wants more work. But more leads are not always the answer. If the calls coming in are for the wrong jobs, the wrong customers, or work your team is not built to handle, marketing just helps you grow the chaos factor faster. In this first episode of Sales Secrets No One Talks About , we are starting with the part most pe...

Episode 22: How to Fund Growth | Cash Flow Series Part 6 of 6 You're finally ready to grow. So how do you actually afford it? More trucks. More techs. More revenue. It sounds like the answer, but if your cash flow isn't ready, growth can break you faster than a slow season. In this episode — the final chapter of our six-part cash flow series — we break down how to fund growth the right way...

Episode 21: Dealing with Seasonal Cash Flow | Cash Flow Series 5 of 6 Episode Description: The slow season doesn't have to mean scrambling for cash, cutting hours, or losing your best people. In part five of our cash flow series, we share five strategies that separate contractors who barely feel the slow months from those who dread them every year. It starts with an honest look at your last bu...

Profit on paper does not always mean cash in the bank. In this episode of Trade Finance in Ten, Robyn continues the cash flow series with a practical look at Days Payable Outstanding, or DPO — how long it takes your HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business to pay vendors. If customers are paying you slower than you are paying suppliers, your company may be floating the gap. Robyn explains how contra...

Episode Title: Getting Paid Faster | Cash Flow Series Part 3 of 6 Episode Description: Cash flow problems can cripple a trade business long before profitability shows up on paper. In this episode of Trade Finance in Ten, Robyn breaks down why HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and MEP contractors often feel constantly short on cash — even when sales are strong — and what to do about it. Learn the practic...

Your P&L says you're profitable, but do you know if each job is actually making money or how much your overhead is eating away at your net margin? In part two of our six-part cash flow series, we walk you step-by-step through checking your margins, and figuring out exactly how much revenue you need each month to cover overhead and hit your target net margin. This episode covers how to verify i...

Episode Description: Your P&L says you're profitable, but your bank account tells a different story. Where did your cash go? Cash is the fuel for your business and cash flow is the number one thing contractors typically struggle with. So we're kicking off a six part series to help you manage it more effectively. Starting this week with ways to diagnose issues, so you can more accurately projec...

Handshake Deals Gone Bad: Contractor Contracts Every Trade Business Needs | Trade Finance in Ten, Episode 16 Are handshake agreements putting your business at risk? In this episode of Trade Finance in Ten, we break down the basic contracts every HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and service trade business owner needs to get paid, stay protected, and avoid costly legal mistakes. This final installment of...

Hiring Mistakes to Avoid Episode 15: Bootcamp Checklist Part 6 – Your First Hires You're slammed. Booked out. Turning down work. So you hire a guy, hand him the truck keys, and figure you'll sort out the details later. Three weeks in, he quits. No payroll set up. No reimbursement for the parts and gas he bought out of pocket. No written expectations. Hours didn't match jobs. He says yo...

Episode 14: Bootcamp Checklist Part 5 – Your Professional Image Two contractors. Same market. Same skills. One gets the call almost every time. The other keeps hearing, "I almost didn't call - I wasn't sure you were really a company." The difference isn't advertising. It's whether you look safe to hire before anyone ever talks to you. In this episode, we cover the small d...

Episode 13: Bootcamp Checklist Part 4 - Back Office Mistakes That Can Cost You Later Most contractors pick their software the same way they picked their first truck - whatever worked at the time. Then, a few years later, they're stuck paying for something that doesn't fit, they can't get their customer list out of, or the team barely uses correctly. This episode is about the choices th...

Episode 12: Protecting What You're Building 👉  [LINK TO EPISODE 12 SUMMARY SHEET] 👉  [Free Business Assessment and Other Resources] 👉 ⁠ [Book a FREE Call] You're putting everything into this business. Your time, your money, your name. You're out there early, staying late, building something that's yours. But somewhere between chasing jobs and paying bills, insurance got pushed t...

You left the W-2 life to build something of your own. You're good at what you do. You're staying busy. But somewhere between quoting jobs and collecting payments, the back office got pushed to "later." Here's the thing. Later catches up. And when you're ready to hire, expand, or even just take a vacation without everything falling apart, messy finances will hold you back....

Episode 10: Bootcamp Checklist Part 1 - Foundation Basics. In this episode, we discuss the core business setup basics and the details that often get overlooked. That way, you can take a few minutes to revisit your foundation and help reduce your risk, before something small turns into something expensive. We'll cover things like annual reporting requirements, EINs, licensing, registered agents...

Growth gets hard when everything depends on you. In this episode, we talk about the balance every trade business needs between sales, operations, and infrastructure — and why taking too much out of the business or putting too much on yourself usually backfires. We cover why basic software isn’t optional at any size, how structure actually reduces stress, and what balance really looks like when you...

This is a bonus episode because sometimes you need a reminder, not another to-do list. If you’re sitting in your truck wondering why you’re working this hard and still feel behind, this one’s for you. We talk about getting clear on why you started, how money stress at home bleeds into business decisions, and why grinding harder without a plan usually makes things worse. This episode is about pulli...

Getting paid consistently is not about luck, it’s about systems. In this episode of Trade Finance in Ten, we break down AR systems and explain how repeatable processes turn invoices into cash. You’ll learn why good customers still pay late, how small gaps in your process add up to big delays, and what lenders and buyers see when AR is out of control. We also explain how strong AR systems reduce st...

Tracking and paying bills is a constant effort, especially if you want to be able to project cash flow. In this episode of Trade Finance in Ten, we go deeper into strategic accounts payable management and explain how smart timing keeps cash available without damaging credibility. You’ll learn how to align payments with cash inflows, avoid self-inflicted cash crunches, and use AP as a control tool...

Sales don’t matter if the money never hits your bank account. In this episode of Trade Finance in Ten, we break down Accounts Receivable reports and how to read them. You’ll learn how to spot warning signs early, why invoicing delays cost more than you think, and how simple systems help you get paid without awkward calls or constant follow-ups. We’ll also explain some ways you can help keep small...

Paying bills late can quietly damage your business long before problems show up on your P&L. In this episode of Trade Finance in Ten, we break down Accounts Payable and explain how it protects your cash position while preserving trust with vendors. You’ll learn how to read payables in plain language, why timing matters more than speed, and how poor AP habits lead to supply issues, pricing prob...

Profit can look good on paper while your bank account tells a very different story. In this episode of Trade Finance in Ten, we break down the Statement of Cash Flows and explain how money actually moves through your business. You’ll learn the difference between operating, investing, and financing cash, why growth can drain cash even when jobs are profitable, and how this report explains where you...