JR Laborie: Why He’d Rather Work 3 Days Than Chase 7 Days of Revenue

He hired more guys, bought more equipment, and got busier. He was also miserable. So JR Laborie started cutting—and his profit got better. JR built Laborie Land Works from one skid steer into land clearing, excavation, underground utilities, and hydro excavation. But instead of chasing a bigger company, he eventually stripped away low-profit work, lowered his overhead, and built around the jobs he actually wanted. Today, JR keeps room in his schedule for high-profit emergency utility work, usually avoids projects that tie him up longer than four or five days, and regularly checks which services are actually putting money in his pocket. **Takeaways:** ✅ **More Equipment Didn’t Mean More Profit** – JR realized the trucks and equipment bringing in revenue were also eating tires, time, and money. He started looking at what was actually left after the job. ✅ **Keep Capacity Open for Better Jobs** – Instead of filling every day months ahead, JR keeps a loose schedule so he can jump on profitable emergency utility work when the phone rings. ✅ **Fire the Work That Doesn’t Fit** – He cut lower-profit services and became more selective about customers instead of chasing gross revenue for the sake of being busy. ✅ **Partner Instead of Adding Payroll** – JR works with other small contractors so each company handles what it does best. That lets him scale up for a job without carrying the overhead year-round. ✅ **Your Support Tools Matter** – A skid steer or excavator is only part of the setup. Hydro excavation equipment, cable locators, breakers, software, and good systems can make a small contractor far more efficient. **Why It Matters:** For small excavation, land clearing, and utility contractors, JR makes a strong case that the goal isn’t owning the most iron or staying busy seven days a week—it’s building a company that produces profit without owning your life. **Links:** ➡️ Reach out to JR Laborie — Laborie Land Works LLC: https://www.facebook.com/laborielandworks ➡️ Get Ryan’s book “Outta The Weeds” on Amazon: ⁠https://a.co/d/02o1DRKf⁠ ➡️ Shop Attachments — Skid Steer Nation: ⁠⁠⁠https://skidsteernation.com/⁠⁠⁠ ➡️ Create estimates, track jobs, and stay organized with Tulboxx: ⁠https://www.tulboxx.com/⁠ ➡️ Contractor Marketing — Throttled Up: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.throttledupmarketing.com