Module 1 Know your customer and market 4 hAnalyse
Every sound business in construction and technical services begins with one clear customer and one clear problem. In São Paulo and the wider state, demand is real but crowded, so a small, well-described customer group wins before a broad one.
- In construction and technical services: Describe the job by trade, size and urgency.
- Write the customer in one sentence: a home owner or a firm. Add the place, the moment of need and what they use today.
- List five rivals or substitutes within reach. For each, record price, strength, weakness and how people reach it.
- Interview at least eight real customers with open questions. Record exact words, not your summary.
- Count the market in units: how many jobs could one area buy in a month? Use two public sources and your own count, then take the lower figure.
- Choose one first segment and say why the others wait.
Worked example. Weak: 'Everyone needs a build, repair or install job.' Strong: 'Our first customer is a home owner or a firm within 8 km of the centre, who today pays R$ 8.250 per job and complains about delay. We target 6 jobs a month by month three.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: ten customers are interviewed for construction and technical services. Seven say price, two say speed, one says trust. Question: which first message do you write, and which interview record backs it? Model answer: lead with the job price and speed promise, keep trust proof as the second line, and cite the seven price answers by date.
Activity. Write the one-sentence customer, a five-row rival table and eight interview records. Share them with a peer for a challenge round.
Standard to meet. Define a specific customer, build a rival table with prices, and trace every claim to an interview or a source.
Module 2 Rules, registration and data duties in Brazil 4 hUnderstand
Brazil asks every trader to be visible and accountable. Know which register, tax regime and sector rules apply before the first sale, and check each against the current official text.
- In construction and technical services: Work follows building codes and trade registrations; get written approvals where needed.
- Choose a legal form: micro-entrepreneur (MEI) only if your activity appears on the official MEI list, or a company registered with a CNPJ. Regulated activities need their sector authorisation first. Check the current limits and lists on the official portal.
- Learn the tax regime that fits your size and write down which taxes you will collect and pay, and when.
- Find the sector rules for construction and technical services: licences, inspections, professional registers. List each with the office that issues it and the renewal date.
- Personal data of customers falls under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). Collect only what you need, say why, keep it safe, and name who answers questions.
- Consumer law gives buyers clear rights on information, returns and complaints. Put your terms in plain Portuguese.
Worked example. Checklist for a new construction and technical services trader: 1) legal form (CNPJ, or MEI only if your activity is on the official list); 2) city operating licence; 3) sector licence or register; 4) tax set-up; 5) privacy notice; 6) written terms. Each has an owner and a date.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a neighbour says registration can wait until the first R$ 37.500 of sales. Question: what do you do? Model answer: do not delay; write the compliance table first, confirm the register, tax and sector licence with the official office, and start only where the table shows no open blocker.
Activity. Build your own six-line compliance table for your first location. Mark what is done, what is pending and who confirms it.
Standard to meet. Cite an official source for every line, assume nothing, and date every pending item. Local law always wins over this course.
Module 3 Design the offer 4 hCreate
An offer states what the customer gets, how well, by when and at what price. For a build, repair or install job, the offer must make the quality visible and the next step easy.
- In construction and technical services: Quote with scope, materials, steps, timing and exclusions.
- Describe the core offer in three lines: what is delivered (a build, repair or install job), the standard it meets, and the time it takes.
- Add one proof for each promise: a sample, a test result, a guarantee or a customer record.
- Price from cost upward and from customer value downward, then pick a price inside both.
- Write a simple one-page terms sheet: what is included, what is extra, how to cancel.
- Create two options at most, so choice stays easy.
Worked example. Offer: 'A build, repair or install job, delivered within agreed time, checked against a written standard, price R$ 7.500 per job. Proof: a dated record the customer can check and sign. Changes or cancellation by written agreement before work begins.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a customer asks for a discount from R$ 7.500 to R$ 6.750 per job. Question: decide with numbers. Model answer: contribution falls from R$ 2.500 to R$ 1.750 per job; offer an extra of value (for example faster service) before cutting price, and accept only if the lower contribution still clears break-even.
Longer notes. Define three jobs you can finish well, such as bathroom waterproofing, flat rewiring or a rebuilt boundary wall, and write what each includes and excludes. Visit the site before quoting and photograph existing damage. Price one finished job, not hours, then list its materials, crew days and transport so the quote still protects you if a delivery is late. Show the client a schedule with stages and payment dates. Confirm which jobs need a permit and a signed technical responsible, such as a structural wall, before you accept them. Keep a list of exclusions, such as hidden pipes or old wiring, and promise to price them separately once found, so the client understands why a quote can change after opening a wall.
Extra worked example. One job is priced at R$ 7.500. Direct costs are R$ 2.900 in materials, two workers for 5 days at R$ 180 per day, R$ 1.800, and R$ 300 in transport. Total is R$ 2.900 + R$ 1.800 + R$ 300 = R$ 5.000. Margin is R$ 7.500 - R$ 5.000 = R$ 2.500, or 33,3 percent. With R$ 14.000 of fixed cost a month, break-even is 14.000 / 2.500 = 5,60, so 6 jobs. The cost split is a worked example, not market data. Ten jobs leave R$ 11.000 after the yard and van.
Activity. Write the offer card, the proof list and the terms sheet. Test them with three customers and note every point where they hesitated.
Standard to meet. Check that promise, proof and price are consistent, fit the terms on one page, and record three customer reactions.
Module 4 Run the work step by step 5 hApply
Good operations make results repeatable. For construction and technical services, write each step so a new person could follow it on their first day, and measure each step.
- In construction and technical services: Job sheet: survey, quote, order, schedule, work, inspect, hand over.
- Map the process from first contact to paid and closed. Typical stages: enquiry, quote, preparation, delivery of the job, check, payment, follow-up.
- Name the key resource at each stage: a scoped, priced job sheet. Note what happens if it is missing.
- Write a one-page standard procedure per stage: who, what, tool, time, record.
- Choose three measures: speed, quality (errors per 100) and customer rating. Review them every week.
- Fix the cause of a defect, not the symptom. Ask 'why' five times and record the answer.
Worked example. Stage record: 'Prepare. Owner: lead. Time: 30 min. Tool: checklist. Record: signed sheet. Defect found on 1 of 2 jobs last week; cause: missing check on a scoped, priced job sheet; fix: add check at start, review next Friday.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: of 10 jobs last month, 1 had a defect traced to a scoped, priced job sheet. Question: what is the defect rate and what is your first action? Model answer: about 10 defects per 100; stop the cause (add a check at the start), correct affected customers, log the cause, and re-measure next week.
Activity. Draw the process map and write procedures for the two riskiest stages. Run each once and time it.
Standard to meet. Write procedures a stranger can follow, record weekly numbers for each measure, and trace one defect to a root cause.
Module 5 Safety, quality and risk 4 hEvaluate
The most serious risk in this field is unsafe work or a cost overrun. A calm, written risk routine protects people first and the business second.
- In construction and technical services: Falls, electric shock and dust are core hazards; protective gear and isolation.
- List ten things that could go wrong. Score each for how likely (1 to 5) and how serious (1 to 5). Multiply and sort.
- For the top five, choose a control: remove the hazard, replace it, guard it, train people, or use protective gear, in that order of preference.
- Write who does what in an emergency, and rehearse it once a quarter.
- Keep an incident and near-miss log. Near-misses are free lessons.
- Check that insurance and legal duties match the risk you actually carry.
Worked example. Risk row: 'Hazard: unsafe work or a cost overrun. Likelihood 3, severity 5, score 15. Control: written check before each job, trained staff, log sheet. Owner: site lead. Review monthly.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a near-miss occurs: unsafe work or a cost overrun nearly happened but no one was hurt. Question: what do you do in the next 24 hours? Model answer: make safe, record the event, ask the five whys, add or tighten one control, brief the team, and set a review date; near-misses count as lessons, not blame.
Activity. Build a ten-row risk register and a one-page emergency plan. Run a ten-minute drill with a peer and note two improvements.
Standard to meet. Rank controls by preference for the top risks, run the drill, and start the log. Where a regulation applies, follow the official rule.
Module 6 People, skills and service 4 hApply
People deliver the promise. Define roles, train to a standard and give feedback in the open.
- In construction and technical services: Train crews and supervise first jobs.
- Write a role card for each person: purpose, five tasks, the standard for each, and who to ask for help.
- Train by showing, doing with support, then doing alone with a check. Record sign-off per task.
- Set service rules for answering customers: reply times, tone, how to apologise and fix.
- Hold a ten-minute team check each day: yesterday's problem, today's plan, one risk.
- Build a growth path: what a new person can do in week 1, month 3 and month 12.
Worked example. Training record: 'Task: process a complaint. Shown 2 May; done with support 4 May; done alone 8 May, checked: apology, fix, follow-up call. Signed by lead.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a new hire completes training but a customer complaint shows a skipped step. Question: whose gap is it? Model answer: first the system: check the role card, the training sign-off and the checklist; then coach the person and fix the document so the step cannot be skipped.
Longer notes. Give each helper one trade task, such as mixing mortar, laying tile or pulling conduit, and demonstrate the finished standard on a sample wall before the real job. Draft a daily checklist for helmets, gloves, ladders and cable checks, and hold a five-minute talk each morning. Review a finished room together and let the helper name the faults. Agree day rates, overtime and payment dates in writing, and confirm that every helper is insured while working at height. Pair each new helper with an experienced worker for the first week and let the helper explain each task back, so you learn who needs more practice before work at height or with power tools begins.
Extra worked example. Last month 3 of 10 jobs needed rework costing R$ 700 each, which is R$ 2.100. After a one-day training on the checklist, rework fell to 1 job, or R$ 700. Training cost 2 helpers x R$ 180 x 1 day = R$ 360. Saving is R$ 2.100 - R$ 700 = R$ 1.400, so the net gain in the first month is R$ 1.400 - R$ 360 = R$ 1.040. These are worked-example figures, not market data. Training pays back in 0,26 of a month.
Activity. Write two role cards and a training plan for one new hire. Role-play a hard customer conversation twice and review.
Standard to meet. Write role cards with measurable standards, show the sign-off steps in training, and write the service rules in plain words.
Module 7 Money: cost, price and break-even 5 hAnalyse
A business lives or dies on a few numbers. Know your contribution per unit, your fixed costs and the volume you need.
- In construction and technical services: Quote with contingency; collect deposits and stage payments.
- Contribution per job = price minus variable cost. Fixed costs are paid whether you sell or not.
- Break-even units = fixed cost divided by contribution. Plan to pass it by a safe margin.
- Make a 12-month cash plan. Cash timing matters as much as profit: customers may pay late, suppliers may want money first.
- Keep money for business and money for the owner apart.
- Test the plan: what if sales fall by a quarter, or cost rises by a tenth?
Worked example. Worked example, all figures in reais: price R$ 7.500, variable cost R$ 5.000, contribution R$ 2.500 per job. Fixed cost R$ 14.000 a month. Break-even = R$ 14.000 / R$ 2.500 = 5,600, so 6 jobs a month. At 10 jobs a month, profit = R$ 2.500 x 10 - R$ 14.000 = R$ 11.000. These are teaching figures that belong to this example only; later examples and the case study use their own figures. Use your own.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: sales fall to 7 jobs a month. Question: what is the monthly result? Model answer: R$ 2.500 x 7 - R$ 14.000 = R$ 3.500; compare with break-even of 6 jobs and decide whether to cut fixed cost or raise volume first. Teaching figures only.
Activity. Build your own table: price, variable cost, contribution, fixed cost, break-even and a downside case at 75% of sales. Show it to a peer or mentor.
Standard to meet. Calculate correctly, give every figure a source or mark it as an assumption, and show a downside case.
Module 8 Grow, measure and renew 4 hEvaluate
Growth should follow proof. Measure, learn, then add; and keep returning to the customer.
- In construction and technical services: Grow by finishing on time and tidy sites.
- Pick one growth lever at a time: new customers, a higher repeat rate, a better price, or a new offer.
- Set one measurable target for 90 days, such as 'raise repeat customers from 20% to 30%'.
- Ask each customer how they found you, and record it. Spend more where the record shows results.
- Review monthly: numbers, defects, complaints, cash. Write three decisions each time.
- Plan the renewal of licences, equipment and skills a year ahead.
Worked example. 90-day plan: 'Lever: repeat customers. Action: follow-up call after every job. Target: repeat rate from 20% to 30%. Check: weekly count. Review date: day 45 and day 90.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: you can add 2 jobs a month by one of two levers: a follow-up call to past customers or a price rise of R$ 750 to R$ 8.250. Question: how do you choose? Model answer: test the cheaper reversible lever first (the call), measure for 30 days, and only then try the price change, so you can tell which one worked.
Longer notes. Record every quote in a sheet with its value, expected cost, days used and the client's comment, and mark the ones you lost with the reason. Work out margin per job and the share of quotes that become contracts. Compare your best and worst jobs and ask what differed: access, delays or price. Call past clients after three months to ask about defects and referrals. Raise prices on jobs that are always late, and drop work that never covers its cost. Photograph every finished job with the date, and keep the delivery notes, since later disputes about extra work are settled by paper, not memory. Review the sheet on the last Friday of each month.
Extra worked example. In one month you sent 25 quotes and won 10, so the win rate is 10 / 25 = 40 percent. Revenue was 10 x R$ 7.500 = R$ 75.000 and variable cost 10 x R$ 5.000 = R$ 50.000. After R$ 14.000 fixed cost, profit is R$ 11.000. These are worked-example figures, not market data. A follow-up call to every quote lifts wins to 12 jobs: 12 x R$ 2.500 - R$ 14.000 = R$ 16.000, which adds R$ 5.000 a month.
Activity. Write a 90-day plan with one target, three actions and a review date. Present it in five minutes and take questions.
Standard to meet. Set a measurable, dated target, break the actions down small enough to start this week, and put the review date in the calendar.
