There once was a builder who loved spring.
Spring meant phones ringing again. Spring meant crews back to work. Spring meant jobs lined up and revenue coming in. All winter, he had planned for this moment. He fixed his equipment, lined up subcontractors, and even hired two new employees to help with the workload. On the first warm Monday of the season, he unlocked the shop early, smiled at the calendar, and felt that familiar mix of excitement and pressure that comes when business is about to get busy.
By Wednesday, one of the new hires slipped while unloading materials and injured his wrist. It wasn’t severe, but it was enough to pause the job and send the builder into a flurry of calls. As he stood on the site, watching his crew wait, a different kind of worry crept in. Not about the injury itself, but about what he might have missed.
He wondered if the new employee had been added correctly. He wondered if the type of work being done matched what was on his policy. He wondered if the growth he was proud of had quietly outgrown the protection he was relying on. In that moment, the weight he felt wasn’t the accident. It was the uncertainty.
Later that week, he sat with a friend who ran a similar business. The friend listened, nodded, and said something simple. “You prepared for the work. You just didn’t prepare for the risk that came with the work.”
That stuck with him.
The builder realized that every season of growth brings a season of new exposure. When you add people, you add responsibility. When you add vehicles, you add risk. When you take on new kinds of jobs, you invite new problems you may not see yet. None of this is wrong. It’s just the cost of moving forward.
The mistake the builder had made wasn’t carelessness. It was assuming yesterday’s protection was enough for today’s reality. His business had grown, but his coverage had not kept pace. He had prepared for opportunity, but not for the weight that opportunity brings.
So he changed one habit.
At the start of every spring, before the schedule filled and the phones got loud, he took time to review what had changed. Who he had hired. What kind of work he was doing now. What equipment he had added. What risks came with the growth he was proud of. He treated protection as part of preparation, not an afterthought.
The next spring came. Then another. The work stayed busy. The risks never went away. But the worry did.
The lesson he learned was simple. Growth always increases risk. Wise leaders prepare for both.
If your business has changed since last spring, your coverage probably should too. If you want a quick, no-pressure spring check-in, SCHEDULE a short conversation with Jack. He’ll help you make sure your commercial insurance and work comp still fit the business you’re actually running today, so you can head into the busy season with clarity instead of crossed fingers.
Tags: