Solution Building

How can I sort through all of them and get them in the right order? Over the past several weeks we’ve discussed the importance of having a plan when it comes to building anything successfully. Part of that discussion was focused on having a clear and implementable business operating plan. It became pretty evident that designing, building, and implementing an SOP is a pretty big project. It’s a lot...

How an operating system can help your construction company navigate the business fog. It takes thousands of pieces to construct a building. If these pieces aren’t put together in the right place and in the right order, the end project is not what was expected. It might even lead to the building collapsing. This can be avoided with a clear plan and good communication. The same is true for a busines...

Like everything else in your business, the answer to that question is up to you. This week we'll be taking a closer look at SOPs and discussing the specifics of what you could choose to include in your company's standard operating procedures.

Why building a successful construction business requires having a plan. Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed how building your business is critical to the success of your business and the importance of keeping your business in balance . After more than forty years of construction experience, I tend to view most things from a “building perspective". Today we’re going to compare once again build...

So, if it’s worth it…why is it not done? You probably guessed it already; this week’s topic is COMMUNICATION and the all-too-common lack of it. Because poor communication is such a big issue, I’ve written about it a lot. In a production meeting with a customer yesterday I was once again reminded of the importance of clear communication and…the lack of it.

It’s amazing how things become clear with a limited amount of time. What is  productivity ? Now there’s a question for you to answer. We have a limited amount of time in a day, a year, or a life. Productivity generally refers to the ability of an individual, team, or organization to work efficiently within that time in order to maximize output.

It’s hard to keep your business in balance without a plan. Most of us who are self-employed spend way too much time feeling like our businesses are out of control. We started our businesses with grand ideas and dreams. Then one day we woke up and wondered what in the world we were thinking. I recently finished reading the  E-Myth Revisited  by  Michael Gerber . As I read through the book I was rem...

Like the construction of a building – you need a plan for your company. If you own your own business and aren’t being intentional about the organizational operation of your company, it is likely that you won’t make it past your 5th year. This is according to the  Bureau of Labor Statistics . Starting a business without a plan is not a very good plan.

Learning about business tools isn’t necessarily  fun, but it is necessary for business success. I found that out the hard way! Last week we went through the process of getting started with a blank Payment Application and getting it filled out so that it is ready for the customer’s first payment. Now let’s look at preparing the Payment Application for recurring progress payments so that our custome...

This is one of the most important tools in the construction Business BUILDing Toolbox. Communication between construction companies and customers is one of the biggest problems in the construction industry. The  Payment Application  is a business tool used for tracking project progress payments. It’s a way to communicate the financial expectations to the customer…and it’s only fair to let them kno...

This tool helps the construction companies see their cash flow ahead of time. Concerns about cash flow is one of the biggest struggles construction companies and contractors face — and for good reason. These businesses typically lay out large amounts of money for project-related expenses. Waiting to get paid until the job is complete is a sure way for a company to go out of business. An alternativ...

If so many issues come from not doing change orders, why are they not done? A  Proposed Change Order  is another very important tool that should be in the business toolbox of every construction company. However, it’s probably used less than almost any other business tool. Its lack of use causes as many, or even more, problems than any other tool. If it’s that important, why is it not used? We’ve d...

Putting a period at the end of the construction proposal. The discussion of  “Building a Better Proposal”  began with the problems that arise from  poor communication . We talked about this being the responsibility of the contractor and some of the reasons this is a problem. Previously we laid out the  “Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal”  going over the different  parts of the system , and ...

The thing to remember about tools Is…they’re only good if you use them. Over the last couple of weeks, we have discussed  why it’s critical to save money  for those big irregular expenses and unexpected emergencies. Next, we began the process needed to start building a  “Rainy Day” fund  by determining how much and for what. The Savings Transfer Sheet is like any other tool, it doesn’t do you any...

This is one of the tools you should have in your Business BUILDing Toolbox. Last week I wrote about the importance of having savings, both individually and in business, and the high percentage of people who don’t. The tendency to spend everything you have is a problem when the unexpected happens. I’m not saying that after you pay the bills every dollar should be saved. What I’m talking about is ha...

Setting up a “Rainy Day Fund” for your business can help keep it afloat. We’ve just passed a painful time of the year…INCOME TAX SEASON. This can be stressful but doesn’t have to be if you’re prepared. It’s common for people to spend everything they earn and not save anything for future investments or emergencies. For the most part, as a society here in America we have become comfortable. We have...

The question is, how do you know if you have the right one or not? If you’re not careful, building the home of your dreams can become a nightmare. The number of times I’ve heard people say that building their new home was the worst experience of their life is too many. This is not how construction projects should be remembered. So, as a construction customer, how can you avoid this from happening...

That’s why it’s important to know who your builder is. Building a new home is expensive, but the same is true for remodeling. Let’s face it…construction of any kind costs a lot. The final price comes down to what you want in your home.

The final building blocks in the 5-step foundation of your business. Learning to build a building isn’t instantaneous. You don’t show up on a job site your first day knowing everything about building. You come back the second day and learn more and the third and the fourth. And years later you have learned how to build. Building a business is the same. You can’t just wave a magic wand and have you...

After Becoming aware of and Understanding your problems, next you’ll need some INSTRUCTION on how to IMPLEMENT this INFORMATION.  The amount of information it takes to run a successful construction business can be overwhelming. Asking someone for help can be scary, not to mention time-consuming. Ultimately, it comes down to you making a decision. You can decide to keep doing things the way you’ve...

This Requires an UNDERSTANDING of your Problems and Having Solutions to Fix Them. Last week we talked about the  high number of construction companies that fail  and some of the reasons this happens. So why is it that construction companies fail so often? We discussed  some of those reasons  last week. They included things like – a lack of funding or poor cash flow, poor production performance on...

It Has More to do With Business and Less to do With Construction. We’ve all seen construction companies get started and then go out of business. The real factors that brought about construction company failures are internal and within the owner’s control. The good news is, that the next generation of construction businesses can learn from their forefathers’ mistakes and avoid failing for the same...

Back in December we started discussing the importance of building your business on a solid foundation and why people in the construction industry avoid doing it . Then we talked about how a reporting process like the “Job List” can be an important building block in a construction business foundation. Last week we looked at how the “Job List” can help us plan for the future . Today we will focus on...

That’s a question we’re going to continue answering in this week’s solution. The Job List provides us with financial information that helps us gauge how we are doing campared to our annual financial goals. When we look at the total project bid amount and the total signed amount we can see where we are in relation to our financial goals for the year.

This is How the Construction Contractor Evaluation Works in the Real World. It’s time to bring this process of evaluating construction contractors to a conclusion. Like most things needed to run a successful business, this process of evaluating and holding the construction industry to a level of excellence isn't as simple as we’d like it to be. This evaluation system will give us some clear and co...