Solution Building

Breaking Big Things Down into Little Steps  Over the past several months we’ve been talking about building a successful construction business. We’ve compared it to an actual building. You need to know what it is you’re building, what kind of ground you’re going to build on, and why it is you’re building.   Clarity of what you want to build and having a plan is critical to success.  Then comes the...

How I Put This Superpower to Work The past couple of weeks we talked about my “aha moment” and how the Seven Decisions in Andy Andrews’ book The Traveler’s Gift were a part of that. In the book, David Ponder feels like a failure and is ready to give up. That is until his amazing, supernatural journey through time. On this journey, he makes seven stops, each one providing a ‘Decision for Success’....

The Question Is: Will You Make It? Before my accident I was at a place in my life that was nothing like what I had expected it to be. I had some big dreams when I was younger. I was going to be farming thousands of acres. Own a successful construction company. Have a nice, big, new home. Be driving new cars and trucks. Then, thirty-five years later, none of these things had happened. I did own a c...

Going Forward from Core Values Building a business is like building a construction project. You need to know what you want the end product to be. You need to know what you have to work with. You need to have a plan for building and then build accordingly. Who you are is like the ground you build on. Just like building on sand is different than building on clay. You need to know who you are and the...

Why did the turkey cross the road?  It’s just a few days until the beginning of a new year. This start represents an opportunity for new possibilities. The thought of this can be exciting. The chance to do better… to be better . This is what encourages us to make ‘New Year’s Resolutions’. The process of making resolutions but failing at them over and over makes us hesitant though. Most of the time...

Learn from the Past, Look to the Future, Live in the Present As we are rapidly approaching the end of another year, I’m beginning to think about what things I can do to make my business better. There are things that we know we need to do and have been putting off. Life is busy, especially at this time of year. Looking back can be disappointing and discouraging if things haven’t gone as you planned...

They Will Help You Avoid Wandering Core values are the foundation your life and business are built on.  Last week  I gave you a brief definition of what my first six core values mean to me. This week I’ll do the same thing with the final six. Here are the final six...

Without Them You Just Wander The past several weeks we’ve been digging down in the dirt and discussing who you are. Who you are is the ground that your business is built on. That ground is what supports the foundation of your business. The foundation is your core values and principles. Last week I shared the list of my core values with you. They are a collection of things that I’m naturally good a...

Your Core Values are the Building Blocks Over the past several weeks we’ve discussed the importance of a solid foundation for building a successful business. We talked about the ground the foundation is set on is who you are and how you can know your why. This week we’re going to go back to the foundation. We’re going to take a more detailed look at core values and how they work as the building bl...

How Do You Know When You’ve Found It? The past couple of weeks we’ve been discussing the importance of building your business on a solid foundation and what this looks like. Last week, we explored how your why is what the foundation sits on and ways to find your why. Your “why” is who you were made to be. It is your purpose. If you could do anything you wanted to…what would it be? Time and money a...

Finding Your Why Last week we discussed the importance of building your business on a good foundation. And, how this can help you withstand the trials of business. The foundation (core value and mission) can be changed. But the ground you are building that business on can’t. This is who you are. Who God made you to be. When you align this purpose with your business you will be set for success. Not...

What Supports That Foundation is Just as Important Building something that will stand the test of time and the elements requires a solid foundation. A building foundation is made up of two parts: the footing and the foundation. The footing creates an attachment point between the foundation and the soil. The role of the foundation is to support the building and help prevent settling. The foundation...

It Means Getting Past the Intangibles Construction companies regularly find themselves stuck in the rut of doing the same thing over and over hoping for different results. Most of these businesses get started knowing construction, but not business. They plod along doing construction hoping that something is going to magically happen so they can get control of the business side of things. Your cons...

Deciding What Your Big Rocks Are Self-employed people, especially those in construction, struggle trying to keep up with all the things there are to do. I’ve experienced this from both sides. First, as a general contractor, struggling to get subs to show up when they said they would. Second, as the construction contractor, who didn’t accomplish what I said I would, when I said I would. This practi...

Now What Are You Going to Do About It? If you had known how hard it was going to be to own and operate your own construction business…you probably wouldn’t have done it. It’s hard work, time-consuming, and risky. The problem is that no one told you how hard it was going to be. Or, if they did, you didn’t believe them. This isn’t to say that it’s not worth it…because it can be.  

An Out-Of-Balance Business is Like a Short-Legged Table Have you ever felt like your business and/or your life were out-of-balance? This is a common situation with self-employed companies. It’s like a three-legged table with one short leg…kind of wobbly. I know I’ve felt this way and sometimes still do. You’ve probably heard the saying feast or famine. This saying is used quite often in the buildi...

Getting Control of Your Busy Life For years I’ve used the example of a runaway train as a comparison to my busy, on-the-go, overscheduled, out-of-control life. It’s like I am riding on a speeding train of which I’m supposed to be in control. The problem is, instead of being seated comfortably in the engine car at the front, I am barely hanging onto the ladder on the back of the caboose, trying to...

How Can I Do This? As it seems to happen fairly regularly, the business mastermind that I’m a part of discussed accountability. This topic came up regarding things we need to accomplish in the last quarter of this year to be prepared to reach our 2025 goals. Accountability is not a new topic for me to discuss. Back in June of 2021, I wrote about how being accountable is up to me. This post was als...

What Does This Mean for the Construction Industry? It can be a struggle to find good, qualified help in the construction industry. This is not a new problem but seems to be a growing one. Is this because of the decreasing population? Or could it be something else?

Doing the Things Only I Can Do Over the past several weeks we’ve talked about having too much to do and not enough time to do it. Of how I need to delegate more of my business, but how hard delegating is for me. The only way that I can help more people is by sharing the load. This issue has been brought to the surface after reading the book The Highest Calling by Lawrence Janesky. This book resona...

The Difference of Labor and Work Labor Day is one of my three favorite holidays each year. Christmas being my favorite. (This is no big surprise). Labor Day and New Year’s Day are tied for the second spot. These two are not typically ranked in most people’s top three. As I was looking forward to the upcoming holiday, I began thinking about the reason behind the celebration. Labor Day was started t...

They are the Foundation of Your Business I was having a discussion with a sub-contractor. They were venting their frustrations with a general contractor they had worked for. This GC bid the project low to get it. Then after getting it, continued raising the price through change orders. The sub-contractor felt this was dishonest and unethical. Core values are the building blocks that make up the fo...

Working on the Business is Not The Same as Working In It Even after being in business for more than forty years and all that I’ve learned over that time…there is still more to learn. Delegating is one of those areas where I need to do better. I’ve just recently finished reading the book The Highest Calling by Lawrence Janesky. This novel is about business struggles and success. It’s a story of hel...

And You Never Know Where Those Connections Will Come From The first couple of years as a self-employed construction contractor were a lot different than Gene expected. He’s beginning to wonder if owning his own business is worth it. It certainly isn’t what he expected. All the headaches and problems that he’s encountered are causing him to have second thoughts about his construction job and going...

As a Contractor What Did you Expect? As someone who has been in construction for more than forty years, I’ve worked for my share of hard customers. This does not mean that they are bad customers. On the contrary, more often than not the opposite is true. They are the best customers because they have a high standard and expect high quality. There are, however, those customers that are difficult. On...