"Construction" Posts

The success of a construction company is no longer dependent on the artisan or the professional craftsman turned construction company owner. Running a profitable and efficient business may be an entirely new craft.

By applying these six tenets–and a little bit of hard work and determination– construction company owners can master the craft of business management.

Tenet one: Produce profitable sales
Profitable sales begin with strategic bidding. The person who performs this task must be knowledgeable about the financial side of the business and understand the difference between variable and fixed costs. Variable costs such as materials, subcontractors and equipment …

By John Emerson as featured in Construction Today

Having a good grip on your business practices will help you steer the company in the right direction.

The vast majority of construction company owners believe they are not in control of their destiny. They argue that outside forces, recessions, strikes, materials shortages, natural disasters and the like can cause them to fail and there’s nothing they can do about it. One of the most difficult accomplishments for business advisors is to convince owners that they do in fact have a great deal of control and can achieve the results they want, …

By Tom Camarda as featured in Construction Today

Proper Time management increases productivity and profit.

Time is a finite, valuable resource, and managing it efficiently is critical to the successful, on-time completion of construction projects. How managers and employees manage their time affects performance, productivity and profitability. Accordingly, failure to deliver projects on time usually has negative financial consequences for construction companies and their clients. Although the principles of time management are not rocket science, they are easily forgotten in the rush to put out daily fires.

Here are 13 best practices in time management that can help ensure efficiency …

By Dan Schneider as featured in Construction Today

An owner’s mentality can drive company culture to either inhibit or stimulate innovation.

More than 400 construction company owners and various contractors who were recently surveyed were asked, “What business are you in?” Only one business owner answered the question correctly. The wrong answers went like this: “I’m in the construction business.” The right answer came from a plumbing contractor who said, “I’m in the sales business, and I just happen to be really good at plumbing installation, service and project management.” That plumbing contractor is doing very well at a time …

By Al Moores-Warren as featured in Construction Today
Project management can be easy if you pay attention to three critical stages.

Sound project management can make the difference between being profitable and losing large amounts of money. If done well, it can assure the sustainability of a firm. Conversely, if done poorly, it can threaten its very existence. In fact, many professionals in the industry believe that the management of a project and the ability and skill sets of the project manager are directly proportional to the profitability of any moderate or large-scale construction project.

Project management, if done properly …

By Lou Stoug as featured in Construction Today

In today’s slow economy, financial health is more important than ever. Is your firm due for a check-up?

There’s no denying that times are tough in the construction industry. Yet there are many actions contractors can take to improve the financial health of their companies. A vitally important aspect of one’s overall strategy is to have a working understanding of business finance options. That’s especially true for those who want to sell, buy and start a construction company or find a way to thrive in the current economic downturn. In these cases, …

By Tyler Burgess as featured in Construction Today

Thriving in a down economy takes a little business savvy and drive to increase performance, productivity and profit.

Despite the public perception that the economy is in a downturn, many contractors are thriving and turning a profit. That’s because these owners spend their time managing “the business of the business” rather than overseeing individual construction projects. By doing so, they more easily adapt to fluctuating economic conditions that can wreak havoc on performance, productivity and profits.

Managing the business of the business involves knowing, understanding and acting on a set of critical …

By Donna Brewer as featured in Construction Today

Managing a profitable and growing business requires a balanced focus on the immediate and long-term gains.

It’s basic human nature to focus on immediate, “in-yourface” problems, and the average contractor sure gets lots of practice. Most are very good at crisis management and making important technical and project-management decisions on the spot – it just comes with the territory. The problem is that far too many owners spend years doing nothing but putting out fires and keeping projects on track, while ignoring issues related to the firm’s long-term viability (retirement and succession …

By Tom Ryan as featured in Construction Today

Increase your customer base by taking care of your reputation and the needs of your existing clients.

Perhaps the best measure of a construction company’s reputation is how many repeat customers it has. A returning customer is a satisfied one, and most contractors would probably agree they’re the best kind. Running a close second are referral customers, or new business sent to a contractor by existing clients. What business owner wouldn’t love to have more of them? Unfortunately, most don’t know how to go about increasing the valuable customer base. But there …