Tag Archives: Construction

Contractors Starting Up [AUDIO]

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Any aspiring contractor needs to think through these five critical areas before starting a new company:

1. Insure you have capital to carry you for 2-3 years.
2. Develop a business plan that reflects growth objectives for markets served and expansion steps for adding employees, equipment, etc.
3. Have a marketing plan.
4. Hire wise & solid players.
5. Set weekly, monthly, & quarterly goals.

Listen as Brad expands on these areas, and learn how to better position you and your company for the future!

 

[TRANSCRIPT]

OK, seriously, starting any new business is taking a huge risk.  I love new business start-ups, and the owners who start them.  Over the years, I have supported many such new companies, especially new construction companies, but I also realize that starting any business is often begun on some less than ideal facts.

After conducting many educational sessions at a few construction industry conferences, I was amazed how many new start-up owners were attending.  Many of them were searching for answers to strengthen their leadership, their firm’s sales and profitability, and the proverbial search of the “holy grail” of workers.  Let me share a few insights that I shared with these new and young owners.

  1. Prepare for the Worst; Plan for the Best

Old advice that fits more contractors today than ever.  I have found three keys to success missing from many new start-ups.

  • Under Capitalized – honestly, the owner simply doesn’t have enough money to keep their dreams a float till they obtain enough work.
  • No Business Plan – even the older seasoned business owner needs a business plan. You just can’t run a successful contracting business for long without one.
  • Focus on Sales OVER Quality – hate to say the obvious but you can sell all the work you want but if you have no workers who can complete great work…the right way…the first time…you got nothing but problems coming your way.

Obviously there are many other things that can throw a wrench into the dreams and hard work of a new contractor but my goal isn’t to write a book on such things (at least not yet!).

Now, let me share some wisdom from many of the best start-up contractors I’ve had the privilege to either work with, listen to, or read about.

New Contractors Start-Up Starting Five

  1. Insure you have capital to carry you for 2-3 years.
  2. Develop a business plan that reflects growth objectives for markets served and expansion steps for adding employees, equipment, etc.
  3. Have a marketing plan.
  4. Hire wise & solid players.
  5. Set weekly, monthly, & quarterly goals.

OK, again, there are at least another one-hundred things that need to be done by the new owner but this list of five will get you heading in the right direction.  Let me expand each point with some greater clarity.

  1. Insure you have capital to carry you for 2-3 years.

Either flush out your retirement money, borrow from relatives, or line up some credit with a banker (be willing to mortgage your life) but shoot to have 2-3 years in available money to pay wages, rent equipment, buy materials, etc.  To say money is the root of all problems would be stating the obvious.  More businesses, and marriage relationships, can be brought to a very unpleasant ending if the needed capital is not secured.  To believe that your first year will produce an incredible ROI is grossly mistaken.  Create a budget and consider what your financial needs will be.  Sure, cut to the bone initially, but realize that you will need to pay employees, your family needs to eat, and banks will take your home, or equipment if you fail on payments.

  1. Develop a business plan that reflects growth objectives for markets served and expansion steps for adding employees, equipment, etc.

A business plan is not that difficult to build but is more often missing from new contractors than any other of the four items addressed in this article.  The business plan needs to clearly identify: Where are we going as a company?  What markets are we to pursue?  At what levels of growth will we add workers, equipment, etc.?  Will we leverage production by “sub-contracting” sold work to other contractors?

A business plan is a roadmap of sorts, sometimes needing to be adjusted and edited, but still providing some well thought-out strategies on how to best attack our future.

  1. Have a marketing plan.

A great companion plan that new start-ups need is a market plan.  Combined with a business plan and the contractor has two key weapons to address the future.  The marketing plan should address more clearly what business that the company is in, what markets will they be serving, and what strategies will best gain greater recognition, reputation, and branding.  I always encourage contractors, especially start-ups to determine how they will be selling their wares, products, and services.  Certainly the entire “electronic tool box” opens the door to outlets to spread the news of our company and what we can deliver.  Check all outlets including your own Web-site, Face-book, Linked-In, etc.

  1. Hire wise & solid players.

Now, here we have perhaps the toughest of all the five recommendations to overcome.  Hiring “wise and solid” workers any time can be a herculean effort but with our current transition in the generations, the lack of mechanical minded education in more and more communities, just finding available workers who really want to work can be daunting.  But finding capable workers is still greatly needed and must be pursued aggressively.

Over the years I’ve written about finding, hiring, and retaining workers, so I’ll be brief here.  However, the best thing any new owner can do to find and hire wise and solid “players” is to first create a clear description as to what is needed in the company, specifically related to what is expected in the job including the roles that might be fulfilled and more importantly, the responsibilities that will be completed.

To strengthen this fourth recommendation it is critical for even new owners to prepare to make “on the job training” and education a major part of their weekly efforts.  Unless you can hire seasoned and proven craftsman, prepare to spend a lot of time teaching, keeping workers  a little late some afternoons to train on a needed technique.  Even consider hiring technical consultants, even retired workers, to assist in the training.  Such an effort early will provide greater returns later.

  1. Set weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals.

This final recommendation is key because it sustains a new contractor to keep his or her vision focused on what is attainable in shorter segments of time.  Sure you need the business and marketing plans, but its’ just as important to have short-term objectives that can be measured and managed on a regular basis.  Keep the goals clear and important to the upcoming week, month, or quarter, and review the results regularly.  Make such a review part of your weekly meetings with your team of leaders and workers.

Starting up your own company is hard work.  If you do it, have more than just some dream and an emotional hunger…both will die out if that’s all you have.  However, if you are starting a new construction company then determine to be methodical, persistent, and never say “quit.”

Living the life of a successful contractor is only achieved via the extremely hard work known by those who have paid the price.  Work to be the best that you can be…stay away from comparing your success against other contractors.  Seek the best for you, your family, and your company and enjoy all of the learning experiences you will endure.  Let them form and mold you to be the best that you can be!

Here’s to building your best!

Strategic Planning, , ,

[VIDEO] Accountability: Finishing What You Start

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Take control of your professional life and personal brand, making sure you hold yourself accountable. Remember – always finish what you start!

 

 

REMEMBER: You can watch all of our 2 Minute Drill series at videos.pinnacledg.com, and you can download the Pinnacle Development Group App to watch your training videos on any iOS, Android, or Windows device.

Leadership, , , , ,

[AUDIO] Re-igniting A Tired Foreman

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Re-igniting the fire under your field leaders isn’t easy nor is it a one-time activity.  Consistency is important here as in anything of importance and this issue is very important.  Should your crew foremen lose their enthusiasm and love for construction you might seriously think about selling your company and doing something different. That’s how insanely important those field leaders are for us to be successful as a company!

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Re-Igniting a Tired Foreman ©

Over the past several months I’ve visited with a number of contractors about some of their field leaders, specifically their Crew Foremen.  While not every situation was exactly the same, a common theme involved the lack of motivation, focus, and consistency being exhibited by one or more of their crew foremen.

Based on a very informal and undocumented survey via my raising a few questions, here’s some of the causes that appeared to be present with several of these field leader’s lack of vitality to execute needed work.

  • “I’ve been doing the same ‘$#%@” for a long time, maybe I need a break.”
  • Several Foremen complained of new workers that fail to know the difference between a hammer and a Phillips Screwdriver.
  • “Most of these new workers don’t care what their work looks like at the end of the day.”
  • “I train these guys on something and then they don’t remember what I trained them to do.”
  • Another observation made by several foremen was that they felt as if the new worker just doesn’t care much about work in general. Sort of a “If I work, that’s OK; If I don’t work…that’s OK.”

Admittedly, my findings are not intended to be a scientific list of any major trends among our construction workers but there is a ring of truth for many contractors who have offered their opinions to me over the past few years.  But, how do we assist those critically important field leaders to not get so frustrated that they simply burn out?

I think there are two issues at work here that we need to address.  First, there is the very real issue that many leaders do face some level of “burn-out” in their career.  I’ve seen this range from the leader thinking they would rather return to their previous (lower) level of responsibility to the field leader considering leaving their company, even the industry change.

The other issue at play here is the growing frustration many in our industry are having with what looks like to be fewer numbers of employees entering the industry with any level of construction knowledge or experience, some without even any elementary mechanical sense.

In addressing our first issue, consider a few efforts that can help your Crew Foremen regain a bit of their “mojo” for being the leader they need to be.

  • Discretely and confidentially visit with any foreman when they are displaying some unusual behavior for them. If you notice the foreman avoiding you, increasing calls for tools or information that they could have easily obtained IF they had prepared properly, etc., go to the foreman and simply ask how they are doing.  Most of these leaders will often share with you some of their frustrations…just listen!
  • Consider giving all your foremen 1-2 days off periodically during heavy scheduled work. This can be almost impossible to do when you’re hot and heavy into a project but often just a quick breather can prevent that leader from going “over the bar” in mental frustration and exhaustion.
  • Visit your weary foreman personally on their job site, maybe even donning some work attire and work along with the crew for a few hours. This is actually a great positive reinforcement for your foreman to have you there in person.
  • Send your foreman a dinner voucher at some restaurant that the foreman, and his significant other, would not normally even think of visiting; something upscale from the normal pizza parlor or sports bar. Again, this is just a little token of your appreciation for his hard work in the trenches.
  • Engage your foreman earlier and during the organizational phase of his upcoming projects. One sure sign that a foreman is getting stressed is when he shortens his time preparing for projects or forgets the little things such as insuring his trucks and trailers have what they are supposed to have safely stored.  Giving your foreman a little extra attention here reassures him that he’s not in the battle all alone.
  • Look at other opportunities for your tired foreman to consider. Maybe another area of your company might be a good change of pace.  If that’s not possible, sit down with your foreman and brainstorm for ways to do what he is currently doing…different.  Maybe he’s gotten into some routines that are enslaving him to believe that there is no other way to prepare, organize, execute, follow-up, etc.
  • Get the foreman to look at quality or safety improvements for his and other crews. Maybe this little twist of focus might offer a new perspective to what he is doing and help your company at the same time.
  • Start including more appreciation and recognition at your weekly meetings with your foremen. These field leaders are often the brunt of all the bad news and rarely receive a lot of the positives from customers.  They are, admittedly, in a tough position being stuck between dealing with customers at the site, employees and all their issues, and of course, trying to satisfy their owner’s expectations for quality, safety, and productivity!

As tempting as it is for most contractors to want to kick a field leader in the pants to “pick it up,” it’s important that contractors discern whether a struggling foreman is just having a bad week or is there something a bit more invasive.  Watching a foreman for a week or two will often tell you that something more than just having a bad day is at play.

The second issue is even more challenging as we’re really addressing an industry wide issue.  Because I’ve written many articles over the years that addressed training and working with employees, let me summarize a few thoughts for construction leaders to recognize will be part of their future if they are to maintain a viable construction company that desires growth.

  1. You must screen applicants even more closely to detect who really has the skills and learning potential and who does not. This isn’t easy but a contractor must cease any form of “warm body hiring” practices.  You have to test, ask better questions, and spend more time interviewing potential workers.  Many contractors really shoot their own foot by just skimming the bare minimum of questions and testing because they need workers.
  2. You must “On-Board” new workers that fully baptize them into who you are as a contractor, what work processes exist, the values of the company, and the importance that the new employee will play in the company. Throw the new worker immediately on the crew without this and you simply give the worker no reason to stay with hopes of what they thought they were signing up to do.  Win the hired workers over to you and your company’s potential.
  3. Train…Train…Train! Come on, if you don’t train beginning even the first day of employment you increase the likelihood that the new worker will quit you in less than thirty days.  Pick 1-2 trainers, even crewmembers, who are responsible for teaching the new worker what they need to know to be safe and productive.  Do this early and consistent and you will find more motivated workers who will also re-invigorate your crew foremen.
  4. Plan to check in with new workers at least weekly for the first 90 days. This is meant for the owner and senior leaders.  By having some of the “top brass” follow-up with new workers, the crew foremen are actually motivated as they see their leaders being more engaged with who they hired to work under the foreman’s leadership.  This activity also keeps the senior leaders more tuned-in to who they hired and monitoring the training efforts employed.

Re-igniting the fire under your field leaders isn’t easy nor is it a one-time activity.  Consistency is important here as in anything of importance and this issue is very important.  Should your crew foremen lose their enthusiasm and love for construction you might seriously think about selling your company and doing something different. That’s how insanely important those field leaders are for us to be successful as a company!

Brad Humphrey

The Contractor’s Best Friend ™

 

 

Employee Development, , , , ,