Every Monday morning, The Profit Constructors’ social media posts are routinely filled with something akin to an Irish blessing. They vary slightly week to week, but typically they look like this, “May your coffee be strong, your influence be ever-growing, and your week be profitable.” It is that last portion of the “blessing” we’re discussing today. That part about being profitable – because it never varies. Those are the same words week after week. Even during the Coronavir

So, you’ve sent the office staff home. And, the schools have sent their children home. How do they (and your construction contracting business) cope? As a professional business owner as well as a second-generation homeschooling family, we offer some ideas that have worked for us. Perfect solutions Remind yourself and your employees there are not likely to be any perfect solutions. Things will happen. Plans will go awry. Interruptions will . . . well, you know, interruptions w

Inspire through leadership Your leadership capabilities as the owner of a construction contracting business may very well hinge on one simple concept – inspiration. No matter how you became the owner of your business, there comes a time when you must inspire others. You’re not Chuck in a Truck. You’re the owner of a construction company. A construction company that employs staff, teams, workers, hands, people who look to you to guide the way. One bare fact is employees thrive

Leading with Composure Keep in mind these three important facts concerning composure: Everyone wants it Most have messed it up It can be regained It is easy to remain composed when all is going well. Anyone can do it. It’s when faced with uncomfortable and difficult experiences in your construction contracting business that you have the opportunity to demonstrate your composure as a leader. In other words, Composure One aspect of composure is it is difficult to describe. But

The story about how we REALLY feel about our clients. Our clients Run With the Big Dogs! While some might see us as contractor fans, screaming at the back door after the concert, we’re more than that. Yep, we ask for autographs, and we know details about our clients that others are not privy to. But, we’re more than fangirls getting our excitement on. Demonstrating success We try not to get to “uppity” about it, but we believe we are part of something big. You see, we firmly

Being Patient for the long-haul Learning to be patient takes . . . well, it takes a modicum of patience. And, I’m among those who’ve had to learn the hard way how impatience is a sure-fire way to run smackdab into trouble – quickly. As a matter of fact, you and I both know it is often the case that we should take time to wait prudently to make the best logical move. Yet, we live in a fast-paced world where opportunities, bids, safety mishaps, product shortages, and lack of sk

Employee Handbooks for reading pleasure? 😵 I was asked to help write an employee handbook for Schulte and Schulte recently. And I yawned. Like, you know. Employee handbook = boredom induced coma. In that regard, it was in some ways an easy task.  A lot of “copy and paste” was involved. It was a very difficult task  in other ways.   What must be included and what is optional? Therefore, there need be only three rules it seemed to me. My (tongue in cheek) suggestion: Don’t be

Building streams This report is going to follow two diverse streams which converge to make one river of thought. The first stream has to do with an encounter on a modern city sidewalk and the second with a look at the building of a medieval castle. Building high rise office structures On Tonya’s and my recent trip to Salt Lake City, we had occasion to walk from the convention center to a nearby grocery store. Therefore, we passed through a covered sidewalk which was designed

Brand Personality including logos and such Brand Personality is made up of many different (and some moving) parts. How many times have you heard a product or service being noted as the “Rolls Royce” of their industry? Good thing the folks at Rolls have worked so hard to provide both an excellent product and an exemplary Brand Personality. Otherwise, those claims wouldn’t mean as much. Yet, there is much more to a Brand Personality than hood ornaments or company logos.  Let’s

How Financial Acumen puts you ahead When you gain financial acumen, you understand how to use financial reports along with all the accompanying metrics to monitor your commercial contracting company’s performance and make proper adjustments. Think about it. When you make decisions based on both historical and predictive indicators you gain a better outlook for success. Therefore, gaining financial acumen means you possess a solid understanding of what drives your company’s pr

Focus for Construction Contractors Focus is a core factor of business success Yet focus, simply for the sake of focus makes no sense. Because, let’s face it, focusing on a screen (be it large or small) is rather an easy accomplishment. Think TV viewing, social media, or electronic games. Or you could find yourself focusing on the daily minutia in the office or on the site and never on the growth of your construction contracting business. So yes, focus is core. Yet, when build

Delegating in the Construction Arena Delegating: a leadership tool Every day you send people into the field or to their desks to accomplish a variety of tasks. You’ve delegated a certain portion of the work to each of them. How well they perform is based on their skill level and on how well you’ve delegated. Therefore, your job isn’t to accomplish the things your employees or subs are tasked with. Furthermore your job is to see to it they have the proper understanding and the

Promoting Your Commercial Construction Business Promoting your construction business While promoting your commercial construction business falls under the umbrella of marketing, don’t get it confused with your other marketing strategies and tactics. Briefly, a few things your marketing can include are paid ads, social media, blogging, sponsoring, and promoting. Plus, while we’re removing some confusion, I hasten to add that promoting is NOT the same as having a promotion. Thi

Growing Your Construction Business in 2019 Growing your construction business is much like planning to run with the big dogs. As a matter of fact, I wanted to title this piece, “How to Run with the Big Dogs.” I thought better of it. Yet, getting out and romping with the big dogs does have a great appeal, right? Growing up My cousin, (I’ll call him Andy) tells an “in my youth” story. Seems Andy had gotten his first full-time job soon after receiving his high school diploma. It

Instagram? Why? Before we get into the whats, hows, and wherefores of using Instagram to market your construction contracting business, let’s talk about the why. It isn’t likely in today’s economy that you’re too worried about finding new clients. I recently heard it described this way; “The way you get new clients today is to answer the phone.” Yep, the construction industry is swinging along nicely, thank you! Why spend time and energy getting the word out when you’re so do

Business is great Business is great – until it isn’t. The construction contracting business is well known for its boom or bust nature. Using the boom to prepare for the bust is simply a matter of having good business sense. And, two ways you make the preparation are considering future financial needs and creating documented, sustaining processes. This is the third in a three-part series dealing with growing an established construction business. Taking it up a level. Getting b

Construction business growth Construction, at its very heart, is exhilarating. Being part of an industry that manufactures the clients’ desired product on site is challenging, stimulating, and fulfilling. Growing a construction business is hard work and requires more than wishful thinking or hoping things will fall in place. In part one of this three-part series we looked at one area, “dealing with changing regulations” which contractors must heed in order to succeed. If you

You’ve gone beyond finding your first client. You’ve gotten past all the start-up issues. You are ready to take the next steps to grow and prosper your construction business. Grow and prosper in ways which are likely to surpass your original dream. It is fun to look back on and remember those heady days when you first became a business owner. It is even more fun to look ahead at what you’ll accomplish next. Now it is time to roll up your sleeves and get to work – on the next

Your technology choices Finding technology that is relevant to running your subcontracting business is easy. Right? *Beep* Wrong! Finding tech is easy. Finding tech that is relevant is a totally different picture. Two starter questions to answer are: Can we afford it? Do we (really) need it? Answer these further questions and they will help clarify the answers to the initial two: Will this be advantageous to our clients? How can this make it easier, more efficient, and more e

Office systems – they’re no joke Office systems could be funny, right? Let’s step back a moment and look at where this post came from. As per my own advice, I keep a Squirrel List of ideas that have crossed my path. Occasionally I scan through it when deciding what to write that will benefit our subcontractor clients. A while back I had written what became the title to this article (How to know if your office system is a mess) with a following note which said, “It requires a