What Does It Take to Be A Builder?

There’s So Much More to This Building Thing Than Just Construction

I regularly go back through my life plans, especially at this time of the year, reviewing and revising them as needed to build the best life. Just like a construction project needs reviewed and revised in different phases of the project. Whether a building or a life, this process shouldn’t stop once the initial construction is complete. It is an on-going process until the end.

It is amazing to me the correlations between building a business, a life or doing construction. Building terminology is used everywhere. As a part of my life plan review, I was going back through some Michael Hyatt’s Platform University training. One of the things that caught my attention were the words that were used. In the first two sentences of the instructions I found this; “…building your website…”, “…lay an important foundation….” and “…platform-building…”.

The use of this construction terminology is a great analogy with life building as is evident in the more than eighty times it’s used in Scripture. You can find some examples here. In Luke 6:48 (NCV) it says, “…everyone who comes to me and hears my words and obeys. That person is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the floods came, the water tried to wash the house away, but it could not shake it, because the house was built well.” This sounds like a pretty good plan for building a life to me.

If you have read more than a few “Weekly Solutions” posts, you will have noticed the connections with building in many of them. Here are just a few – Building the Life of Your Dreams, Building the Best Life, Means It’s Always Under Construction, The Importance of Intentionality for Building Your Dream Life and Building Your Business Is Critical to The Survival of the Business. This really is the underlying theme for Solution Building. The central purpose is to “help people find solutions for building their dream business and life through improved communication, better business systems, quality construction projects and life lessons.

Most importantly any kind of building, whether it’s a construction project, a life or a business, needs to start with a solid foundation. My foundation is my CORE VALUES built on the SOLID ROCK of Jesus. 1 Cor. 3:11

As we move forward into this new year, we will be sharing more specific examples and systems to help you build your dream business and life. If there are areas in your business or life where you need a solution, let me know in the comment section below.

Christmas Is About Giving, Business Should Be Too

How Do We Know What to Give Without A List?

Last week I wrote about the coming new year and our excitement about the possibilities and opportunities it will present. This week I’m going to back up just a little (chronologically) to focus on Christmas (considering that it is just a few days away).

Christmas at its very foundation means giving. “God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him would not be lost but have eternal life.” John 3:16, ERV. We’re talking about the ultimate gift. The giving of His child to be mistreated and ultimately killed on a cross. This Holiday is the celebration of that Child’s birth.

“God created humans in His own image. He created them to be like himself.” Genesis 1:27 ERV. If we have been created in His image, then shouldn’t we be willing to give. Isn’t this a part of who we have been put here on earth to be?

What does giving look like in business?

It doesn’t mean we do work for free. It doesn’t mean that if we win the customer loses or the other way around. Business isn’t supposed to be a win-lose arrangement. It can and should be a win-win.

Once again, this last week I met with another couple in the middle of a remodeling project that has taken a bad turn…they had to fire their contractor. What should have been the fulfilling of their dream turned into a nightmare. This was primarily due to a breakdown in communication. As professional builders, or businesses of any kind, this responsibility is ours. This is such a big problem. I have written about it as much or more than any other.

Here are links to some of those “Weekly Solutions”:

So, how do we know what it is that the customer wants? WE ASK THEM

This seems to be a no brainer, but for whatever reason the question doesn’t get asked, not really. The basics get discussed and everybody thinks they know what the outcome is going to be, but some where in the process things go off track. It takes time and effort to dig deep and find the underlying dream. This is critical to the project being a win-win.

It’s like finding out what a child wants for Christmas. Sure, we can go get them a gift and it might be something they like but, the odds aren’t very good. Or, we can have them fill out a Christmas list. If we don’t understand something on the list, we can ask and get some clarity before the process starts or money is spent.

Have the customer fill out a “Christmas List” for their project before moving forward.

To the point of having a list filled out…I need a list filled out to help determine the best direction for Solution Building going forward. I have a lot of ideas, but your input will help me know what would be the most beneficial to helping you build your dreams.

Please share your thoughts, questions, ideas or dreams in the comments below. This will help me know what gifts I can give you.

If you would prefer you can give me your list by taking this short 8 question survey.

The Importance of Helping Your Customers Dream Big

Building Your Very Own Barbie Dream House

As builders it is important to encourage your customers to dream big. Sure they may have a budget that won’t allow them to do everything they want, but it’s also important to not begin the dreaming process with a limited belief. Our job as the contractor should be help them find the design and build their dreams. Today’s post was written by Shannon, my Professional Assistant and soon to be customer.

 

 

Guest post By Shannon Martin

For Christmas I bought my granddaughter the Barbie Dream House. Yes, it was expensive and yes, she loves it!! My daughter says she plays with it all day, every day. So, in my opinion it was a great gift for a three-year-old who loves Barbies. The Dream House has an elevator, swimming pool, fireplace, three stories, huge bedroom and top of the line accessories. I jokingly said that I was going to write a Blog post about the Barbie Dream House. But when I thought about it more, who doesn’t want a Dream Home of their own?

I’m in the middle of planning/designing a room in my house. Our one and only bathroom was added onto our 1880 stone home in the 60’s and has an odd layout. The bathroom is very simple and functional but time and hard water have created some issues. There has been a water leak under the floor for a while that has rotted some floor joists. Water pipes are corroding. The bathtub is starting to have some cracks in it. So, we have decided to build a new bathroom.

As a Pinterest lover, I started with pinning ideas for the room and discussing my issues with Mark Eastman of Timber Creek Construction. Mark is good at knowing what you need before you even know it!! He suggested that I dream big and asked if had considered adding another bathroom to our home. It would be nice to have a bathroom on the 2nd level and it would increase the value of our home. By putting one bathroom on top of the other, the plumbing could be done at the same time and all in the same area.

So, I’m getting my own Dream House and I’m very excited about it! Watch for more posts and pictures as we work through the process.

What are your ideas for your Dream House? Think about your future. Do you have or plan to have children? Do you have aging parents? Do you often have guests? And give Mark a call at Timber Creek Construction for a fun discussion, great suggestions and a contractor who wants to help you.

 

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this Shannon.

As a builder I have seen way to many people who have been disappointed by their contractor. It doesn’t have to be that way. At Solution Building we are currently working on some business systems and production programs to remedy these problems. We will be offering these products later this year, so be watching.

Sharing the Shovels

Moving the Mountain One Shovel at A Time

 

One of the most difficult things that I struggle with is delegating. By nature, I try to do everything. It is my business and serving my customers is my responsibility after all. This can only work if I limit what I’m going to do. I can’t use more than one shovel at a time.

The last several years I have been working hard to figure out who exactly God has designed me to be. What are my strengths and what are my weaknesses. As I have worked through this process I have reached the conclusion that God’s intended purpose for me is helping as many people as possible find solutions for building their dreams, even when they may not know they’re looking for them.

There is a limit to how many people I can help by myself though. In Exodus 18:13-26 Moses was trying to solve all the issues of all the people. There were so many people that needed help and he couldn’t help them all. His father-in-law saw this and recommended that he share the load and put his energy and focus on what God had designed him to do…not everything. If I am going to help more people and help them well I must share my load, just like Moses.

One of the problems of delegation is that too often sharing of the load is done without much clarity or planning. Positions are just filled with the first warm body that comes along and says yes. Rather than helping to carry the load, this often just makes it heavier. If you have ever had this experience, it makes it that much harder to share the load the next time.

There are some towering mountains on the horizon that need moved. As I move forward into this new year I am going to pass out some shovels. I am going to be careful and intentional about who gets what shovel. I need to make sure that the shovel and the person using it are a match.

One of the mountains that needs moved is delegating. Just this week I passed out a couple of shovels. Even if it is not natural for me, it felt good. We are going to move big mountains this year.