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Why Understanding is Critical to BUILDing a Successful Construction Business

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Because Your Company is Too Important to Just Roll the Dice

Why is it that people operating construction companies are willing to gamble with their business? This random hit and miss business model is an all-too-common practice in the construction industry.

Somewhere along the way as we grow into the routine of life and business, we stop asking questions.

As kids we’re expected to ask questions. In school we’re taught to ask the five Ws (who, what, when, where and why) and how. These questions are considered basic to information gathering.

UNDERSTANDING starts with asking questions.

Asking questions is the first step to understanding success. The questions are more important than the answers. Asking questions is necessary to break out of routines. Questions cause us to dig deeper and ask more questions. If we don’t ask questions, we will stay stuck in the mundane habits of doing the same old things over and over hoping for a different outcome.

It’s like people in horror movies. If you’ve ever watched a horror movie then you’ve seen this. Teenagers are in a dark scary place and instead of getting out when they have the opportunity, they continue to hide in a basement, an attic, a cemetery, etc. The GIECO “horror movie” commercial is a great example of this.

If you don’t want your business to be ‘chopped up by a chainsaw’ you need to BE AWARE and start asking questions.

Asking questions leads to UNDERSTANDING.

Like any tool, if you don’t understand how to use it, what its purpose is, and how it works it won’t be any help to you when you’re doing construction. The same is true for tools used to build a successful construction business.

  • Sales tools like Proposals and Contracts
  • Production tools like Change Orders and Payment Applications
  • Financial tools like Job List and Savings Account Transfer Sheet

Understanding how these tools work, their purpose, and how to use them can be just what you need to build that business of your dreams.

Understanding is the mental grasp or comprehending of something. It is the knowledge about a situation, how something works or what it means. Understanding is also an agreement between two or more people. It is the sharing of thoughts and ideas of others and willingness to listen with an open mind. This kind of understanding leads to trust.

If you’ve been in construction for very long, you’re aware of problems like –

  • Balancing construction projects and paperwork
  • Feeling like your business is out of control
  • Keeping projects on schedule
  • No money for bills, taxes, or emergencies
  • Keeping projects within budget
  • Disappointed or upset customers
  • Communication breakdowns

You can either ignore these issues and keep doing things the way you have, or you can start asking questions and figure out what to do about them.

Questions like why…

  • Why should construction contractors do proposals? –

This question is the one that baffles me as much as any. How can contractors expect customers or production crews to know what work is going to be done and what it’s going to cost without some clear communication? I don’t think you would buy a truck without knowing what you were getting. I know I would be disappointed if I ordered a new $70,000 truck and when I got it, it was a 1999 ½ ton pickup missing a wheel and the driver’s door.

  • Why don’t contractors do proposals? –

The most common answer to this question is that they simply don’t know how. This is something that just isn’t taught. Most contractors start out doing construction, not paperwork. They figure out some guesstimation process and then wonder why customers are upset when they get a bill that is higher than they expected for less work.

  • Why does this customer want to do this construction project?

This should be the primary question that a contractor gets the answer to. It is more important than what. The “what” answer has a “why” answer behind it. The why question doesn’t have to be asked directly, but regardless, needs to be answered. The why is the foundation for the customer’s dream. A foundation is critical to building construction projects and dreams.

  • Why do we do the same things over and over expecting different results?

We all do this to some degree. Why? Why do we continue to repeat things thinking it will be different this time? We shouldn’t do things just because… “we’ve always done it this way”. The more we walk back and forth in a rut, the deeper it gets and the harder it is to get out. I heard it said that a rut is just a grave with both ends kicked out. Stop walking and determine if this is what you want and if it’s the best plan. If not do something different.

These questions are a starting point to understanding how you can BUILD a better construction business.

Like so many things out there UNDERSTANDING can be a scary thing. It may take us outside of our comfort zone and we don’t like that. We would prefer to be like the people in scary movies…and just go hide behind the chainsaws.

At Solution Building we’ve developed a 5-step BUILDing process to make stepping out of your comfort zone a little less scary. If you would like some help knowing which questions to ask or answering questions you have, schedule a free 30-minute consultation here.

How Can I Be More Demanding Without Being Demeaning?

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The Skill of Walking the Fine Line Between These Two Things

This past week there were a couple of situations that got me thinking about this…again. This is something I’ve struggled with my whole life. It comes down to who I am and who I need to be. Like everything in life there is a balance to be achieved.

Both situations had to do with sub-contractors.

First was a wood fencing project. The customer had some fence boards but not enough. I ordered out more than enough boards to finish the project.

I get a text from the sub, telling me that we need more fence boards. I assumed that I had mis-figured. I let the customer know that there is going to be another material delivery. Customer tells me to not forget to use the ones that they had. I called the sub. He tells me that there weren’t any fence boards there. I go by the job site and there they were…right where they were when I showed them to him.

Back to the question…How can I be more demanding, without being demeaning?

I think the sub just got focused on the stack of new fence boards and forgot about the others.

The problem is that this oversight cost me. I now have boards that were the customer’s and I can’t return them. They will need to be stored in a shop that is already overcrowded.

How should I handle this so that the sub understands and shares in the responsibility, without demeaning them?

Some people wouldn’t have any issues in deducting this cost from the sub. But this might cause the sub to not want to do future projects and it can be hard to find qualified subs.

Second was the hanging of some sheetrock on a small project that was being done by a painter. I went by to check on things and the piece of drywall that was installed…was installed wrong. They had a cut edge rather than the finished edge in the middle of the ceiling.

I had him take it down and turn it around.

In both of these instances I was uncomfortable saying anything and I’m still not sure what I’m going to do about the fence boards.

Ultimately both come down to clearly explained expectations.

Explaining specifics on individual projects as well as overall expectations.

I have high expectations for myself, I assume that everyone else has this same level of expectation…not so.

Because of these differences I need to be hypervigilant in explaining and communicating what I expect. This will require more time and effort on my part and I’m already running short on both.

One of the things that makes this balance hard to find is that everything is different for everyone. What is reasonable for one person might be hurtful to another.

The thing I need to remember is that ultimately, my responsibility to the customer is more important than the feelings of the sub.

This doesn’t mean the sub isn’t important. It means the sub and I are supposed to be working together to fulfill the dream of the customer. Not fighting each other to see who can take advantage of the other.

It’s not supposed to be a competition.

I’m still not sure exactly how I’m going to be more demanding without being demeaning…but I’m going to work toward accomplishing that.

How Do We Know if Something is Worth the Cost…or Just a Shiny New Object?

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It Would be Nice if There Was a Clear Answer to This Question

Maybe there is, but it’s going to take some work to find it.

You may remember the “pet rock” from the mid-seventies. I didn’t understand it, but still found myself drawn to having one…however I never was a pet rock owner.

I have a better understanding of this phenomena now. There is some really good marketing out there and we can be pulled into the new shiny thing.

We are bombarded constantly with advertising and suggestions that we need this next amazing new thing, whatever it is. Maybe we do…maybe we don’t.

But we need to be clear on who we are and what we’re doing. We need to think before we act.

From an early age we’re drawn to fit in. We want that thing that the cool kids have. But why? Why do we feel attracted to be them rather than just be ourselves?

This past week in our virtual mastermind, the discussion turned to things like green screen backdrops, microphones and similar items.

As we discussed this, I couldn’t help but feel like I was back in school talking about pet rocks. Maybe it was my simple lack of understanding. Or, maybe it was a clear understanding of who I am and what works best for me.

As we discussed this topic it was clear that different people have different needs. This clarity of who we are and what our purpose is, is critical. It is the thing that guides us to make the right decisions for us and our customers.

Quality is always important. Different people see quality differently. What’s quality to one person, might be extravagance to another. What’s satisfactory to one might be junk to someone else.

You have to get clear on who you are. What is acceptable and what’s not.

I used to have a sub-contractor that would buy a new truck every year or two. I’m talking about $60,000 – $70,000. There’s nothing wrong with this if it can be afforded and it’s done for the right reasons.

After getting to know him better I realized, for him this was about impressing people. His driving purpose was to make a lot of money and show off. He’s since gone out of business.

There was nothing wrong with him buying those trucks. The problem was his why.

There’s nothing wrong with having nice expensive things. Is it a tool allowing you to better fulfill your purpose or is it to impress someone?

It might be as simple as you like nice trucks and pet rocks.

It comes down to being true to who you are. Doing things for the right reasons. This can be a hard thing to determine. If you spend the time and energy on figuring this out, before you spend money on that next shiny new object…it will pay dividends.

Figuring out who we are and what our purpose is, is not an easy thing, but it will help us know why we’re doing what we’re doing.

If you can afford it and want it…go buy that shiny new thing

Oh, by the way, did you know that you can still buy pet rocks?