Construction and Contracting Business. Entrepreneur magazine
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Experienced entrepreneurs appear to have an instinctive ability to “see the big picture” and understand that the various elements of their business must work harmoniously for the business to succeed. However, the importance of attending to the smallest detail cannot be stressed enough. Entrepreneurs who are able to set effective company policies and passionately communicate their vision for success but overlook or ignore seemingly mundane details, such as meeting financial deadlines or following through on promises to employees or customers, are likely heading down the road to failure. This is not to imply that owners should micro-manage their business, but they must convey the importance of “attention to detail” to their employees.
Many new contractors wear multiple hats. They are the employer, the workforce, the scheduler, the mechanic, the designer, the bookkeeper, and the salesperson. While a spouse or partner may be of great assistance with these tasks, the owner usually has to spend a portion of his day on one or more of these tasks. Orders for materials have to be reviewed, customer statements have to be verified, equipment must be maintained, and new business secured. Most often, a contractor will work in the field during the day, spend a few hours in the late afternoon or early evening meeting with prospective clients, and then head back to the office to take care of paperwork and make telephone calls.
Saturdays are much the same, except more time may be spent on equipment maintenance, paperwork, and communications with clients. The weekend typically becomes Saturday night and all day Sunday. With disruption and chaos constantly lurking in the background, it is vital that contractors remain flexible enough to “change horses in midstream” and be nimble enough to remain productive when the expected work schedule is changed.
One of the keys to success for contractors is learning how to efficiently schedule your labor and to manage the productivity of your work crews. It makes no difference if you are a one-person outfit or have 30 employees; productivity of labor must be constantly maintained even when all or some of the factors listed above are threatening to bring your workday to a screeching halt.
A contractor does not generate income for every hour he or she works. Time spent on the telephone, returning emails, or calling on a prospective client is not what some lawyers call “billable hours.” Contractors can rarely send a bill to a client who calls to ask questions about her project, and time spent preparing government reports cannot be billed to anyone.
The contractor must become something of a juggler when family or personal situations arise that require absence from work. Your teenage son’s championship soccer game is scheduled for 3 P.M. on Thursday; your daughter is starring in the school play scheduled for 1 P.M. on Wednesday; your spouse wants you to take the kids away for a few days to the new water park; your doctor has scheduled some tests for 9 A.M. Monday morning. For the very small contractor, these obligations do not pose a huge problem. Many clients understand that contractors actually have lives besides their work and are agreeable when you inform them in advance that you’ll not be on the job during those hours. But you must remember that during these times you are not generating income. Part of running a business is working to grow that business for the future.
Missing work is more difficult for the medium-sized contractor who has just a few employees. When you take time off to tend to personal obligations, your field workers may be left without proper supervision. Therefore, proper planning for the productivity of your work crew becomes a critical issue. Before an owner can send a field employee to a job site unsupervised, she must be confident that the employee has the knowledge and ability to complete the tasks satisfactorily. As some employees learn faster than others, the owner must be able to take whatever time is necessary to properly train each individual. Your goal should be to have a business that will not fall apart if you are not there. As a business grows you will hopefully find enough quality people so that if you are out sick or even go on vacation, these trusted individuals can keep everything running smoothly.
Some specialties in the contracting industry face unique challenges as a result of geographical location and weather. In the southwestern regions of the United States, extreme heat during the summer may limit the amount of physical activity that workers should do. Many who live there might say “It’s hot, but it’s dry heat.” However, if it is 115 degrees, it’s still hot. Employees working under these conditions should receive training to limit the risks of working in hot weather, to recognize the symptoms of the onset of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, and to learn what steps they should take if they or a co-worker becomes disabled due to heat stroke.
In other areas of the country, particularly in the north, contractors face obstacles created by adverse weather during the winter months. When the ground is frozen, excavators, landscape contractors, and even plumbers may not be able to work on a consistent basis. Some may have to lay off employees and reduce their staff to a bare minimum.
In recent years, however, many of these northern businesses have offered new services in order to maintain a revenue stream. Two of the most popular are snow removal and holiday decorating. Some have sold Christmas trees, others might provide carpet-cleaning services during the winter and/or repair snowmobiles.
Innovative entrepreneurs consider all their options, examine the costs and benefits they expect from a new venture, weigh the strengths and weaknesses of their staff, and forge ahead with the new service. Clients will expect the same high level of performance that is provided by your regular services. Therefore, employees must be properly trained to perform the tasks required by the seasonal service; substandard work will backfire and hurt the reputation of the company as a whole. Consider your skills and those of your employees, and see if you can forge another source of income during the down months in your business.