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Mark Eastman

We Should Pray Like Jabez

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And How Did He Pray?

As names in the Bible go, Jabez is not someone who we hear a lot about. He is mentioned in 1 Chronicles in middle of the genealogy of Judah. As you’re reading through the long list of names there in Chapter 4 Verse 9 and 10, Jabez pops up. 

Another thing that’s a little different is that rather than telling who his father, bothers, or sons were, it says… 

There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request. 

And that’s how we should pray.  

Then in Verse 11, it goes right back to: so and so was the father of so and so and on and on. 

Other than the fact that Jabez’s prayer is stuck in the middle of this genealogical list of names, what makes it a good example of how we should pray? 

Prayer is our direct line of communication with God, our way of expressing our hopes, dreams, and desires. Among the countless prayers that have been uttered throughout history, this one stands out. 

This prayer resonates with those who long to move beyond the limitations of their current situation and experience God’s abundant provision. 

But what makes this prayer so different?  

It’s the simplicity of it. In a couple of short sentences, it recognizes our need for God’s power to transform our lives. It’s the boldness to ask for God’s favor, knowing that He delights in blessing His children. It’s the faith to believe that God can take us from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the mundane to the miraculous. 

There are the four simple but powerful points to Jabez’s prayer –  

  1. First, Jabez asks God to bless him. - This is a recognition that all blessings come from God and that we are dependent on God’s favor and provision. Jabez desires God’s blessings in all areas of his life, both spiritually and materially. 
  2. Next, Jabez asks for an enlargement of his territory. - This can be understood as a request for God to expand our influence, impact, and opportunities. Jabez wants to make a greater difference in the world and fulfill his God-given purpose. 
  3. Then, Jabez asks for God’s hand to be with him. – This is a plea for God’s presence and guidance in his life. Jabez recognizes that he cannot accomplish anything without God’s help and desires to walk closely with Him. 
  4. Lastly, Jabez asks God to keep him from harm and free from pain. – This is a request for protection and deliverance from any form of evil or suffering. Jabez desires to live a life shielded from harm and filled with peace. 

And the last words of Verse 10… “And God granted him his request.”  

Too often we make prayer something too lofty and grand. Something that, as flawed and imperfect sinners, we have no right to tell God. After all, He made everything and can do anything.  

We need to stop kidding ourselves. God already knows our hearts and minds. He knows what we want before we do.  

This doesn’t mean that God isn’t all powerful and shouldn’t be honored. What it does mean is that there is a balance of honor and relationship.  

God wants a relationship with us.  

We are supposed to honor our earthly parents, but we’re also supposed to have a relationship with them.  

Jabez spoke to God honestly, openly, and respectfully and God heard him. 

If we align our desires with God’s, He will hear our prayers as well.

What Made You Start Your Construction Company?

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If You’re Like Most People in Construction, You Don’t Know…

Last week we discussed how 96% of construction companies go out of business within the first 10 years. This is a problem if you’re in construction.

As I was discussing last week’s post with a friend, he asked me why I do construction. Why would anyone want to start a construction company with odds like this? This question started me thinking about it.

Why is anyone doing construction if the chance of staying in business is so stacked against them? This question prompted me to reach out to some people in construction and ask them.

Why am I doing construction and how did I get here?

When I was growing up, I knew exactly what I was going to do. I was going to farm with my dad, just like he was farming with his. This was going well until those plans got changed.

When I was in my early thirties my dad died of cancer at fifty. This wasn’t a part of the plan.

At that point we were farming together, he owned some of the equipment and I owned some. The problem was, I couldn’t afford to buy his part so…I got out of farming.

In addition to farming, I had been doing some construction in the winter. I liked doing it, was good at it, so this seemed like the logical thing to do.

The problem was I knew construction…not business.

So, why are others doing construction and how did they get here?

To answer this question, I reached out to some people I know that are in construction and asked them the question…Why are you in construction?

I’ve known Doug Wright, with Wright Floor Leveling, for years and have used their company for a variety of projects over the years. They do foundation repair/replacement, crawl space repair, basement repair, masonry repair, new masonry, and more.

Here’s Doug’s story: he did not plan to go into construction…he planned to play football. Then he was injured in college, and it ended his football plans.

His dad was a stone mason and Doug needed a job, so he went to work for him. As things progressed, he became more entrenched in the business, and the prospects for change became harder and harder.

Not to mention that he wasn’t a fan of change.

So, Doug is doing the construction that he knows and is good at.

Chris Schovan is a painter that hasn’t been in business too long but is great at what he does.

Chris learned to paint as a young man from his grandpa who was a professional painter. His grandfather told him that knowing a trade would always give you something to fall back on.

He was working for a pole barn company and/or in manufacturing when the pandemic hit, and he got laid off. Then someone at church needed some painting done and asked him if he knew any painters. He ended up doing this project which led to other projects and he’s now as busy as he’s ever been.

He likes the freedom of schedule because he doesn’t have to punch a clock.

I use Chris because he provides great customer service and does quality work.

I’ve known Josh Dobbs of Flint Ridge Service and his family for a long time. Josh was a firefighter and planned to be fire chief someday until smalltown politics derailed that dream.

While considering what to do next, he was talking with some guys in real estate and the glass business who told him there was a need for someone to do handyman-type things. So, he started doing some odd jobs. As the demand grew, so did his business. Now he does a variety of construction, excavation, and fencing.

He had never done construction before he started doing odd jobs.

Josh uses the leadership skills he learned in the fire department and the ability to see a need and then figures out how to do it.

Leonard Mumford, of Mumford Contracting, is the owner of a full-service construction company. Leonard and I work together in a variety of different ways.

Leonard was in construction years ago and after going out of business, he swore he would never do construction again. He worked in oil field and sales but was miserable. Then he had the opportunity to do some construction work on the side and was making more money part time.

Then his son convinced him to go back into construction…which he swore he never would.

Now Leonard is doing more construction than ever.

The common thread in all these stories is that none of them grew up dreaming about going into construction…playing football or being a fireman, yes, but not construction.

Not everybody knows what their vocation is going to be. Things happen and we have to shift and make changes. These changes, some big and some small, lead us down paths that we didn’t plan for.

This lack of preparation and planning is why 96% of construction companies don’t make it past the 10-year mark.

Three of these five examples here have made it past that point, but trust me, this doesn’t mean that everything is smooth sailing.

All of them have expressed concerns about the business side of things.

This concern is common and why at Solution Building, we’re working to help construction companies with business tools and training to alleviate some of those concerns.

If you would like some help with your construction company’s struggles schedule a free 30-minute consultation.

Life Happens…It’s What We Do When It Does That Matters

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It All Comes Down to Choice

We’re all faced with a lot of choices every day. When situations happen, we can choose this or that.

Choice is the most powerful weapon we have.

Too often we make the wrong choices. Sometimes we make what we think to be the right decisions based on what we know at the time, only to find out later it was the wrong one. Then we can make a different decision.

The important thing is that when making decisions, we’re making them for the right reasons with the right guidance.

We need to be clear on what makes a decision right.

In 2 Kings 18:1-5, Hezekiah became king of Judah. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it.

 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel.

He was 25 years old when he became king. I don’t know about you, but I made some bad decisions when I was 25.

King Sennacherib of Assyria came and began attacking the towns in Judah. After which Hezekiah offered to pay Sennacherib if he would withdraw his armies. The king of Assyria demanded a settlement of more than eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold. To gather this amount, King Hezekiah used all the silver stored in the Temple of the Lord and in the palace treasury. Hezekiah even stripped the gold from the doors of the Lord’s Temple and from the doorposts he had overlaid with gold, and he gave it all to the Assyrian king.

Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent his commander in chief, his field commander, and his chief of staff from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed. They summoned King Hezekiah… (2 Kings 18:13-18)

Sennacherib offers Hezekiah another deal telling him that no other kings can help him, and neither can God. He tells them to give up and become his slaves. It would be better for them than staying and starving to death. (2 Kings 18:19-37)

After the king of Assyria sent the message, Isaiah the prophet replied, “This is what the Lord says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.” (2 Kings 19:5-7)

After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “…You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.

“It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that You alone, O Lord, are God.” (2 Kings 19:14-19)

That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.

One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. (2 Kings 19:35-37)

Life happened to Hezekiah, he asked God for deliverance, and they received it.

We need to remember to go to God when life happens to us.

Deliverance comes from God…discipleship is what we do.

Chances Are Your Construction Company is Going to Fail

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How Can You Change the Odds in Your Favor?

According to the US Department of Commerce, 96% of construction companies fail within the first 10 years. This is a higher failure rate than any other kind of business.

If you’re in construction…this is a problem.

Having been in construction for more than 40 years, I understand how hard it can be to build a successful business. It takes a lot more than just knowing construction to be successful. Knowing business is as important as knowing construction.

Over those 40 years, I became aware of the problems and began to understand them. I gathered information and learned how to implement it into my business.

That’s why I beat the odds.

I’ve learned a lot over those forty-plus years and here are 7 reasons that construction companies fail:

  1. Insufficient Cash Flow – Without a positive cash flow, it is hard for construction companies to keep their doors open. A lack of cash flow makes it hard to pay for materials, make payroll, maintain tools, etc.

When cash flow is negative, companies often make hasty decisions or take on jobs that aren’t a good fit for their company. This can result in further profit loss and more cash flow problems.

  1. Unprofitable Projects – A lot of construction companies fail simply because their projects are unprofitable. Guessing at what a project is going to cost to do is not a very good plan. This is why having a proposal system that is consistent and accurate is essential to staying in business.

At Timber Creek Construction using our Proposal system, we consistently come in 25% under budget. This is in before overhead and profit.

  1. Doing Estimates Rather than Proposals – It’s essential to establish clear communication with construction customers. Creating a detailed proposal, rather than just estimating, gives both the construction company and the customer a clear understanding of what will be provided and what they can expect. Following up with a contract is another step to achieving this goal.

There are as many bad customers out there as there are bad contractors. Some of those customers simply want to get the work done for free. They will argue about things that, they claim, were promised. A signed proposal and contract will help to prevent this from happening. 

  1. No Production Payment Plan – Having an accurate and understandable payment schedule with construction customers will set your construction company on the road to success. Not having a payment schedule requires your company to finance the project and consumes your cash flow. You are not a bank.

In my experience, you need to get some money prior to starting a project. This amount will depend on the size and type of project. Then invoice the customer with weekly progress payments that coincide with the percentage of completed work as outlined in the proposal. Customers appreciate a well-documented payment schedule that communicates clearly.

  1. Not Using Change Orders – Unforeseen issues and changes creep into most construction projects of any size. Changes orders are needed when changes are made to the project’s scope of work. When a job change occurs, the construction company should submit a change order to the customer for approval. Waiting until the end of the job to bill for additional costs will be problematic. It will often result in customers being upset, giving bad reviews, and resisting paying.

Customers get excited about the work that is being done until the final bill comes. Then they find themselves over extended and unable to pay.

  1. Poor Customer Service – Most construction companies don’t listen to their customers very well. These companies just focus on completing the work according to the contract. If they get paid, they assume all is good. But remember, construction companies are in the business of serving customers, this includes communicating clearly and consistently.

Most customers will only do a handful of sizable construction projects in their lifetime. Construction companies should remember this and help them build their dream.

  1. Lack of Organization and Processes – Building a sustainable construction business is impossible when the bulk of the business is operating without being organized. To stay in business, you need processes and systems that can be efficiently managed by the people you hire to help you.

For companies that use sticky notes and boxes full of folders, you have a problem. 

Job leads and customer management, project details, task management, communications, schedules, progress tracking, equipment management, the list goes on and on. Each of these elements is extremely time-consuming, error prone, and can negatively affect profitability and cash flow.

You can avoid making the same mistakes most construction companies make by being aware of and understanding these problems. Then implementing and learning processes and systems to ensure that your company succeeds.

This will help you to be in the top 4% of businesses in the construction industry.

Successful construction companies use business tools to build, increase profits, and manage their businesses. Now that you have a clear understanding why construction companies fail, it’s time to make some course corrections.

To help you with this we have a Business Building Toolbox with tools that can help you change the odds in your favor. We also offer training and implementation of these tools into your business if that would be helpful. If you have questions, schedule a free 30-minute construction company consultation.

Being Called Out for Our Mistakes Makes Us Better

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But Getting Better Requires Change

Some people like calling others out for their mistakes. Others, not so much. There are different reasons people do this. Some are good and can be helpful. Some are more for the person doing the calling out, rather than to help the person being called out.

These differences have to do with our different personalities.

There are several different personality tests, but my favorite is the DISC assessment. This is a simple self-assessment tool that categorizes individuals into four personality traits: dominance, influence, stability, and compliance.

Knowing these differences between ourselves and others can be helpful when working with people.

This difference became apparent to me years ago when I asked my wife for her input about something I wrote. Of course, I thought it was perfect. She on the other hand made some corrections and changes.

This crushed me…how could she be so mean?

This was about the time I took the DISC assessment. It was very enlightening. I found out that she was among the 10% of the people who are dominant. This does not mean that she was mean or that she was trying to hurt my feelings. It just meant that she was honest and direct.

I, on the other hand, was among the 25% who are compliant. I’m resistant to change and can be rigid.

Getting better requires change.

Then you have people who are stable. This is the largest group at 40%. These people are loyal followers and slow to act. And then there’s the final 25% who are the influencers. These people are artistic and are continually coming up with new and different ideas and are easily distracted.

Pastor Lisa’s message on Sunday was about the prophet Elijah calling out Ahab, the king of Israel, for his worshiping of Baal and not God. Elijah must have been in the 10% of the dominant, take-charge people. With 90% of the people being in the other three personalities, they were following whatever the king told them.

In 1 Kings 18:16-39, Elijah calls out Ahab and tells the king that he is leading the people in the wrong direction. Elijah shows the people God’s power and Baal’s lack of power with a demonstration involving altars.

The pagan priests go through an elaborate process with their offering to no avail. Then Elijah prepares an offering, soaks it in water, and then calls to show the people that God is Lord.

 Immediately, the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench!

And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”

Too often we’re led astray by just following the crowd and not being aware. Then, because we are followers, we lead other people astray because they are followers too.

Don’t be a blind follower or blind leader. We need to recognize our mistakes and change our direction.

How Having a Plan Can Help You Build a Successful Business

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A Plan is Only Good if You Use it

The past couple of weeks we’ve discussed how important the Production Tracker tool is and how it can help you see the future of your business.

Building a construction business is no different than building a building. If you don’t have a plan, you won’t know what to do. You will just be guessing.

If you don’t have the right tools and know how to use them, it will be a lot harder to build anything.

The Production Tracker is one of those business building tools.

So far, we’ve discussed how…

  • Creating and recording project numbers can help you focus your attention on the right kinds of projects.
  • Tracking project bid amounts will give you a clear picture of where you are in relationship to meeting your financial goals for the year.
  • Tracking dollar amounts of signed proposals will give you the rest of the picture of where you are financially in relation to where you want to be by the end of the year.
  • Tracking dollars collected from projects will give you a clear comparison of your signed amounts with your collected amounts.
  • Percentage of jobs signed will let you know if your pricing is too high or too low.
  • Percentage of dollars signed per dollars bid will let you know how you’re doing in relation to reaching your financial goal for the year.
  • Percentage of dollars collected per signed simply lets you know if you’ve collected everything that was bid.

Now, let’s look at the final five areas of this tool and how they can help you build a successful construction business.

Average dollar amount of projects bid – This number (cell I-30) is just what it sounds like. It’s the average dollar amount of all the projects you have done proposals for. It can be helpful to know what this information is. It can help you determine if you should make changes to the sizes of proposals that you should be doing.

Average dollar amount of projects signed – This price (cell J-32) lets you see what the average dollar amount of your projects are and how it compares with the proposed amounts. Like the average bid amount, this number tells you the size of projects you normally do. You can then make changes to what proposals you should focus on.

Average dollar amount of projects collected – Like the percentage of dollars collected, this number (cell K-34) lets you know if you’re increasing or decreasing the dollars you collect after proposals are signed. This gives you a critical piece of information: knowing how accurate your proposals are.

These next two areas are instructive when it comes to production planning as it relates to achieving your revenue goals.

Projected timeframe for doing signed projects – This information (cells I-23 and J-23) tell you how long it should take you to do the work of the proposals that you currently have signed. This is determined by dividing what your gross revenue goal for the year is by 52 weeks. Then dividing the current total signed amount (cell J-22) by that weekly revenue target will give you the number of weeks needed to do that work.

Projected date work should be done – This information (cell K-23) converts the projected time needed to do the work of the currently signed proposals (cell I-23) to a calendar date. This is achieved by adding the number of weeks (cell I-23) to the starting date (cell H-23). This then gives you a target date on the calendar that the work should be done to stay on task and achieve your dollar goal for the year.

I find these last two pieces of information to be the most revealing and helpful when it comes to staying on target.

This information can increase a sense of urgency and focus. This information is critical to building a successful construction business.

I hope you’ve found this series on the Production Tracker, as a tool for building a successful construction business, helpful.

You can learn more about the Production Tracker by joining us for the Production Tracker Workshop at 10:30 AM CDT this coming Saturday, May 11th.

If you would like to know about some of the other business building tools we offer, take a peek in the Business Building Toolbox.

If you would like some help building your construction business check out the 5 steps here, or schedule a free 30-minute coaching call.

Can We Have Wisdom Like Solomon?

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Hopefully We’re Wiser Than He Was

Making decisions can be a hard thing. Should I do this, or should I do that? It’s easier when there’s a clear choice of good or bad.

It’s much harder when it’s deciding between good and good.

Wouldn’t it be nice if God would just tell us what to do?

The problem with this is that we would not have free will. We would be nothing more than puppets. We wouldn’t like that either.

We just need wisdom to help us make these choices.

Solomon is often associated with wisdom. In 1 Kings 3:5-15, God comes to Solomon in a dream and asks him what he wants.

Solomon was a young man and had become the leader of a huge nation. He asks God for, “…an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

The Lord was pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom.

So, God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!

And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!

And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”

Later, Solomon starts listening to the wrong voices…mainly his 1000 wives. (1 Kings 11:1-13)

“In Solomon’s old age they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David had been. In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely.

The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord…”

Both David and Solomon received direction and blessings from God, but their lives ended up drastically different.

David made plenty of mistakes, but he repented and realigned with God. Solomon, on the other hand, did not. This resulted in consequences for Solomon’s family and the entire kingdom.

We need to constantly be in communication with God. This ongoing, nonstop connection is the only way that we can align our desires with His. Sure, we’ll make mistakes and wrong decisions. This is what happens in a fallen world.

But we also have the power of choice and can ask for forgiveness and repent of those mistakes. David chose this and Solomon didn’t.

We need to align what we ask from God with God.

How Does the Production Tracker Help Us See the Future?

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Trust Me, It Doesn’t Take Any Magic

Last week we talked about what the Production Tracker is and what makes it an important tool to have in your business building toolbox. I also pointed out how most people operating construction companies hate paperwork, but how important paperwork is to build a successful business.

It’s amazing how people in construction will use all sorts of power tools and equipment but not paperwork.

We began breaking down the Production Tracker…a business building power tool, and how important it is to know what it can tell you…

  • Which types of work were consistently the most profitable
  • How you were doing at meeting your financial goals for the year
  • When you should have the signed projects finished to stay on track
  • How well you’re doing at getting proposals signed
  • What the average price of your projects are

We began with how the Production Tracker can help with creating and recording project numbers, tracking proposed project amounts, and tracking dollars of signed proposals.

Now let’s look at how the Production Tracker can help us plan for the future.

When we look at the total proposed amount and the total signed amount, we can see where we are in relation to our financial goals for the year. (See the previous post for more details on this).

Next is…

Tracking dollars collected from projects – This collected amount (column K) is exactly what it says it is. It is where we weekly enter the amounts collected from each project. This total gives us a comparison to our signed amount (column J), and lets us see if our projects have increased or decreased after signing.

Percentage of jobs signed – This percentage, 60% (cell I24), is the percentage of proposals that have been signed. This is cell B22 (15) divided by cell C22 (9). This information lets us know how we’re doing with our pricing. If the number is below 15%, we’re not selling well. If our number gets too high, above 50%, we may not be charging enough.

Percentage of dollars signed per dollars bid – This percentage, 53.11% (cell J26), is the percentage of dollars proposed that were signed. Knowing this percentage helps us as we’re looking forward, knowing how we’re doing in relation to reaching our financial goal for the year. Based on the percentage of 53% (cell J-26), knowing that if our goal for the year is $400,000.00, we need to have done twice that many dollars of proposals.

Percentage of dollars collected per signed – Just like tracking the amount of dollars collected is pretty straight forward, this percentage of 93% (cell K-28), is the same. This simply lets us know if we’ve collected everything that was bid. If not, there may be some outstanding receivables, or we may have made changes during production that reduced our receivables. It’s also possible for this number to be more than 100% which means that there were changes made during production that increased our receivables.

There are still five more areas of information that the Production Tracker provides, but to keep this post from getting too long today, I’m going to stop here. I know that this feels like a lot but it’s not nearly as overwhelming as it seems.

Just like there’s a lot to constructing a building, the same is true for building a successful business.

The five remaining areas are –

  • Average dollar amount of projects bid
  • Average dollar amount of projects signed
  • Average dollar amount of projects collected
  • Projected timeframe for doing signed projects
  • Projected date work should be done

Of these next five areas I think the last two are the most revealing to the future.

Now I will predict the future, and next week we’ll finish explaining the Production Tracker.

You can learn more about the Production Tracker by joining us for the Production Tracker Workshop at 10:30 AM CST on Saturday May 11th.

If you would like to know about some of the other business building tools we offer, take a peek in the Business Building Toolbox.

What Does it Mean to Repent?

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It’s More Than Just Saying I’m Sorry

Too often, the words “I’m sorry” are said without any real meaning of being sorry behind them. These words are thrown around flippantly so that we can move on. We don’t really mean it.

We use them as a kind of get out of jail free card.

Repenting is more than just saying, I’m sorry. Repentance involves action. It’s more than words. There is true regret and contrition for what we’ve done. It involves stopping, helping, and repairing. This includes asking God to forgive us.

King David is a great example of how repenting is not a one and done thing. We live in a fallen world; we are human. We’re constantly being pulled by the world to do things that feel good at the time.

The story of David and Bathsheba in the Bible is one that most of us are familiar with. David breaks several of the Ten Commandments here. Don’t commit adultery, don’t covet your neighbor’s things, don’t steal, oh and let’s not forget…don’t murder.

Then Nathan the profit is sent to David with a story about two men.

“One was rich and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. 

One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.”

 David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man!

The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more.

Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.”

Then David repents.

Psalm 51:1-12 is David prayer of repentance after Nathan confronted him with his sins. He didn’t make excuses for what he’d done. His asking for forgiveness absolved him of the sin but it didn’t remove the consequences.

Repentance in the Old Testament literally means “to turn around”.

Repentance is a change in how I think that leads to a change in how I live.

“Let’s suppose a man wants to learn how to parachute. So, he goes to a parachute school, and they show him how to rig up his gear, pull the rip cord, and land safely. Finally, the day comes when they take him up in an airplane. He’s scared to death, but he’s afraid to back out. The moment comes when he is to jump. He goes to the airplane’s door and sees the ground 7,000 feet below. His legs grow weak, he’s about to throw up, and somebody behind him tries to push him out of the airplane. At the last second, he says, “No. I’m not going to do it.” “Go ahead, you can do it,” his instructor shouts. “I’ve changed my mind,” he replies. “I’m not going to jump.” And he doesn’t. That man has repented. He’s decisively changed his mind.”

We have all sinned. We can repent. Jesus came and fought sin on our behalf.

We are not sinners because we sin…we sin because we are sinners.

It’s up to us to say we’re sorry, repent, and turn around.

What Makes the Production Tracker Such an Important Tool?

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Because it Helps Keep Your Business Balanced

Recently we discussed the importance of keeping your construction business from getting out of balance. Achieving a balanced business requires paperwork and we know how construction contractors feel about paperwork.

I know, I know, paperwork is not a very exciting topic, but neither is concrete. And we all know how important concrete is in supporting a building. The same is true for paperwork and your business.

One of the three foundational piers in business is administration and finance. One of the building blocks in that pier is a Production Tracker. This tool provides valuable information for forecasting the company’s financial needs and production plans.

Wouldn’t it be helpful if you knew:

  • Which types of work were consistently the most profitable
  • How you were doing at meeting your financial goals for the year
  • When you should have the signed projects finished to stay on track
  • How well you’re doing at getting proposals signed
  • What the average price of your projects are

The Production Tracker is an Excel spreadsheet that lets you gather and track information. It has preset formulas that determine and sort the information you need to make your business more profitable.

This document provides information for:

  • Creating and recording project numbers
  • Tracking project bid amounts
  • Tracking dollars of signed proposals
  • Tracking dollars collected from projects
  • Percentage of jobs signed
  • Percentage of dollars signed per dollars bid
  • Percentage of dollars collected per signed
  • Average dollar amount of projects bid
  • Average dollar amount of projects signed
  • Average dollar amount of projects collected
  • Projected timeframe for doing signed projects
  • Projected date work should be done

This list can seem overwhelming but it’s really not.

Here is an example of what the Job List spreadsheet looks like.

Let’s go through the document and break it down into smaller brick size pieces.

Creating and recording project numbers – Having a numbering system can help you sort projects so that you can review which types and size of projects are the most profitable and what you do the most of. It may be that your most profitable ones are not the ones you do the most often. Having this type of information can help you to focus more of your attention on the right kinds of projects for you.

This Production Tracker is a place to list project numbers in conjunction with the size and types of the projects, as well as their chronological order. This document provides the numerical part of the project number specific to each project. The other portion of the project number is determined by job specific parameters that are not included on this document.

Tracking project bid amounts – Our Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal system provides the dollar amount for each project. Once a proposal has finished, the specific information to that project is entered into the appropriate cells on the spreadsheet. This information includes Job Number (column E), the Customer Name (column F), Description (column G), Bid Date (column H) and the Project Amount (column I). Regardless of the system you use for preparing proposals, you should have a dollar amount that could be entered into this document.

As each new project amount is added in the project amount column, the total project amount at the bottom will update, giving you a total dollar amount of the proposals you have done this year. Based on your company’s history, this dollar amount should give you a clear picture of where you are in relation to meeting your financial goals for the year. We will explain this further with the tracking dollars of signed projects.

Tracking dollars of signed proposals – Once a proposal has been accepted, the accepted dollar amount should be entered in the signed amount column. Initially, this amount should be the same as the amount in the project amount column. Sometimes the dollar amounts of projects are changed due to change orders. This can be either an increase or decrease depending on the change order(s).

As each new proposal gets signed the dollar amount of the signed proposal should be entered into the correlating cell in the signed amount column. Just like in the project amount column, as each new amount is entered in the signed amount column, the total dollar amount at the bottom automatically updates giving you a total of work you must currently do.

With the total of the signed amount column and the total of the project amount columns, you should be able to get a clear picture of where you are financially in relation to where you want to be at year end.

Let’s say your goal for the year was to generate a gross revenue of $400,000.00. Using the example, you can see that as of December 12th you were at $352,877.66. This is close, but not quite there. If you compare the signed amount to the project amount ($664,381.27) you will see that the signed amount is 53.11% of the project amount. Based on this percentage, to get the signed amount to $400,000.00, the project amount would need to be $754,000.00.

This information is critical to the survival of your construction business.

Your business needs to be built on a solid foundation.

We’ve covered a lot here today. In our next post we’ll pick up at tracking dollars collected from projects.

Check out this and additional business building tools and training here. If you have questions, feel free to schedule a free 30-minute business coaching call.

Portions from a previous post 1/7/23 

The “Job List” Is One of the Foundational Building Blocks of a Successful Construction Company