Construction companies regularly find themselves stuck in the rut of doing the same thing over and over hoping for different results. Most of these businesses get started knowing construction, but not business. They plod along doing construction hoping that something is going to magically happen so they can get control of the business side of things.
This is where the hard work begins because you don’t know what to do about it. Or if you do, you don’t have the time or energy to do it.
Knowing something needs to be done, but doing nothing, is the most common problem construction companies deal with.
This problem comes down to tangible vs. intangible.
Construction deals with the tangible. The ability to touch and see the benefits of your actions each and every day. This is one of the most rewarding sensations in construction.
I’ll never forget that feeling of exhausted accomplishment at the end of the day. Looking at those walls that are there now and weren’t when we started. Having a blueprint of where the walls are supposed to go. How the parts are supposed to fit together. Laying out those studs and wall plates, nailing them together and standing the wall. This physical accomplishment is evidence of progress.
These things are tangible.
On the other hand, building a construction business is intangible.
We can have ideas and plans for building a business. We can see it in our mind, but it’s not a building. This process doesn’t require boards and nails. There is no physical reality that doing any of these actions is going produce anything.
We can work on building a business for days and weeks and still not be able to step back and see that anything was built. It’s not like looking at a newly framed and stood wall.
The fact that building a construction business is intangible is why most aren’t doing it.
It is hard to commit to something that is intangible. It sounds great but…what if it doesn’t work? What if it takes longer than I expected? The unknown is scary.
Ultimately, it’s up to you.
Do you want your business to be more than just a job?
If you do, it’s up to you to do something about it. Change is required. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. I know change is hard, but this is the only way things will change.
The evidence of progress with the business is more subtle than physical construction. It shows up in places that you don’t normally look. Places like increased profit, consistently happy customers, having money to pay bills and taxes, construction projects going smoother than normal.
You have a choice. You can continue doing things the way you have or change.
The only way you will ever get control of your business is by pushing past the intangibles. If you would like some help taking control of your business, schedule a free 30-minute construction company consultation.
So Wouldn’t You Like a Plan for Doing Construction Proposals
It’s Saturday, and today will be Gene’s third meeting with John. Even though there’s been no change in Gene’s overwhelming workload, today is the first time he’s not considered canceling. He knows the value of this information and is looking forward to the opportunity to learn more from his mentor.
It’s Gene’s turn to provide lunch and John’s in for a treat…Gene’s bringing chili-cheeseburgers and fries from the Burger Station. Driving to John’s office, the smell of those burgers is more than Gene can bear, so he samples a few fries on the way, just to be sure they’re okay.
Gene had barely gotten in the office door before John yelled out from the conference room, “You brought Burger Station!”. Over the years when Gene was working for John, the two of them frequented this fine establishment often.
As Gene gets lunch out, John says, “We have a lot to cover today, so we better get started. As we go through this today, think about building a proposal as compared to building a construction project. Now let’s review…
First, we started with WHY…
Why do you do what you do? Why should you do proposals? Both these questions are similar to the question we should ask customers when they’re considering a construction project. Why do you want to do this project?
Second, we discussed that communication is the contractor’s responsibility.
We are the professionals in this arrangement. We shouldn’t expect the customer to know everything about construction. This is why they are looking to hire someone to do their project. It’s up to us as contractors to communicate clearly.
Third, we discussed bid mistakes.
These mistakes are commonly made and are costly. Being aware of them ahead of time helps you know what to avoid and increases the opportunity for happy customers. Not to mention it gives you a big advantage over your competition.
In our meeting two weeks ago I gave you the proposal overview to take and review. Today we’ll go through it and break it down. I know it seems like we’ll never get to actually doing a proposal, but think about it like a construction project…
The designing and planning take as long as the construction.
Let’s start by looking at the documents included in the system and a brief description of each.”
Bid sheet – A Word document with the various construction categories and individual tasks listed with space for filling in the scope of the work to be done, dimensions, materials, locations, etc., for each category as needed for clear communication.
Worksheet– An Excel spreadsheet with all the construction categories and individual tasks listed with overhead and profit markup formulas.
Proposal– A Word document with space to fill in pertinent information, i.e. customer’s information, what will or will not be supplied by the contractor, the scope of work, the proposed price for each specific element, a total project price, payment arrangements, and project duration.
Data Base – An Excel spreadsheet with prices for material and labor for a wide variety of specific construction tasks. This information will be used in the worksheet template.
After reviewing and discussing these documents and definitions, they looked at the process of doing a proposal.
STEP 1 – Gathering Information
Gathering the right information correctly and effectively is critical to preparing an accurate and thorough proposal. Once you’ve been contacted by a potential customer, start by scheduling a meeting to discuss their project and find out what they hope to accomplish. At this initial meeting gather –
Measurements and dimensions, existing and new
Building materials, existing and new
Pictures of pertinent areas and existing construction
Customer’s design ideas and finishes
The information gathered at this meeting can be recorded in whatever way works best for you. The important thing in this step is to gather any and all information needed to prepare an accurate proposal. It can be handwritten on a printed out Bid Sheet template, or it can be entered directly to a Bid Sheet on a tablet, smart phone, or laptop. Using the Bid Sheet minimizes overlooking things because the different areas of a construction project are already listed.
STEP 2 – Preparing the Scope of Work
After the preliminary information has been gathered it’s time to clarify the scope of the project by writing out the description of each specific task in terminology that both the customer and the contractor understand. It needs to include enough specifics to be thorough without being too technical. It doesn’t help communication if the terminology is confusing to the customer. This written description on the Bid Sheet will be transferred to the Proposal and serve as a written scope of work to be performed and materials to be provided.
STEP 3 – Pricing the Project
Next is putting prices to the project. This process involves two different Excel spreadsheets, the Worksheet and Data Base. Based on the descriptions written on the Bid Sheet, content from the Data Base will be copied and pasted into the correlating cells on the Worksheet. After the pertinent information from the Data Base has been placed on the Worksheet, it’s time to fill in the quantities.
STEP 4 – Quantities
On the Worksheet you will fill in the quantity needed to do the work on that line item. This may be lineal feet, square feet, square yards, cubic feet, cubic yards, numbers of pieces, etc. Once this is completed you will now have prices for each of the different tasks listed on the Proposal.
STEP 5 – Preparing the Proposal
Now you have everything you need to complete the Proposal. You will take the descriptions from the Bid Sheet and the prices from the Worksheet and put them both on the Proposal. After filling out the customer’s information at the top of the page, the scope of work, the price for each task, the total project price, how payments are to be made, and the duration of time to do the project, the Proposal is ready to be presented to the customer.
As they wrapped up the meeting, John looked at Gene and asked him what he thought so far. Gene said, “I had no idea there was this much to doing proposals.”
John said, “I know. That’s why most contractors either guess at their bids or just give estimates…and we’ve all seen how that well that works out.
Next week we’ll dig deeper into GATHERING INFORMATION.
Self-employment is Scary Enough Without the Time Monster Chasing You
With this being Halloween season there are a lot of scary things out there. Managing your time as an entrepreneur doesn’t have to be one of them.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed time management and how to keep it from being as complicated as rocket science. The first thing was being intentional and taking control of it.
The problem isn’t a lack of time…it’s a lack of self-control.
The second thing we discussed was getting your priorities in order and not letting the hot fires have control. It is easy to get distracted by all the things there are to do. Sometimes we need to fight hot fires, but it’s up to us to be clear on which fires are the priority.
It’s a matter of clarity before the fires even start.
My core values are a large part of my clarity of which fires are the most important and when. One of those core values is spending time wisely because there’s a limited amount. This is the third thing needed to be successful with managing time.
Depending on our abilities, desires and needs, we can make more money, make more friends, find more work, design new things, discover new ideas. Not that those things are easy, but they can be done.
With TIME…. you’ve got what you’ve got and there ain’t no more.
Here are 5 reasons why so many struggle with this –
Trying to do too many things
Lack of focus
Not saying NO!
Trying to do it all by myself
Procrastination
(You can get more details about these reasons here)
God has given each of us this TIME to spend and He has given us the right amount for everything, Ecclesiastes 3. It’s up to us to spend it wisely!
With time being such a valuable commodity, it’s critically important to spend it wisely.
What is Worth Your Time? Not, “what your time is worth”. This changes the perspective of how we spend our time. What things are most important for me to spend time doing. Is it a call from one of my kids, serving a customer by solving a problem, spending some time with a dying friend or doing some work for the church?
Once time is gone you can never get it back. Don’t waste the little that you have.
This isn’t to say that time doesn’t have a monetary value…because it does. It scared me a little when determined what my time was worth.
Based on my target revenue goal the year I determined that…
my time is worth…$2.23 per minute.
Remembering this gives me a heightened sense of focus.
What spending your time wisely looks like can only be determined by you.
Like most things, we make time management scarier than it really is. Don’t be afraid of the time monster. Just face it down and show it whose boss.
We’ve all been angry at someone and done things in the heat of the moment that we regretted later.
You’ve probably heard the hunting story told by Mickey Mantle. There are several different versions, here’s one.
Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin decided to go hunting on a farm owned by a doctor friend of Mantle’s. It was a long four-hour drive and when they got there, Mantle went to the door to get permission. When the friend came to the door Mantle asked if they could go hunting. The doctor said sure, anytime Mick!
As Mickey turned to walk away, the doctor asked, could you do a me a favor? Mickey said, what’s that? The doctor said he had this old horse that needed to be put down and he just hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it. Could you do it for me? Mickey said, I don’t want to shoot your horse. The farmer said, Please Mick. It would really help me. Mickey agreed, then thought of a joke to play on Billy.
He went back to the car and said, we just drove four hours and he said we couldn’t hunt. Mickey’s voice grew angry and loud. I’ll show him, I’m going to shoot his horse. Billy said, No Mickey. Don’t do that, we’ll get in trouble…maybe end up in jail. Mickey said, NO I’ll show him he can’t do this to us. Mickey took his rifle and headed to the barn and shot the horse. Just then Mickey heard three more shots and turned around to see Billy standing there with his gun. What are you doing asked Mikey? I shot three of his cows, said Billy.
Even though Mickey’s actions weren’t out of anger, they lead his friend to act. The friend’s anger at MIckey being mistreated lead to actions that weren’t productive or helpful.
We have to be careful. Our actions might lead others to do bad things.
Another example of letting our emotions have control of our actions is the farmer who found a mouse eating an ear of his corn. When he saw this, he began chasing the mouse. He found a stick and began swinging. The mouse jumped and ran from stalk to stalk. The farmer swung and stomped and chased. When it was all over the farmer looked up and there was a half-acre of broken and flatten corn stalks.
The mouse eating the corn was not a good thing for the farmer but…
Letting his emotions control his actions did not turn out so well either!
As are all emotions, anger is from God. We are after all made in His image. The Bible is full of examples of God being angry with people that were doing things that they weren’t supposed to. One such example is in John 2:13-21, when Jesus ran the moneychangers from the Temple.
Anger can be a driving force for good, if the way we handle it aligns with God’s plans. It’s good when we get angry about someone doing something wrong. We need to have the courage to stand up against evil.
Pastor Lee told a story about a man who saw a report on the news about a plane crash caused by ice on the wings. This man was angry and being an engineer, invented a system for deicing planes.
This is the kind of angry we should be. The kind that pushes us to do something beneficial and purposeful.
You Can Do Anything You Want, You Just Can’t Do Everything
There are so many things to do and never enough time to do them all. This a common battle. The problem isn’t time it’s the long list of things we’re attempting to do.
We’ve been given enough time to do everything we are supposed to. God built the world and everything in it in six days. We’ve been given those same six days. Granted, building the world is a lot…we just need to remember that we’re not God.
The key is getting clarity about what we are and aren’t supposed to do.
Deciding what things we’re supposed do is the real fight. Especially for people with a servant’s heart. There are so many important and valuable things that need to be done and we want to do them all.
It’s not our responsibility to do everything.
I struggle with knowing what I should do and what to say no to, but I continually improve. My system for planning and scheduling is huge for helping me with this. Over the past six weeks I’ve written about how I schedule and plan what I will do.
How to Get Control of Your Life – There’s no simple, one size fits all, magic app for tracking things and budgeting time. You need to find or design a system that works for you.
Opening the Toolbox and Looking at OneNote – Having the right tool for tracking things that need done, being able to spread the load with a team and across multiple devices is critical.
Writing it Down Makes it More Real – It is easy to find ourselves drifting. We need a clear path to a target. When it is written down, I’m more accountable to myself.
How I Use Outlook to be Better Organized – Allotting time to things that are on the list gives a time parameter each task will need. It increases the focus for completing them and gives a visual of the progress.
Putting the Right Pieces in the Right Places – Even though multi-tasking has been a popular idea; I would argue that we can’t do focused work on more than one thing at a time. Pick one piece and focus on putting it in place.
The real struggle with scheduling and planning is in prioritizing.
This is the tricky part. What is the most important thing I should do and when? The way I’ve been able to determine this is to ask my CEO (God) and board of directors (the people close to me that I trust). If you will ask, you will get clarity. Satan loves keeping us confused.
The more unclear we are about our direction the less we accomplish.
Clarity is a process, not the magic snap of fingers. Opening our mind to the right directions and taking action moves us toward achieving the things that we were put here for. This is not an easy process, but one that’s worth all the effort required.
You have plenty of time to do everything you’re supposed to do. Not everything you want to do. Having a system for planning and scheduling will make the process easier and relieve some of the pressure.
We may never know what affect we have on those we encounter…good or bad. This is why it is so important to be aware and intentional about our actions.
There’s been a lot of love going around our church over the past couple of weeks. With October being Pastor Appreciation Month, there’s been many messages of thanks going in Pastor Lee’s direction. Simultaneously Pastor Lee has been sharing his appreciation of the congregation and the impact we have on each other.
This past Sunday he shared a letter written by one of the members of the church, sharing her story and the affect others in the church had on her life. More times than not, we have no idea of the impact we have on others.
We need to remember that every action has consequences…good or bad.
In Ephesians 2:8-10 we are told, “In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.” This sounds pretty clear to me. God intends for us to do good, but we get to decide if we will do it or not.
We have control over our actions. We can choose what we will do and how we will do it. This starts with figuring out who God meant us to be. Then being intentional about living in that direction.
I think more time is wasted through drifting than anything else.
Intentional action and awareness of those actions are topics that have been prevalent in my thoughts lately as well as historically. As is evident with these previous posts: (links)
For years I have heard people express frustration with organizing and managing their schedules and “to do” lists. For years I was one of those people. These issues are multiplied when running a business.
Not that I have it all figured out but, I’m closer than I’ve ever been.
The question of what the best tool to use to manage scheduling and “to do” lists, has come up a lot lately. Most people are looking for a simple app or tool that will magically do it all.
There is nothing that will miraculously do this for you.
I’ve been refining my scheduling system for decades. Trying different things, starting with paper calendars, notebooks and notes on scrap paper. Now it’s all on my computer. I like my system way better now than before (I still use some paper for quick notes). However, it doesn’t do the work without my involvement.
Here’s the thing, most of us have way more things on our lists than there is time to get them done. Or we forget to do something because it wasn’t written down. Or the paper it was written on got lost in a stack of papers. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and forget or misplace reminders.
Keeping track of things is the most important part of being organized.
We naturally want order in our lives. We want to be in control. The problem is we live in a world of chaos. Organization is a weapon to fight against the chaos. The more organized we are the less chaos there is.
What does organization look like? According to Webster, organization is, “the act or process of organizing or being organized.” Organize is, “to form into a coherent unity or functioning whole, to arrange by systematic planning and united effort.” This sounds good to me.
Having OCD, Organizational Compulsive Disorder, I organize at a level more intense and detailed than most.
My system works for me. This doesn’t mean that everyone’s has to be at this level. Some people feel restricted by a schedule. Just like some people feel that a budget restricts them financially.
I find both to be freeing.
My detailed system allows me to know what to expect. Not to mention it keeps me motivated to get more done. I used to struggle to determine what thing should be done next.
It is a combination of lists and calendars. My “to do” lists are a place to write things down so that they aren’t forgotten. I then prioritize the things that need to be done to reach goals. Each task gets an amount of time and then put on the calendar. The calendar allows me to see the tasks as a block of time and not just an item on a list.
A calendar works like a “budget” for time.
It is easy to let things slide if you aren’t intentional about planning. The most important thing is to know yourself and figure out what works for you.
Next week I will open up my toolbox and show you the tools I use to keep control of my life and minimize the chaos.
Our minds are one of the most powerful forces in the world. This power can be used for good or bad. Each of us has control over our own minds and can choose how we will use this superpower.
Use the superpower of your mind wisely.
There are countless examples and studies that show the power the mind has. We’ve all experienced times when we let our imagination take over. If we let it, the unknown fuels fear.
An example of how fear can distort the unknown is the Oregon woman calling the police about the intruder who had barricaded themselves in her bathroom.
“The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said on a Tuesday, officers responded to a woman’s report that someone was locked in her bathroom. The woman could tell something was amiss — there were shadows visible under the door.
Deputies surrounded the house, called in a canine officer and repeatedly instructed the suspect to exit the bathroom.
Police heard “rustling” noises coming from the bathroom and reported that the noises became more frequent as they continued to issue directions.
About 15 minutes after first responding, police entered the bathroom with guns drawn.
Police witnessed a “very thorough vacuuming job being done by a Roomba Robotic Vacuum cleaner.”
Fear can make us act irrationally.
By nature, when faced with fear, we respond in a way to defend and protect ourselves and our families. We also have been given the ability to analyze information and make decisions based on that information and our experiences.
The biggest advantage we have over fear is God. We often feel too small and insignificant to bother God with our fears and concerns. It doesn’t matter how little our problem or fear is. In Matthew 10:28-31 it says that not even one sparrow can die without God knowing. He even knows how many hairs you have on your head.
Let’s break this down a little bit. According to Wikipedia there are somewhere around 1.4 billion sparrows in the world. Healthline.com says the average person has 100,000 hairs on their head and the World Atlas reports that the world population is approximately 7.4 billion. Let’s do the math. 100,000 hairs x 7.4 billion people…that’s 760 TRILLION hairs.
Okay, if God is aware of these small insignificant things, we can be sure He is aware of every fear in our lives. We just have to decide if we are going to believe and trust Him. We’re much better off giving Him the control.
What if There Was a
Way to Combine DIY and Professional Construction?
The question is probably more like a billion dollar one. The DIY industry is booming. It’s everywhere we look, TV commercials, internet ads, home improvement programs and online videos. There’s simply a level of pride that goes with doing things ourselves.
Why is the
DIY industry so popular and prevalent?
That would be because the construction industry has let too many people down through a whole list of things. These problems certainly are good reasons to consider a DIY project. Here are a few other reasons you might think about doing your own construction project.
Price – is the number one reason for doing
your own projects or being your own general contractor. Construction is
expensive and the cost of professionals and general contractor’s markups are dollars
saved.
The important
thing to consider is…
What are the
dollars saved costing you?
As a
professional I have witnessed too many DIY projects that have gone badly. The experience
factor goes a long way to avoid problems. Depending on where you’re located, some
construction actions require licensed professionals to do them. You probably wouldn’t stitch up
your own gaping wound or represent yourself in court. Not that both haven’t
been done, but they come with a risk. The cost of your time spent doing this rather
than that, doing things over, unsolved problems or project disasters can be
expensive.
The value of
a professional often exceeds the cost.
Control – is another important issue that
customers face. The construction industry has one of the worst satisfaction ratings.
The only one ranked worse is the used car business. In too many cases customers
have felt out of control. This makes it understandable why you would prefer to not
deal with contractors. There is a comfort that comes from being in control of
the project even with little or no experience.
Sense of
accomplishment – is
one of the best feelings that we experience. This feeling is especially
connected with seeing a physical achievement. Stepping back and looking at
something we built is satisfying. These are legitimate reasons you might
consider doing your own construction project.
What if
there was a way to do your own project while having access to professional experience,
knowledge, and connections?
Wouldn’t this be great. This would be a win – win. If there was such a plan out there. What would something like this even look like? What would it include?
You might say,
“There’s already services out there for connecting me with construction
services. I can contact Angie’s List or Home Advisor.” The problem with these
services is, the list of companies and individuals they provide to you, pays to
be on the list. I know because they’re calling me regularly wanting me to pay
dues and join. This isn’t the most reliable resource.
I’m considering something that would be more detailed and customizable. A service that would fit your individual needs. A mix of educating, advising, consulting. Something that would allow you to have your questions for your project answered.
This would allow you to “do it yourself” with the benefit of professional guidance.
As we research this service, we need your help. Give us your thoughts by taking this short survey or leaving comments below.
For years I have used the example of a runaway train as a comparison to my busy, on the go, over scheduled, out of control life. It’s like I am riding on a speeding train of which I’m supposed to be in control. The problem is that instead of being seated comfortably in the engine at the front, I am barely hanging onto the ladder on the back of the caboose trying to not fall off. The train keeps speeding along, with no way for me to get control from the caboose. I start pulling my way forward, one train car at a time. First one, then a second, then a third. Look at me I’m making some real progress here. It won’t be long now and I will have this train back under control. Then, wouldn’t you know it, the train hits a bump. I lose my grip and catch the caboose as it goes by. Now I get to start clawing my way back toward the front all over again. How am I ever going to get this crazy train, called life, under control? If you’ve ever felt like this, then here are some ideas that might help.
You need to have a plan –This is where getting control starts. How are you going to make it to the engine? The key is to not quit. Don’t ever let go of your train unless you’re dead. As long as you are still alive you can do something about your situation. You need to be intentional about how you want your train to operate.
Review the past – Look back at what has worked and what hasn’t. What was it that caused you to lose your grip from the train? Determining this will help you to know how to hold on as you move forward next time.
Figure out what your purpose is – God has given each of us specific talents that fit who we are created to be. It is up to us to find out what they are and put them to good use. This determines who we are and what kind of train we have. Is it a freight train, a passenger train or maybe something different?
Don’t overload your train – Once you have determined what kind of train you’re on you can decide what kind of cars should have. Most likely there are some that will need to be disconnected and left behind. Overloading our train is a very common problem. Most of us think we have a ‘super train’ that can pull as many cars as we hook to it. It’s okay if we don’t pull them all. They will fit in someone else’s train better, or are just a waste of good train fuel. Who knows maybe you will need to add some different ones. The important thing is to know how many are too many and which ones don’t belong.
Help from other trains – Sometimes when our trains are overloaded there are others that can help us with our load. Maybe they can give us a push, a pull or take some of our cars. It’s okay to get help. Our train isn’t the only one. If we get our load right, then we are better prepared to help other trains when they need it.
In this world there is no such thing as a perfect train. We will never have complete control or a ride without any bumps. What is important is to not give up or quit. Keep working to make your train better. To be aware and observant of what our train should be. Work every day to make your train the best train it can be and remember, ENJOY THE RIDE!
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