Pretty Deep When the Bottom is Mud

It’s been a few months since Tony pulled his stunt leaving Gene high and dry without any notice. Gene moved on…what else could he do?

Gene replaced Tony with Darin. Darin is less experienced, but at least he has shown up so far. Of course, this may be because Darin doesn’t have anything to drive, so Gene picks him up and takes him home every day.

Gene has been very busy. He’s had a lot of construction projects to do, not to mention trying to keep up with the paperwork. Things seem to be getting busier and busier. Maybe things are going to turn around for his business.

As Gene was on his way to pick Darin up this morning, the truck began to make a grinding noise and it was hard to shift the truck into second gear. It didn’t get any better after picking Darin up and going to the job site.

Then it happened…the transmission went out.

It’s Sunday afternoon and after getting home from church, Gene is back at his desk (the dining table) working on the third construction bid. He would rather be watching the NASCAR race, but there’s just not enough time for both.

Some people would say that getting three of the four bids done is pretty good. There are a lot of people in construction that wouldn’t sweat this, but it bothers Gene to not follow through on what he said he would do.

It’s getting late and the family has already gone to bed as he starts the next bid.

At 1:15 AM Monday morning, Gene decides to go to bed even though the bid isn’t done yet. He needs to get up in a few hours and do some actual construction work.

You need a plan if you’re going to build a successful business.

STUCK IN A RUT

It was late on a Saturday night and Gene was sitting at his desk in his home office (otherwise known as a dining table). This was the office of his construction company.

He was working to get at least one more construction proposal done before going to bed. He had promised four different customers proposals this week. If all goes well, he’ll have this second one finished before midnight. As Gene crunched numbers, he worried that he might have forgotten something. This had happened before.

He asked himself, “Why am I doing this? I could make more money and work less hours working for someone else. Heck, I’d be better off flipping burgers. This sure isn’t how I pictured my construction business five years ago when I started.”

Change is the biggest issue that the construction industry faces. Why are people in construction so bullheaded? They are some of the most stubborn and headstrong people.

This starts at a young age. As children, we have fewer external experiences to draw from. This restricted resource limits our view. This is why young people think they already know everything.

This narrow perspective then becomes our standard and we see no reason to change.

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?

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 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.

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.

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.