Career Tips from my Hero
By Michael StoneI first heard about Zig Ziglar in 1973 when I attended one of his events. Over the next several years, if he was speaking nearby, I did my best to be there.
Transparency Has Risks
By Michael StoneIf you believe in transparency with your clients, this note is an example of what can go wrong.
Lesson Learned: Lead Generation Companies
By Michael StoneLead generation companies don’t know your ideal clients or your most profitable type of work, and don’t care because they get paid anyway.
Don’t Negotiate Your Price
By Michael StoneDon’t let your clients dictate or negotiate the price of your work.
Everyone Gets Paid
By Michael StoneOver the years I’ve heard from many wives or significant others who were tired of living with no money and essentially no future for the business.
Finding Suitable Construction Employees
By Michael StoneHiring the wrong person costs money. It costs more than just the time and expense you went through before hiring, because you’ll spend time and money to fire them legally and properly.
Structuring Your Construction Company
By Michael StoneMany contractors start out building jobs on their own, but it doesn’t take long before you need to hire others to help with production.
Failing Expectations
By Michael StoneMichael shares a note from a contractor dealing with multiple mistakes he’s made in his business.
Planning for Next Year
By Michael StoneThe end of the year is a good time to look at how you’ve been doing business. What standards have you set, and are you keeping those standards?
How to Have a Profitable Construction Business
By Michael StoneYou can’t focus on being competitive if you want to be profitable. You have to focus on profitability.
Depending on Referrals
By Michael StoneTake charge of your marketing and let the leads you get by referral be the frosting on the cake.
Advice for a New Contractor
By Michael StoneMichael shares a note from a new remodeling firm, asking questions that are often asked by new business owners.
Hope is Not a Strategy
By Michael StoneMichael Stone shares thoughts on protecting your family and construction business from whatever the economy or government throws our way.
Year-End Planning, Part 1
By Michael StoneBusiness planning isn’t exciting. But the effort you put into it has much to do with the results you’ll see next year and in years to come.
Year-End Planning, Part 2
By Michael StoneThis is part two of our year-end planning paper. We’re going to pick this up by continuing an indepth look at your overhead budget for the coming year.
Expect the Best, Prepare for the Worst
By Michael StoneIf the worst happens, will those left behind be able to either carry on or close shop without your presence?
Design Agreement Surprises
By Michael StoneIf you want to avoid problems when selling your services, take steps to prevent problems at your first meeting.
The Same Business Principles Apply to Every Trade
By Michael StoneMost of the training available for construction focuses on production. We talk about business, and business principles don’t vary no matter what type of work you produce.
Make Jobs More Profitable
By Michael StoneMaterials, change work orders, borrowing tools, punch lists, resolving issues.
Improve Jobsite Productivity
By Michael StoneAn efficient, productive construction project makes for more profitable jobs. It’s easier when you pay attention to these details.
Selling Design Agreements
By Michael StoneWith a renovation or remodeling project, your goal from the very beginning should be to sell your services by way of a design agreement. Sell an agreement to design the project since that’s the first necessary step before the job can start.
Setting Priorities
By Michael StoneIf you’re a business owner, prioritizing how you spend your time is critical. There aren’t enough hours in a day to do everything that needs doing.
Estimating Labor, Accounting for Trash
By Michael StoneEstimating a construction project requires working through the details. The better you cover those details, the more accurate your estimate.
Building Inspectors and Your Estimate
By Michael StoneThe building inspector who shows up can increase the cost of your project. That’s why you need to add an inspector factor to your estimate.
Estimating Construction Costs
By Michael StoneEstimating errors cost money, because the purpose of a construction estimate is to know how much to price a job.
Trucks, Phones and Language
By Michael StoneKeeping your business sharp and profitable is an ongoing process, and it’s easy to get lax about little things that can cost big money.
A Guaranteed Price
By Michael StoneWhen selling construction services, quoting a guaranteed price protects homeowners from the price increases that happen with a too low price.
Paying Taxes Beats Losing Money
By Michael StonePaying income tax means you’re running your business well.
Who You Listen To Matters
By Michael StoneAs I watch young people decide to become a coach or consultant in construction, I wonder how much they really know.
Get Ahead of Job Delays
By Michael StoneJob delays are often caused by the things we don’t see; you can’t stop all delays but you can get ahead of them.
Increasing Your Markup
By Michael StoneLike many of you, I read industry magazines to keep up on new ideas. Much of what I read is good, but a recent article titled “Strategies for Increasing Your Markup” requires a comment.
Business Survival
By Michael StoneI often start the year with a reminder to check your business practices, and this year I think it’s more important than ever to get on top of and make sure you have your business in order.
Value Your Work
By Michael StoneYour work is vital; rather than worrying about your price, recognize and sell the value you bring to a project.
Your Work Has Value
By Michael StoneI’m addicted to the creature comforts that my home provides. Those comforts are provided by skilled workers in the construction industry.
Profitable Planning
By Michael StoneAs the business owner you’re taking risks, so you deserve to be paid a fair salary and make a profit. This is how it gets done.
Invest In Your Business
By Michael StoneInvesting your time and effort in discovering how to run a successful construction business is a key to success.
Educating on Quality
By Michael StoneHome and building owners need to know that hiring the least expensive contractor often means compromising on quality.
Renegotiating the Price
By Michael StoneHow should you respond when a client wants to change the price AFTER the job has started?
Sales: Setting Ground Rules
By Michael StoneMichael shares a few situations you’ll run into when selling construction-related services that provide the opportunity to set ground rules for the relationship.
The Advantage of Continuing Education
By Michael StoneIt doesn’t matter if you’ve been doing things the same way for 1 year or for 65 years, taking the time and initiative to find out if there’s a better way increases your odds of success.
Is Cost-Plus the Solution to Underpriced Jobs?
By Michael StoneBoth fixed-price and cost-plus contracts carry risk. Is cost-plus the solution?
Resolve Estimate Details Before Quoting
By Michael StoneHis salesperson sold a kitchen remodel without resolving some details. The homeowner insisted it wouldn’t be a big deal. It was a big deal.
Employees: Details that Cost You Money
By Michael StoneNothing is more frustrating than to work hard only to find out your business isn’t making money. Michael discusses three things that can make a big difference on the bottom line.
Estimating Construction Profitably
By Michael StoneEstimating Construction Profitably is a guide to estimating; or more accurately, a guide to creating your own estimating system.
Changing the Terms of the Contract
By Michael StoneWhy do clients enter a contract and then think they can unilaterally change the terms?
Motivate Your Construction Employees
By Michael StoneIn construction, employees are motivated and engaged when they know the reason behind their work. They need to know their jobs matter.
After the Sale; Pre-Job Layout
By Michael StoneThe pre-job conference or pre-job layout is when all the details get ironed out that can easily be forgotten. It’s when the job is handed from sales to production. After this meeting the production manager is in charge.
In Construction, Communicate the Details
By Michael StoneAre you giving your clients the information they need to be confident you’re building the job they want?
Sales Issues: Leaving Your Paperwork
By Michael StoneWhen a prospective client “wants to think about it,” should you leave your paperwork? What can you do to close the sale?
Business Skills and Your Construction Business
By Michael StoneIt’s easy to think we already know all we need to know. If you want to be successful, continually improve your business skills.