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Growing a Construction Business

By Michael Stone

Growth is inevitable when you successfully market your business and have solid business practices but growing a construction business brings a few challenges along with the blessings.


Managing Jobs: This is Where it Went Bad

By Michael Stone

Michael shares a story from a contractor who delegated to the wrong person, and that’s where the job went bad.


Sales: Are You There to Help?

By Michael Stone

When selling, are youhere to find out how much money you can make, or to provide a service and help?


Calculate Your Cost Per Lead

By Michael Stone

When you calculate your cost per lead, you’ll know what you need to spend on marketing to meet your sales goals.


Getting Between the Owner and a Sub

By Michael Stone

A subcontractor causes a problem on a construction job, the general contractor needs to make it right. It happens a lot, this time with a twist.


Doing Things Right

By Michael Stone

Michael shares a valuable tool that will improve both your sales and your relationships.


Doing Things Wrong

By Michael Stone

It’s painful to see people who don’t know better get taken advantage of by those who do or should know better.


Doing Work Without a Permit

By Michael Stone

Doing work without a permit is a mistake. Pulling permits protects the homeowner; when a contractor doesn’t want to pull a permit, there’s always a reason.


Should I Change My Markup If I’m Not Making Sales?

By Michael Stone

Should you change your markup method if you aren’t making sales? Don’t spend hours fiddling with numbers; invest the time in your sales skills.


It’s All About Sales: Gaining a Commitment

By Michael Stone

Can delayed job starts impact material prices and profitability? Not if you gain a commitment first. It’s all about the sales process.


Liquidated Damages in Construction

By Michael Stone

When customers start talking about liquidated damages in construction, it’s time to ask why.


Contracts Matter; Collecting Final Payment

By Michael Stone

When you provide a dishonest client a cost breakdown of their job, things can go wrong.


Make Time by Delegating

By Michael Stone

It’s easy to fool yourself into believing it’s better to do it yourself, until you realize the things you’re supposed to do aren’t getting done.


Character Matters

By Michael Stone

You can’t always determine if the person you are about to do business with is ethical, but you do know your own behavior. Choosing to operate your business with integrity is within your control.


Make Construction Work for You

By Michael Stone

Construction can be a tough business, dealing with clients who don’t realize what we’re worth, while our bodies take a beating to make their homes better.


Beliefs That Limit Your Profit

By Michael Stone

Owning and operating a construction business requires a strong will and self-direction, but those qualities can also lead you to hold on to beliefs that limit your profit.


Definition of Terms

By Michael Stone

What does a general contractor do? What is a specialty contractor? How do remodeling and new construction differ?


How Do You Measure Success in Construction?

By Michael Stone

Our goal is to help contractors build more profitable businesses, but how do you measure success? How do you know your pricing will result in a profit?


Paying a Salesperson: Commission on Sales, not Profit

By Michael Stone

If you employ a salesperson to help you sell something, you need to pay them for their services. I am a firm believer in paying sales people by commission


Purchasing Commercial Insurance

By Michael Stone

Purchasing commercial insurance can be a frustrating experience for many construction businesses.


Unit Cost Estimating

By Michael Stone

Unit cost estimating is breaking down a project to simple assemblies. It’s the best way to consistently acquire accurate estimates.


Handling Customer Complaints

By Michael Stone

No matter how careful you are, you, your crew, or one of your subcontractors will upset a client. How you handle customer complaints says a lot about your business and your character.


Price Proposal Deadlines

By Michael Stone

All price proposals need a deadline because you never know when material and labor costs will increase rapidly.


Construction Sales: Make Time Count

By Michael Stone

Construction sales take time and your time is valuable. Avoid these common time-wasters when selling construction services.


Construction Cash Flow and Business Success

By Michael Stone

Construction cash flow is like every other business; there must be more cash flowing in than flowing out or the business won’t survive.


Rapidly Increasing Material Costs

By Michael Stone

Quoting a firm fixed price is riskier when material costs are increasing rapidly, which is why your contract needs to address unexpected material cost increases.


Design Agreements and the Budget

By Michael Stone

The purpose of a design agreement is to get a commitment from your client to design the project so you don’t have to do the design for free. How do you keep the design within the budget?


The Cost of Callbacks

By Michael Stone

Having to return to a previous job and fix something that’s wrong costs money. Knowing the cost of a callback helps you or your crew to be more diligent to avoid them in the future.


Wrapping Up a Difficult Project

By Michael Stone

It can a challenge to finish a project, especially when it was priced too low for a difficult client and with a weak contract.


Habits for Success

By Michael Stone

Are your habits helping your company grow, or are they holding you back?


Financial Plan for Success and Survival

By Michael Stone

If you thought you were the captain of your ship, 2020 taught otherwise.


Construction Websites that Generate Leads

By Michael Stone

A construction website should be a lead generating asset. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but if it doesn’t generate leads it’s a waste of time and effort.


Why Do You Need a Written Construction Contract?

By Michael Stone

Almost all conflicts contractors face could be avoided or quickly resolved if there is a clear, detailed construction contract between the parties.


Charging a Fair Price

By Michael Stone

You can be the most ethical person in the world and if you aren’t charging enough for your work, you stand a good chance of cheating someone else.


Lowball Pricing in Construction

By Michael Stone

It’s not unusual to find a contractor who sells by deliberately underpricing or underbidding jobs and making up the difference with change work orders.


Specialty Contractors and Down Payments

By Michael Stone

Should specialty contractors require down payments even when working through a General Contractor?


Remodeling Sales: Setting the Budget

By Michael Stone

A business owner in the UK asked a question that illustrates that remodeling sales challenges are the same regardless of your location.


The Skinny on Change Work Orders

By Michael Stone

A compendium on change work orders on a new home, remodeling or renovation project; why they matter, how to price them, what to include, and more.


Building a Successful Construction Business

By Michael Stone

I take many calls from contractors whose business is more like a low-paying job than a successful construction business. Some ask, “Is it even possible in today’s economic climate? Can my business make money?”


Family Matters More Than Business

By Michael Stone

Our goal is to help construction-related business owners build a better business. We receive many phone calls and notes from our clients, and most of the time we hear good things. Sometimes we hear another side of the story.


You Have Better Things to Do than Estimate

By Michael Stone

Getting a commitment from potential clients is critical if you want to save yourself a ton of time and work putting together an estimate that won’t go anywhere. You have better things to do with your time.


Clients and Your Job Schedule

By Michael Stone

One of the concerns a homeowner has when they’ve hired a contractor is whether they’ll do what they said they’ll do. It is a legitimate concern. They don’t know what’s going on in your head, only what’s happening with their job.


Who Pays for On-the-Job Training?

By Michael Stone

Training in construction is important, especially with a shortage of employees. A general contractor asked about a subcontractor who is training an apprentice.


The Sales Call: Budget and Design

By Michael Stone

Budget doesn’t need to be a major worry during the design and build of a project if you handle it properly during the sales call.


Cost-Plus Contracts

By Michael Stone

Why cost plus and time & material contracts should be avoided, for both contractors and building owners.


Shady Contractors

By Michael Stone

If you’re doing residential construction, you’ve met all kinds of people. There are also all kinds of contractors, and some of them don’t operate ethically.


Estimating Labor in Construction

By Michael Stone

Our last newsletter triggered a question on estimating labor.


Estimating Errors Cost Money

By Michael Stone

Estimating the cost of a remodeling, renovation or specialty project accurately is critical if you want to be profitable.


When Business Returns

By Michael Stone

At some point this health crisis will slow down and go away. When it does, there’s a good chance we’ll be doing some things differently. But some things won’t change.


When Business Dries Up

By Michael Stone

If sales have dropped off significantly or you’re under a stay-at-home order, here are 3 things that you need to do now for both your business and your family.


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