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My View of the Construction Industry
I started my career in construction as a carpenter apprentice decades ago. My brother and I eventually formed our own general contracting business that operated continuously until last year when my brother retired. Years ago, while running our start-up contracting...
A Complex Financial Transaction
Our ongoing discussion on the importance of managing the flow of cash into and out of a construction contractor's balance sheet identified the two major financial risk factors that contractors face: (1) a chronic shortage of working capital; and (2) a highly complex...
Eye On the Ball
The first rule in both baseball and golf is keep your eye on the ball. The best hitters in baseball say they can sometimes actually see the ball hit the bat. Ben Hogan, one of golf’s greatest, claimed that the visual image that stayed with him after he hit a ball was...
Estimating Working Capital Capacity
The process of estimating and preparing bids is one of our most essential management tasks, including direct and indirect costs. Professional estimators have a detailed knowledge of construction materials, specifications, techniques, codes, and pricing trends as they...
Two Major Risk Factors
The two major risk factors built into contracting: 1) Chronic under-capitalization 2) Highly complex transaction Chronic Under Capitalization Every contractor I have worked with over these past 40 years has been plagued by cash flow problems at one time or another....
Ready-Fire-Aim
Capital capacity is just a fancy way of saying having enough cash around to finance projects ongoing plus projects under consideration. The construction industry is grossly undercapitalized. This, I believe, is the primary risk factor that contractors deal with daily...
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