by Simplar | May 23, 2025 | Built Environment, Business Failure, Business of Construction, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
Last week we established that the high failure rate in the construction industry comes down to a single cause – a shortage of working capital. Some blame failures on a whole variety of causes: labor unrest, natural disasters, economic stress, market shrinkage,...
by Simplar | Apr 10, 2025 | Business Failure, Business Failure, Business of Construction, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
My portrayal of the start-up process of most mom-and-pop contracting firms (which represent a huge portion of the $ 2.1 trillion industry) in last week’s blog was meant to describe the natural recruiting and training process that founders engage in as firms...
by Simplar | Jan 30, 2025 | Business Development, Business Failure, Business of Construction, Business, Strategic & Project Planning, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Leadership, Leadership, Project Selection, Project Selection, Weekly Construction Message
Don’t let the project pick you. In other words, don’t be tempted to take any project that comes along. Too many contractors scour the marketplace for any project they might be able to snag. They fashion a bid that they think will be competitive but often...
by Simplar | Oct 26, 2023 | Business Failure, Business Failure, Cash Flow (Getting Paid), Weekly Construction Message
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...
by Simplar | Sep 21, 2023 | Business Failure, Business Failure, Risk Management, Risk Management, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
If you say “contracting” to anyone they immediately think of “construction”. The “building” industry has become identified with the signing of a contract at the point of sale. “Builders” have become “contractors” in the eyes of the public. This misidentification has...
by Simplar | Sep 20, 2023 | Business Failure, Business Failure, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Partnering, Planning, PM, Weekly Construction Message
Risk Mitigation Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Thirty-five years ago, I initiated research that resulted in ranking construction contracting #2 in business failure rate (restaurants are #1). That data inspired me to begin ongoing research into the causes of construction...
