by Simplar | Feb 13, 2025 | Built Environment, Business Development, Business of Construction, Business, Strategic & Project Planning, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Change Management, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Growth, Growth, Labor & Labor Issues, Leadership, Leadership, Managing Subcontractors, Project Selection, Project Teams, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
Designers avoid risk, owners prefer to pass it along, and contractors absorb it. Today’s construction risk environment is dramatically different than it was in the last several decades, and risk factors are mutating just enough to be almost unrecognizable. It is...
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 | Jan 17, 2025 | Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Project Selection, Project Selection, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
Profitability in construction begins with project selection. Ours is the only industry that signs a binding contract to sell our service for a fixed price, not knowing exactly what it will cost to provide that service. What’s worse, we bid in a highly...
by Simplar | Feb 1, 2024 | Built Environment, Labor & Labor Issues, Leadership, Project Selection, Weekly Construction Message
There is no time like the present. 2024 is our year to improve profit margins, increase cash flow, and stabilize our businesses. We will begin at the beginning when we prepare bids and sign contracts. This is the first tentative step we all take into the mine field of...
by Simplar | Jan 25, 2024 | Project Selection, Project Selection, Risk Management, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
I have railed against low bid contracting for many years as the root cause of shrinking contractor profit margins and increasing contractor failure. In principle, it is an insane way to do business (selling a product for the lowest price rather than the highest price...
by Simplar | Aug 31, 2023 | Business of Construction, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Project Delivery, Project Selection, Weekly Construction Message
A Flawed Business Model Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Construction organizations often select projects to fill their growth goals, satisfy their need for immediate cash flow, capture work near their headquarters, keep their crews busy, serve owners they have worked for...
