by Simplar | Nov 9, 2023 | Business, Strategic & Project Planning, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Weekly Construction Message
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...
by Simplar | Nov 2, 2023 | Business of Construction, Cash Flow (Getting Paid), Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Weekly Construction Message
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 …...
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 | Oct 19, 2023 | Business of Construction, Project Delivery, Risk Management, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
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....
by Simplar | Oct 12, 2023 | Business Development, Business Development, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Growth, Growth, Weekly Construction Message
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...
by Simplar | Oct 5, 2023 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Weekly Construction Message
If you’ve been with me these past two months, you know that I have finally begun to take the lid off our industry. It is no longer any secret that I believe contractors have been gradually taken advantage of by the purchasers of construction services. Congress began...
