by Simplar | Nov 6, 2025 | Business of Construction, Cash Flow (Getting Paid), Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Managing Subcontractors, Weekly Construction Message
Contractors handle large amounts of money but get to keep only a very small portion. In this way, the construction financial transaction imposes yet another unintended role and risk on contractors. They are functioning as fiduciaries at great expense to themselves. As...
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 | Nov 7, 2024 | Built Environment, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Project Selection, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
A Case Study I was very young when I found myself running the field operation of the contracting firm my brother and I started. After a number of years, we were the successful bidder on a church nearby. We diligently submitted our first payment requisition to the...
by Simplar | Oct 31, 2024 | Business of Construction, Financial Management and Risk, Weekly Construction Message
Contractors usually start out as closely held companies that grow their business gradually over time. Many have formal education as engineers or constructors, but rarely do they have any business education or experience. Their first bookkeeper is often their spouse or...
by Simplar | Oct 24, 2024 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Labor & Labor Issues, Organization Transformation, Project Delivery
The construction industry is perhaps the best example of an industry built on firmly held but largely unexamined beliefs. Most contractors I have worked with over the last 30 years believe that: top line growth in sales is always good; their company can build...
by Simplar | Apr 4, 2024 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Business, Strategic & Project Planning, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Growth, Growth, Organization Transformation, Weekly Construction Message
… Read the rest “Winning the War”
