The title of this blog is our theme for 2024. It is too hard to make good money in our industry these days. Contractors risk their own capital taking on enormous and highly complex projects that require expert knowledge and execution and often last for years. But,...
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...
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...
Managing Working Capital Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. As we noted last week, the primary cause of construction business failure is running out of money. Why when contractors run out of money is it so often a surprise? Financing Growth American industry is addicted to...
Identifying Risk Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Most contractors are guilty of failing to diligently identify the unique risks in every new job BEFORE they undertake it. One example I often site is a failed project that I dealt with for a surety. The otherwise successful...
Keep Your Eye on the Ball Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. We are at the beginning of what might be a rocky economic 2023. With the short-term future so uncertain it is critical to avoid running out of money while navigating this inflation fueled (post- pandemic/Russian...
