by Simplar | Mar 7, 2024 | Business Development, Business Development, Business Development, Business Development, Growth, Growth, Weekly Construction Message
The simplest definition of conglomerate is – a number of different things or parts that are put or grouped together to form a whole but remain distinct entities. What a perfect description of a construction company! As I have said so often in the past, each...
by Simplar | Jan 11, 2024 | Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
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,...
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 | 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...
