Coachcasts Archives - Page 110 of 154

E438: Project Changes Are Opportunities To Shine

April 20, 2016 TonyB 0 Comments

Project changes provide us a chance to show our clients why they hired us.

Elite contractors see changes as opportunities
1. Our chance to remind clients why we are the best
2. We handle them properly with
  1. Good communication
  2. Great documentation
  3. Open cooperation
Approach changes with a solutions mindset
1. Try to achieve the same result with no cost impact
2. Provide alternative solutions the lower the cost impact
3. Provide solid documentation with full impact
Keep the right mindset
1. Too often contractors see changes as opportunities to boost profit – avoid the trap
2. Keep your best interests in mind but keep your client’s best interests as a close second
3. At the end of the day your client needs a result and we are here to deliver that result in the best way possible

E437: Dominate Your Market With Customer Satisfaction

April 19, 2016 TonyB 0 Comments

Customer satisfaction goes far beyond quality construction.

The biggest misconception
1. Build a quality project and they will hire me again
  1. Not always true – if you are a pain to deal with they won’t want you back
2. If the client gets the project they want then they will hire me again
3. If I give the lowest price the customer will hire me
To dominate your market you need to focus on customer satisfaction
1. The quality project is only part of the equation to success
2. There are a lot more pieces to the puzzle
3. Give your customers a luxury journey
  1. The journey is the interaction during the construction process
  2. The paperwork / reporting / invoicing / interaction / changes / solutions / public interaction / etc.
Customer satisfaction yields great results
1. It’s 7 times easier to get more work from existing clients than to find a new one
  1. I consider referral business the same as repeat work
2. Make things easy for your customers and they will make things easy for you
3. Our #1 goal is to be the preferred provider and customer satisfaction is the solution
  1. Clients will want you on the next project
  2. They become raving fans
  3. They find ways to work with you and often pay more

E436: Ask Coach – Should I Stick To One Niche Market?

April 18, 2016 TonyB 0 Comments

Stick to a niche to get rich but don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Q: You talk a lot about focusing on a niche market, should I stick to only one market?

A: No, However, you should master one before branching out.

Focusing on a niche is important
1. We want to be the preferred provider so we need to be the best
2. Focusing on a niche allows us to gain knowledge that other don’t have
3. Our crews and teams have efficiencies that others struggle to obtain
There is a downside that we need to protect against
1. Market conditions change and your work could dry up
2. New technologies or materials could make advances
3. Your clients may not have enough work for you to grow
Master your niche and then expand and repeat
1. First focus on growing and mastering your current niche
2. Expand your client base in that niche
3. Then look to branch into other niche markets
  1. The question came from Peter who does light commercial plumbing and after our discussion, he started looking to branch into restaurant work
4. Find a niche the requires complementary skills and grow from there, preferably with you current clients

E435: Create Time By Mastering The Art Of Delegation

April 15, 2016 TonyB 0 Comments

Master the art of delegation and you can create time.

Delegation is a key tool for creating time
1. To grow our business or career we need time to work on it
2. We can’t be everywhere and do everything so we need help
3. Micro-managers burn out and go up in flames
How do you know what to delegate?
1. You cannot delegate passion and vision – that is all you
2. We want to delegate the “working in the business” tasks
3. Start a log of all your activities
  1. List the start and stop time and what you were doing
  2. At the end of the day look at the tasks and determine which ones could be done by someone else
  3. Add up the time savings
Now you know what to delegate, here are some tips to help
1. Create processes and instructions for the things you will delegate
  1. Spend 4 hours now to free up 40 hours later
2. Implement good systems for collaboration, communication, and follow-up
3. Avoid the perfection trap
  1. Your employees will not do something as good or as fast as you will – that’s Okay
  2. Most of the time 90% is good enough – as long as key goals are being met it doesn’t matter
  3. If your time is worth $200/HR and you pay some $25 to handle tasks they can take 5 times longer and you still come out ahead

E434: Projecting And Managing Cash Flow

April 14, 2016 TonyB 0 Comments

Stay on top of your cash flow with proper planning and projections.

Cash flow is the biggest small business killer
1. As contractors we often have to spend money before we can invoice
2. On some projects it can take 90+ days to get payments
3. This struggle often causes us to Rob peter to pay Paul – a bad habit
Avoid these issues with good planning
1. Start with the project – create a cash flow projection for each project
  1. Track costs, billings and receipts – both planned and actual
2. Summarize the information on a single spreadsheet for the company
3. Know your numbers
When we plan ahead we can prepare for short-falls
1. Get the best terms you can on suppliers and subcontractors
2. Set aside funds from every payment to build a reserve – I recommend at least 3 months of overhead costs in reserve
3. Control spending when you see a downturn coming
4. Borrow only when necessary

E433: Contract Deliverables Review

April 13, 2016 TonyB 0 Comments

Do a thorough review of your contract deliverables before starting work.

Contract deliverables are the requirements established in the contract
1. Everything outside of the project itself – items not in the contract documents
2. The requirements for daily reporting, insurance, change notices, payroll reports, etc.
3. Special instructions in the contract like maintaining records and document security
The project manager or key person should conduct a review
1. Review each section/clause in the contract
2. Note what the requirements are for your company in each instance
3. Who it is sent to and who is responsible for sending
  1. Example: Change Notice clause may state changes must be noted in daily reports and written notification must be submitted within 24 hours.
Establish a deliverables matrix – I recommend 2 different ones
1. The first is for all deliverables
  1. Provide Clause / Deliverable / Notice Type / Sent To / Responsible Person / Notes
2. The second one is for all the recurring requirements like invoices, payroll reports, etc.
  1. Provide Deliverable / Due Date / Sent To / Responsible Person / Notes / Check Box for completion tracking

Here is a sample of a Deliverable Matrix from my contract in the US Virgin Islands. Sample

E432: Establish A Solid Estimating Process

April 12, 2016 TonyB 0 Comments

The estimating process can make or break our business so be sure to start with sound practices.

There are many ways to estimate and the right one is the one that works for you
1. Estimating ranges from Wild Ass Guesses to counting screws
2. Companies use unit pricing, crew based estimates, and other ways
3. All come down to determining the cost of work plus overhead and profit
We want to establish systems to generate good estimates – what is a good estimate
1. One that wins the job
2. Identifies the costs with reasonable certainty
3. Doesn’t take too long to complete
4. Follows a repeatable system
Setting up a good system takes
1. Historical data and good job costing for comparison
2. A method for determining costs that works for your company
3. An outlined process on how to handle the estimating
  1. Take-offs – how detailed, what to take-off, etc.
  2. Sub-bids and vendor quotes
  3. Contract review and overhead
4. A review process once complete

E431: Ask Coach – Dealing With Project Delays

April 11, 2016 TonyB 0 Comments

Delays happen in construction, be proactive and manage the impact.

Q: What is the best way to deal with project delays?

A: Communicate, adjust and protect your profits.

Communicate early and often
1. Know your contract and your schedule
2. As soon as it appears there may be a delay – notify your client with a “heads up”
3. Document clearly cause, impact, options, adjustments and resolutions
Manage your costs
1. Adjust your schedule where you can
2. Manipulate your manpower to deal with the delay without cost impacts
3. Shift your plan around if you can
Protect our bottom line
1. Do all you can to avoid added costs caused by delays but if you can’t
2. Document the impacts and communicate before there is an actual impact
3. Present options and let the client participate in the decisions
4. It’s our right to make a profit so don’t be afraid to ask for it

E430: Attack Each Day With A Plan And A Purpose

April 8, 2016 TonyB 0 Comments

Plan your day and manage your focus and time will take care of itself.

Getting the most out of your day by being effective
1. Working on the right things
2. Working efficiently
3. Focusing and putting your full attention into the task at hand
Attack your day to avoid the madness trap
1. Think about those days when you are running around all day but at the end nothing really got done
2. In contrast, what about the day before a big proposal is due, how much do you get done then
3. What’s the difference – our focus – you had clear deliverables and a deadline
4. Learn to attack each day the same way
Getting set to attack the day
1. Create a list of the things you need to complete today
  1. Start with #1 and complete it, then move to #2
2. Block out time to work on your tasks and don’t allow interruptions
3. At the end of the day move the completed tasks to the done list

E429: Protecting Your Rights With Liens And Surety Bonds

April 7, 2016 TonyB 0 Comments

Don’t lose your rights to collect on a project because of a technicality.

There are some ways that our payments are protected on projects
1. First, be careful on how you much you let the client get ahead of you
2. Liens – legal filings against the property for the monies owed
3. Surety Bonds – payment bonds of our clients that guarantee they pay their bills
Each has different requirements and are typically governed by the state or local jurisdiction
1. Liens
  1. There are timeframes established for proper filings
  2. Many areas require a Notice of Commencement be sent to the Owner or other notifications
  3. Be sure you know what is required and comply
2. Surety Bonds
  1. The timeframes are a little different but make sure you check
  2. Usually not a requirement to notify anyone
  3. However, you will have to support your claim with proper documentation so be careful
Many get concerned about what the client will say – remember, this is just business not a reflection of the client
1. Communicate with you clients about your processes
  1. This actually saves them money (if you have $50,000 per year in unpaid revenue you would have to add that to your costs each year and that would raise your prices.)
2. Create a checklist for each project (or add to your existing deliverable list)
3. Stay on top of the proper paperwork

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