Construction Informer

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I was thinking about “ideas” today and how they seem to arrive on a slipstream of vapor, float across our consciousness and then leave through our ears, since those are the closest exits to our brains. They are often processed in quick order, freeing our minds up for the next task or the next random thought that seems interesting.

It doesn’t seem that most ideas are acted upon. In fact, it seems that most ideas get pushed through a standardized filter and are quickly discarded when they:

1. Don’t solve an immediate problem;
2. Can’t possibly make us rich or famous;
3. Require too much work; and/or
4. Are something nobody else can see the value of.

In construction companies, ideas offer the chance to look exceedingly brilliant, or amazingly stupid. So many people just let the ideas flow right out their ears because the risk is just too great.

Over at The Heart of Innovation the writer offers the idea that innovation is often radically helped out by accident. Penicillin, vulcanized rubber and Post-It notes all came about quite by accident. But then, someone recognized the value in the accidents and had ideas about uses for them. They followed through.

Lisa Barone at the Business Insider laments the follow-the-leader syndrome in today’s business culture where everybody is trying to build something on everyone else’s original ideas. She says:

You’re noting what’s working from your competitor and you’re finding ways to integrate the same thing into your business. The problem is you’re not bettering what they’re doing. You’re just adding it on like an also-ran. That’s not innovation. That’s reactive catch up. It’s not how you stand out, it’s not how you steal market, it’s not how you create a point of difference for your company.

Barone goes on to offer an eight-step program for developing an innovative culture in your business and many of them are surprisingly simple, like getting rid of the hierarchy and focusing on the big picture. You can see them all at the link above.

When I look at the world through my own distorted and filter-ridden lenses, ideas appear to be the things that bring freshness to the view. They are kind of like how the air feels right after the storm has passed – all fresh and cool. Maybe we need to start capturing a few of them before they slip out our ears.

In economic challenging times there is all kinds of advice floating around about how to keep your construction business alive. But there isn’t much being said about just closing it down. The truth of the matter is that for many construction businesses closing the doors is going to be the only option, and it is just a matter of time.

Construction businesses that aren’t well positioned for poor economic times might just find some peace by letting go. These businesses probably have a lot of debt and not much liquid cash. They also probably have a vary narrow range of customers, and many of those are in the low end of the economic ladder. They have less than three months’ work lined up with a good portion of that being questionable. And, even though they probably don’t want to admit it, their management has been asleep at the wheel, or perhaps just not up to the task.

For those that don’t want to accept that they may have been a contributing factor to their businesses’ demise there’s always just plain old bad luck that can be blamed. And, that happens. Sometimes the stars just don’t shine on you, the planets don’t line up, and everything heads south. You can all think of some movie star, or politician, or business leader that got to the top of their field and it baffles your mind on how they did it. But, there they are, and the only explanation is just plain old good luck. Well, luck comes in the bad flavor too.

The hardest thing about closing down a construction business undoubtedly is just making the decision to do so. But once that is done, the rest is a process. You could be pleasantly surprised by what happens next since as one door closes, it allows others to open.

When times get challenging, and it looks like at least in the near term that is going to be the case, construction companies have to find ways to become more efficient while simultaneously becoming more aggressive in the search for new contracts. Just about everybody in business likes, and prefers, to get new business from referrals.

Usually if a client has hired you, liked the work, and paid you, then you welcome new clients that person might refer. Getting these referrals is often automatic as these people talk to other people and drop your name. Other times though the leads are available but you just haven’t asked for them.

To find them you only need to look to your business records. There are clients in there who have been pleased with your work but have never referred anyone. Now may be a good time to send a postcard to them asking for referrals. To make it worth their while you might include a gift certificate offer to a restaurant if a lead turns into a sale. You can use many different approaches to mining these potential leads, but whatever you do you should keep track of what you are doing and what results you get.

Another potential source for referrals lies in customers of complimentary businesses. For construction businesses the obvious would be business partners. A general contractor might offer incentives to trade contractors for providing leads. Many times these types of referrals are happening automatically since it is often in the trade contractor’s interest to refer a general contractor they work with. But at times, as in the case of a sub contractor who installs stone fireplaces, these referrals may not be happening since the sub doesn’t work with the general on a regular basis. Still, that sub is interacting with potential clients all the time so providing some incentives for referrals could generate some quality leads. Materials suppliers are another obvious source of referrals.

The less obvious complimentary business referral sources for a construction-related business would be companies that deal with real estate. Not just agents and brokers but apartment finders, commercial leasing agencies and developers. If you are a builder it doesn’t hurt to make yourself known to architects and designers and architects and designers would also find advantages to these same networks.

Using your imagination to uncover other complimentary business relationships yields more referral opportunities. And referrals are as good as gold.

There are a multitude of ways to differentiate your construction business from the pack. In these challenging economic times it often comes down to the selling points you identify that bring the work your way. However, this is exactly where construction businesses often fail to differentiate themselves at all, and instead make the mistake of blending themselves into a sea of sameness.

One example of that can be seen today in the green building arena. Many construction businesses are trying to somehow differentiate themselves from others by identifying themselves as green builders. But using green building as your selling point just because it is all the rage does little to differentiate you from your competitors. Sure, you ought to consider letting everyone know the kinds of green things you do, but unless you cut your teeth on green building you probably don’t have any more to crow about then thousands of others.

So how do you identify the selling points of your construction business that will differentiate it? You have to identify what truly makes you unique. What is it about your approach to building that sets you apart? How about your track record? Or, maybe you have awards that attest to your expertise. Whatever it is it will no doubt take some serious thought to uncover. So don’t just jump at the characteristics you think people are interested in since those selling points might not be very unique at all.

There are some tried and true characteristics that never seem to go out of date. But watch out here since many of them, like quality, are once again touted by all. Just about every builder or tradesman I’ve ever talked to boasts about their quality. Can they all be that good? No, and so that adds a challenge for those who truly are to find ways to not just say they deliver quality, but to prove it as well.

Here are some other, often overlooked characteristics that construction businesses might focus on to differentiate themselves.

• efficiency
• speed
• on-time performance
• within-budget performance
• experience

Also, don’t overlook the members of your team as selling points. If you have really good drywall hangers and exceptional plumbers who work with you, then they become points of differentiation. Identify these and there will be times when you will even pick up work simply because hiring you poses fewer headaches. Owners, generals, and developers don’t want to have to manage the details, that’s why they hire known quantities to do the work.

Once you identify the selling points of your construction business that will differentiate you from all the others, you should make a big deal about them. Talk them up, include them on your web site and in your written promotions. If you use advertising, get them in the ads. If you differentiate but don’t communicate you will just fade into the crowd.

It is a fact of life that we all get older and along with getting older we face the deleterious effects of aging. Particularly in construction, the knees, wrists, forearms, elbows, shoulders and feet start to rebel if we tax them too much.

The truth be known we own most of that. For years we didn’t warm-up before beginning work, we didn’t wear knee pads and we didn’t ask for help when picking up or carrying heavy things. There were many times when we used the wrong tools for the job because that’s what we had handy and we often didn’t bother with ear plugs, respirators, safety glasses, dust masks and gloves for that matter. We just forged ahead and got the job done.

Now, many of us are feeling the pain and we are not alone. The U.S. is entering a prolonged period the likes of which has never been seen. Various estimates report the “birth bubble” that occurred between 1945 and 1964 produced 76 million children that today account for 28 percent of the population. We are referred to as the “baby boomers” but there’s nothing baby and certainly nothing booming about us anymore. We’re just getting older and various types of people are trying to figure out how to sell stuff to us and pay for the staggering health care costs that are coming down the pike. Meanwhile huge numbers of us are still working but looking down the road and wondering what retirement is going to end up being like.

Construction business owners who have always kept a tight rein on company control are beginning to ask themselves, “What’s next?” And the answers just aren’t coming. If you spend some time reading the construction forums you’ll come across many posts where the one-person owner who’s feeling the pain is glancing around and not seeing anything golden about the upcoming years.

Of course it doesn’t have to be that way. Once we ‘fess-up and take ownership of the corners we’ve painted ourselves into we only need to wait for the paint to dry and then step out. The fact is that what we did in the past is just that. What’s more important is what we do now. So, without further delay, here is my list of things the sole proprietor can start doing today to make a brighter future. Each of you has to take it from there and figure out what direction you should go in.

• If you love what you’re doing, then keep doing it. Find ways to ease the burden of things you are finding to be more challenging. Suppose you decide that what you need is a helper. Think about the things that person could help you do, feel what it would be like to NOT have to run down three flights of stairs to get something from the truck. Fix that in your mind and pay close attention as you go through your days until the perfect person shows up. Then, hire them, pay them fairly, treat them well, and feel how great it is to not have to take the generator out of the truck all by yourself. If you hate book work then outsource the books. The time and energy you save will come back to you tenfold in new business because you will be focusing on the things that you do best.
• If you are weary of what you are doing then select a time when you can most afford to put things on hold. Do some creative scheduling so you open up a window of opportunity for two weeks away from the business, and then get away. Even if you just stay home, watch TV and go fishing, take some time to feel what it’s like to NOT be building. If after two weeks you’re feeling antsy and you have renewed vigor then take the advice above. Instead, if you are feeling uninspired and don’t want to get back at it then start planning for a different future. Take account of all your skills. Consider older skills that you haven’t used for awhile. Think about what you would rather be doing. Don’t let what you’ve been doing become the ONLY thing you can do. Then, imagine doing the new thing, feel what it would be like, and step out of that corner you’ve been in. Above all, banish fear and assume (know) you will succeed.

In the coming weeks there will be more on this topic. When you visit check out the new category “Fourth Quarter Strategies.”