P.A.M Strategy
Production First
They have a job of two from friends and relatives and they put on their tool bag and go to work.
There is a perception - They have very little or no overhead and since they want to make a name for themselves they work real cheap.
Some contractors - Refuse to markup materials or sub-contractor invoices because they want to save their customers money. Everybody needs to benefit from all transactions to keep things fair. If the contractor spends time, effort and expertise they deserve to be paid.
Some Big Hearted - Good Natured Contractors labor under the illusion that if they work real hard and keep their prices low their business will magically prosper. The reality is they own a JOB, with little or no health insurance, no retirement fund and no benefits!
Accounting Second
When Tax Forms - Nasty letters, assorted mail and phone calls from the Washington State Department of Revenue, Labor & Industries, Employment Security Department and the IRS 940 and 941 notices pile up you will start thinking about your bookkeeping problem.
Bounce 20+ Checks - Pay bank fees and bounce check fees to the stores. Go to another bank and repeat the process twice more.
The Bookkeeping Path - Do-It-Yourself / Get Stuck / Take QuickBooks Class / Still Stuck / Hire Cheap Bookkeeper / Lose Sleep / Get Aggravated / Fix The Aggravation and put a Bookkeeping system in place and start making money!
Marketing Last
When The Low Hanging Fruit - Friends and relatives with "honey-Do-Projects" are done they wait for referrals to come rolling in and yet for some unknown reason the phone hardly ever rings.
When The Phone Rings - It is a "Customer" Not a "Client". There is a HUGE difference between them. A "Customer" is looking for an "honest contractor" also known as someone who works for less than dirt wages and will throw in lots of extras at NO CHARGE!
Business Cards - Are printed and words like "Quality" "Best" "Low Prices" which means nothing because Quality and speed are the standard operating procedure now. The question is what makes this company different from all the other contractors? What is their USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?
M.A.P Strategy
Marketing First
Stop, Look, Listen And Think - What are you good at and what do they love to pay you money to do for them? What jobs have you done that made a positive difference in people lives? What projects did you have so much fun doing that time seemed to fly by?
Take the information - Outlined above and write a story to describe the people you enjoy working for because they are your "Prime Customers" and they are your target market.
Document - The demographic and psychographic profiles of the people you enjoy working for and why.
Develop Your Business Plan - Using the Eleven Steps Program and pay close attention to the marketing section because that is where you will decide what niche of the construction market you will dominate. Know that in time your company will become legendary to such a degree you clients will be raving fans and referrals will be part of your marketing strategy. Nordstrom has been very successful at this and it would be wise to learn from the leaders.
Accounting Next
Outsource Your Accounting - To a firm that specializes in Construction Bookkeeping and Accounting because it is a chore for you and in most cases we can do the job for much less than an in-house bookkeeper because we have a system.
But Wait There's More- We have remote servers which means you can have 24/7 access to your QuickBooks desktop version
Learn To Ready Your Financial Reports - We can guide you on which reports to pay attention too and why certain reports can make you more money than other ones. Learn More about the KPI Reports Here
Production Last
The Final Stage - To launching your successful construction firm. This is where all your hard work pays off. At this point you have some basic operation manuals in place for your field and office employees. It is the document that answers the same questions you will be asked 100's of times. It is the Wikipedia of your company. "This is Who We Are And This Is How Things Are Done Here".
Now You Have - A road map to success and all you have left is to assemble the tools, equipment, employees and setup your trucks and/or vans and go to work!
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