About this item
Highlights
- Less than half of construction firms are still in business after four years.
- About the Author: Nick B. Ganaway started and then operated his own construction business for 25 years.
- 224 Pages
- Business + Money Management, Management
- Series Name: Rsmeans
Description
Book Synopsis
Less than half of construction firms are still in business after four years. Make sure your company thrives with essential - and very readable - guidance from a pro with 25 years' success. Find out what it takes to build all aspects of a business that's profitable, enjoyable, and enduring.Here are just a few of the things you'll learn from this book:
- The duties of the owner of a successful construction business
- Essential terms and conditions to include and exclude in contracts
- Commandments to follow to ensure you're paid what you're owed, including step-by-step change-order procedures to avoid disputes and non-payment
- Strict dos and don'ts of mechanics' liens - including when an owner goes bankrupt
- What must be done administratively before breaking ground on every project
- How to select, hire, and keep "golden" employees
- Effective marketing even the smallest contractor can afford
- How to identify the accountants, lawyers, and insurance agents that are right for you
- The what, when, where, and why of licensing and registration
- The advantages of specializing, including the opportunities in chain store construction
Whether you're a contractor, a key employee, a subcontractor, a student, or a facility executive, you'll find many ideas you can immediately add to your management and leadership toolbox. Adopting even a single one of them will pay dividends now and throughout your career.
From the Back Cover
In this book, the author, Nick B. Ganaway, shares what he has learned -- sometimes the hard way -- to help contractors, builders, and subcontractors minimize the pain and risk of operating a construction business -- especially in their first few (riskier) years. While not every risk can be eliminated in construction, or any field, it can be managed if its elements are identified and understood.
Throughout the chapters, Nick speaks directly to the construction business owner as an equal, using his own experience to show the risks in various situations and how to avoid them. His message is, "based on my own 25 years' experience as a general contractor, this is what I believe you must know and do if you are going to survive in this business for the long term." From the construction company owner's role, to finding and retaining the right key employees, to marketing the company, there is strong emphasis on the "human factor" so crucial to success in construction.
The book also makes the case for specialization, or niche contracting, a strategy that allows a contractor to become more knowledgeable in a field, be seen as an insider, become sought after, and achieve a more profitable business.
About the Author
Nick B. Ganaway started and then operated his own construction business for 25 years. Prior experience includes several years as a construction manager for Shell Oil Company. He has a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Nick lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he currently consults with contractors and other small business owners. You may visit his Web site at:
www.constructionbusinessmanagement.com