- Posted by on January 21, 2010
The construction industry is rapidly changing. Technology has taken us down new paths, providing new ways to run our business and reach potential clients. At the same time, many of those potential clients we are trying to reach are struggling to pay their bills. Other potential clients can’t get the financing they need to do the work they want.
In the current business climate, the only construction-related businesses that will survive are those that focus on their education – learning what works, what doesn’t work, what’s new.
Based on our phone calls and emails from contractors across the country, many construction companies throughout the US and Canada are succeeding now by doing just that. They are investing in their education. From that investment, they learned they need strong marketing and advertising programs to survive, so they ramped up their marketing and advertising programs. They are surviving, and some are even thriving.
You can do the same. There is a great deal of valuable, free information available on the Internet. There is even more valuable information available for purchase. Find it and continue your education. If you live in the northeast, you are fortunate to be near the JLC LIVE conference that will be held in Providence, Rhode Island March 24 through the 27, where you’ll have access to some of the best construction-industry instructors in the country. And you’ll meet many contractors who are succeeding now. They’ll be there because they are still learning and still growing.
It takes time and it takes money to continue your business education. When you are scrambling to keep your business alive, it’s difficult to invest the time and money, but that’s also when it is most crucial. When you make the investment, the return can be a successful construction business - and that’s what you want.
Michael Stone of Camas, Washington, has more than four decades of experience in the building and remodeling industry. He is author of Markup and Profit; A Contractor’s Guide, published by Craftsman Book Co, and his second book, Profitable Sales, A Contractor's Guide was released in 2007. Michael offers Coaching and Consulting services for construction companies throughout the U.S., as well as products for business management, and is a frequent speaker at national and regional construction related events and will be speaking at JLC LIVE in Providence. www.markupandprofit.com
