Table of Contents

1. Do you have what it takes?
• Essential traits
• Initiative
• Passion
• Stress tolerance
• Reliability (follow-through)
• Willingness to work while others play
• Unyielding positive attitude
• Mental toughness
• Attention to detail
• Sense of urgency
• Self control
• Thirst for knowledge
• Ability to get along with others
2. Your role as owner of your construction firm
• Leadership (Setting the course)
• Vision to reality: The required path
• Leaders and managers are different than each other
• Tame the ego
• Leadership in times of uncertainty
• Manager vs owner/shareholder
• The entrepreneur mindset
• Managing risk
• Establishing your corporate culture
• Striving for excellence
• Hiring the right people
• Knowing your industry
• Coordinating resources
• Keeping in touch
• Being there
• Identifying objectives
• Measuring results
• Marketing
• Little habits with big payoffs
• Getting involved
3. Sales, marketing and business development
• Marketing materials
• Publicity
• Proposals and presentations
• Staying ahead of the pack
• Impressions
• New customers vs old
• Reaching out
• Data mining
4. Creating customer loyalty
• Budget
• Quality
• Relationships
• Schedule
5. Business considerations
• The corporation
• Capital equipment
• Purchasing
• Collection
• Dealing with the IRS
• Contractor failure
6. Controlling your finances
• Working capital
• Projecting cash needs
• Understanding financial statements
• Dishonest employees
• Where is the money?
7. Bidding
• Qualifying to bid
• Approach to bidding
• Pricing
• Cost databank
• Pre-bid site inspection
• Warranty considerations
• Compiling your bid proposal
• Reverse bidding/auction
8. Building it
• Registration and licensing
• Environmental studies
• Subcontracting the work
• Photographs
• Pre-construction meetings
• Before you start a project
• Project overhead/general conditions expense
• Managing project overhead/general conditions cost
• Warranties
• Mechanic's liens
• Lien waivers
• Closing out the project
9. Accounting and record keeping
• Certified public accountant
• Audited financial statements
• Bookkeeper
• Cash vs accrual accounting procedures
• Percentage of completion vs completed contract reporting
• General and administrative expense
• Fixed vs controllable G&A expense
• Cost accounting
• Financial statements
• The income statement
• The balance sheet
• Reports
• Billings
• State sales tax
10. Contract terms and conditions
• Types of agreement
• Requirements for a binding agreement
• A few generalizations about contracts
• Know the project owner
• Getting paid
• Commencement/completion dates
• Owner delay
• Contractor delay
• Changes in the work
• Constructive change
• Differing conditions (Changed conditions)
• What to do upon discovering differing conditions
• Insurance
• Indemnification
• Warranty obligations
• Limitation of liability
• Governing law
• Dispute resolution
• Contract termination by the owner
11. You and your employees
• Who are the "right" people?
• Hiring the "right" people
• Good hiring practices
• The interview
• New employee orientation
• Non-compete non-disclose agreements
• Managing employees for the long term
• Relationships
• Autonomy
• Recognition
• Employee's return on investment
• Employee incentive plans
• Benefits packages
• Trust
• Work/life balance
• Work fulfillment
• Training
• Job security
• Internal conflict
• Openness and communication
• Responsibility vs job description
• Evaluating employee performance
• Employee termination
• Conducting the termination meeting
• Employee handbook
• Professional employer organizations
12. You and your subcontractors
• Independent contractor or employee?
• Subcontractor qualification checklist
• The contractor-subcontractor agreement: Special considerations
• Pass-through or flow-down clause
• Scope of work
• Work as directed
• Changes to the subcontract
• Conditions for payment to subcontractor
• Pay-if-paid
• Delay damages
• Retainage
• Calculation of payment amount
• Terms for final payment
• Indemnity
• Termination for convenience
• Subcontractor default
• Notice of default
• Cure
• Contractor alternatives
• Continuation of performance
• Dispute resolution
• Termination of subcontract
• Merger
13. Banking and finance
• Your business plan
• Sources of financing
• Borrowing criteria
• Managing credit
14. Insurance and bonds
• Insurance
• Worker's compensation insurance
• Employer's liability insurance
• All-risk builder's risk insurance
• Commercial general liability insurance
• When a loss occurs
• Insurance administration
• Certificates of insurance
• Waiver of subrogation
• Construction surety bonds
15. Specializing in chain store construction
• Improved profit potential
• Continuing relationships
• Chain operators favor niche contractors
• Fewer parties in the mix
• Reliable cost database
• Reduced risk
• So why are so many contractors missing out on the chain store niche?
• A note about the construction industry as a whole

Contents of Construction Business Management: What Every Construction Contractor, Builder & Subcontractor Needs to Know, 2006.