General Contractor or Hands on Owner,builder,framer,etc.
I think the Title explains itself, but I would like to open this up for discussion. I have been in construction for 20 years, a contractor for 16 of those. I have a little different way of doing business than quite a few other builders that I am around and know pretty well, allthough we don’t really get in much of a discussion like this.
My question is as I have built up my business, and because I started my business as a subcontract framer, I always of course leaned toward the framing jobs. Also as I gained experience and widened my scope of work, I now do more than half of my work as the general contractor, and the other half as a sub to other contractors.
I still do much of the work myself on all of my jobs, and because of this I feel like I limit myself a lot of times. I am curious how many other contractors have been in this same spot. Because I still subcontract to other builders I am in a strange place alot of times, where the customer home owner will understand that I am a general contractor myself, and by the end of the job they will be relying on my judgement rather than the builder( which is not the best place to be )
I guess to finally get to the question is do I ditch all of the subcontract work, all though it has served me well and kept me busy alot of times when other guys where not. I really don’t advertise at all other than business cards, no lettering on my truck no advertising etc.Mostly because I do both work for myself and others.
In other builders experience have they made the change to just a general contractor and has it served you well, or is it in any way a regret.
Replies
I really don't advertise at all other than business cards, no lettering on my truck no advertising etc.Mostly because I do both work for myself and others.
The reason you find yourself in a subcontracting role is due to that fact. Advertising, more than any thing else, is about consciously creating public awareness of your companies existence.
For instance, the jobs where you come in as a sub, but by the end of the job are acting in the capacity of the general, with a comprehensive advertising/marketing plan you might have been asked for a bid as the general at the beginning of the project and so increased your potential for profit on that particular project and your customer base for refferals.
No offense, but I have never understood the "stealth" contractor logic , no lettering on your truck? No advertising? Why ? Potential clients who would otherwise contact you for a bid can't look you up as "the guy with the gray truck who was working on 3rd street" That's money and clients you are leaving on the table.
Also, and more importantly, what type of marketing/contact plan do you have in place for your previous customers ? That is a gold mine of unbelievable size. They know you, hopefully they like you, they have friends that need work done, etc. Your previous clients should hear from you at a minimum of 3 times a year, we contact ours (postcard, coupon, form letter, etc) every 90 days and refferals account for about 60-70 % of our yearly revenue.
I wouldn't ditch the sub work under any circumstances,if you start bidding up against the generals you work for now, they will ditch you eventually but by then you will be well on the way to being their competition. You would be surprised how much "invisible" work a good ad plan can turn up.
Thanks for the advice.
I regular basis I work for other contractor's that depend on me in a big way. It is almost scary.
a lack of knowledge that is hard to comprehend.
I have been Naive--Probably.
I guess I never upset the way things were going is because. In order to stay busy and make a comfortable living I never had to advertise. I worked through at least two or three recessions, and never new they existed.
That is why I ask though is because I am smart enough to know I don't know it all!
Thanks again,
Rob
I regular basis I work for other contractor's that depend on me in a big way. It is almost scary.
a lack of knowledge that is hard to comprehend.
Well, one way to look at that is as a huge competitive advantage for you IF you can clearly communicate the difference in expertise between you as a GC, and them as a GC. It's a bit tricky to do that without looking snarky.
The other side of that coin is that there is a lot that goes into being a "good" GC day in and day out that is really, really not obvious at all. Kind of a little "if it was easy everyone would be doing it"....lol
I have been Naive--Probably.
"Naive but refreshing" is my tagline. It wasn't in reference to your question at all. It just goes at the bottom of all my posts automatically. So no offense I hope.=)
No the way I took your post , is it was a good kick in the butt for me. No offence taken.
Well, one way to look at that is as a huge competitive advantage for you IF you can clearly communicate the difference in expertise between you as a GC, and them as a GC. It's a bit tricky to do that without looking snarky.
I am not sure of the definition of snarky, but I agree I end up in a position I shouldn't be in, and still be honest and open with the G.C. I am dealing with.
A customer last week told me that if they need good information, or contacts they come to me directly. I am not doing that G.C. any favors by letting that happen. I find that home owners trust me and if they think they're getting fed a line of bs they come to me to try to get the truth.
Very uncomfortable. in that situation I usually tell the G.C. what was asked of me.
I don't need it!
My job I guess is to be a better salesman of myself, the substance is there, just not as much of the salesmanship, confidence
Thanks-Rob