By late this year the new consumer protection measures that have been drafted as part of the Building Amendment Act 2013 come into force. Are you ready for this from a practical point of view? Do you have the disclosure documents, checklists and processes established in your business to both comply with the law and…
There are two distinct sides to the health & safety issue in a construction business: ticking the “We have a H&S system” box, and actually making it an active part of daily operations. Paying for an off-the-shelf system and putting a sign up is a good start, but it will do little to prevent accidents…
Anyone who saw Fair Go on the 21st of May would have seen the segment on the Certified builder from Smith & Sons and the unhappy client. The client was complaining about a bad outcome on a building project and also unhappy that Certified Builders was backing the builder and not brokering (read, paying for)…
What makes a company great? Jim Collins, author of the book “Good to Great“, sums it up by saying that great companies “first get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. People are not your most important asset. The right people are.”…
I started this blog with the intention of focusing on ways in which a business can improve its competitive advantage. To keep on this track this post is about one of the fundamental strategies that provides the cornerstone of developing a sustainable competitive advantage over your competitors. That strategy is, FOCUS. Jim Collins in his…
The Christchurch Press reported yesterday that despite construction being very busy, small to mid sized businesses in the industry are still going bust. See the article here: http://tinyurl.com/my2y4oc Should you be worried? Probably. If not worried, you should at least be aware that things are not all glittering out there and you should look at…
The working capital in your business is the net amount of liquid assets you have in the business, ie. those that can be converted into cash soon; certainly within the next quarter or so. To calculate your working capital, find your most recent balance sheet showing your assets, liabilities and net worth. Next, subtract your…
Details matter. Maybe they don’t matter to you, but chances are they matter to your clients, or your prospective clients. And frankly, that’s more important than what your opinion is. Will they notice that typo on page 3 of your proposal? Will they notice you turn up 10 minutes late for the appointment without calling…
The use of an “education based” marketing and sales process can be way more effective than the traditional quotation/negotiation process. This is especially true when your customer is in the residential market and so more emotionally involved with the outcome. By “education based” marketing I mean giving away useful information and advice in the earliest…
To move from where you are in business now to a better place requires change. Change in mindset, change in the way you do things and maybe even change in the mix of people you have working for you. Change is a necessary (and good) thing and something I deal with as part of what…