missing jigsaw piece

How to develop a competitive advantage

Marketing, Profitability

A lot of people (including me) talk about competitive advantage and how it is vital to have one for the ongoing success of your business.  This is very true, but what is the BEST sort of competitive advantage to have?

In a highly competitive industry like construction, it can be challenging for small businesses to stand out and establish a competitive advantage. However, with the right strategies and mindset, a small construction company can gain a foothold in the market and develop a competitive edge that can help them thrive and grow. In this article, we will discuss some effective ways to develop a competitive advantage for a small construction company. Click on the article to read more

tape measures as a graph

The Importance of Back-Costing

Financial Management, Owner, Profitability, The numbers

Do you know what the actual gross margin you make from a job as soon as its finished, or for bigger jobs how you are tracking at each stage? Or are you so busy you just rush to the next job and hope the previous job delivers enough profit to stay in business?

Tracking how a job performs from a profit perspective compared to a quote or estimate is called back-costing, or job-costing as Americans call it, and is vital to maintaining a profitable company and to help you achieve your goals.

Man with pen writing a business plan

How to Manage Variations

Financial Management, Owner, Profitability, The numbers

As the old saying goes, “The only certainties in life are death and taxes”. In the building industry that should read, “The only certainties in life are death and taxes AND VARIATIONS”.

There is seldom a project completed without some change to the original plan or scope and this can lead to work being done that is not well documented or billed to the client on a timely basis. Variations are therefor a major potential cause of profit leak from a business, and also disputes with a client. It is essential that you, your client and your build team clearly understand what variations are and you have a reliable system to capture and process them through the job management and billing areas of your business.

All Blacks core values

Act Like The All Blacks

Profitability, Your team

One of the main foundation stones I help my clients develop is a written set of core values, the company culture. I believe it is a vital element of a successful company and one that is often left to chance, or ignored altogether. Get it wrong and it can help to drive away your best customers and your best team members. You may have had one of these situation in the past:

A team member with a bad attitude who constantly complained about your company and its managers. 
You been part of a team with a person who didn’t work as hard as the rest
You worked for a company in which one old-timer is not required to follow the rules or learn new systems and technology
Any sound familiar? These people drag down the atmosphere to their level and make it unpleasant to be around them. To develop a happy, productive and positive company, everyone has to work together, follow the same rules and maintain positive attitudes.

Taking some lessons from top sports teams can be the best place to learn. Read on….

The Hidden Cost of the Minimum Wage Increases

Profitability, Your team

Minimum wage is increasing to $20 per hour with effect from 1 April 2021 which represents another 5.8% increase, or a 31.1% increase over the last 5 years.  Unfortunately, this is about 3 times the rate of inflation over the same period, and this rate of increase is liable to continue until such time as the Minimum wage and the Living Wage are in alignment.  Or, in other words, someone who was on minimum wage in April 2016 of $15.25, would now be being paid $16.42 if they had received CPI increases each year. 

Whatever your political view-point on this, there are 2 key issues for employers:Minimum wage is increasing to $20 per hour with effect from 1 April 2021 which represents another 5.8% increase, or a 31.1% increase over the last 5 years.  Unfortunately, this is about 3 times the rate of inflation over the same period, and this rate of increase is liable to continue until such time as the Minimum wage and the Living Wage are in alignment.  Or, in other words, someone who was on minimum wage in April 2016 of $15.25, would now be being paid $16.42 if they had received CPI increases each year. 

Whatever your political view-point on this, there are 2 key issues for employers: Read on….