Most out of work commercial construction men and women have found themselves out of a job, through no fault of their own, and may be considering starting their own construction business.
Most contracting businesses start out as owner/operated, after being convinced they can operate a business better than their former employer. But accomplished as they may be at what they’ve done, the new business owner may not be prepared to tackle the range of responsibilities forced on them by managing a construction business. Most businesses encounter the 43% four-year failure rate as reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Owning and operating your own business may be tantalizing, but it can become the one of the toughest jobs you have ever encountered. You may not have someone looking over your shoulder, but you may have the most demanding boss of all: You. You’ll be asking yourself the hard questions, judge your own performance, etc. Its low respect and no pay for you in the beginning, but with perseverance and determination all things can work out.
Our main obstacle when starting our commercial construction business was me, the owner. It was hard to trust others and allow myself to be dependent upon those I hired. Let’s face it, I cannot do it all nor do I want to, so once I faced the facts about delegating work, everything seemed to fall into place. Let me clarify, there are still obstacles every day, but by putting the right people in the right places our business runs great and is very productive.
Final Word: Before starting out on your own, make certain the industry can provide you with enough work. Find the right people, empower and motivate them, then get out of their way. Manage, but don’t micro-manage!
Jack West
Owner