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Contractor Newsletter

Here's a brief glance at what you'll find in the May/June issue...

Construction Success Story: Family Business Squabbles Speak to Future Opportunities
Initially, the owner of a homebuilding and rehab company in a historically lucrative suburban area was glad when his son and daughter decided to join the family business. Yet his happiness turned to dismay when his two offspring almost immediately set to bickering.

When it Comes to Diversifying, Look Before you Leap! - May 2008
You’ve trimmed all the visible fat from your operations and improved efficiency as much as you can. Yet your bottom line still isn’t where you want it to be. So now you’re thinking about diversifying into a new market or service to improve your bottom line.

Generate, Authenticate, Substantiate: Winning the Change Order Game
It’s a rare, if nonexistent, construction project that goes exactly as planned. That’s why savvy contractors know how to play the change order game. What are the keys to victory? In short, you’ve got to generate, authenticate and substantiate.

4 Reasons to Engage in Some Midyear Tax Planning
Although you probably have plenty on your plate at the moment, don’t let that fact keep you from engaging in some midyear tax planning. For starters, you’ll be making your life easier come year end when you’ll really need to start thinking about taxes. Want some more specific reasons? Here are four.

Recent NLRB Rulings Settle Long-Standing Litigation
Five recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rulings settle long-standing litigation. The decisions came about by close margins — many were decided by 3-2 votes. And, for the most part, they favor open-shop contractors.

Articles

Don’t Count on Profitability: Cash Flow Management Often Matters More
More construction companies go out of business because they run out of cash than because they don’t show a profit, according to the Construction Financial Management Association. What this means is that cash flow management often matters more than profitability.

Get a Handle on Your Supply Chain with Materials Management Software
A supplier bills you for materials, but you don’t have them and nobody knows whether they were ever actually delivered. The crew couldn’t keep the job on schedule without the supplies, so somebody went out and bought what was needed, and now you have to spend valuable time investigating what happened to the lost shipment.This is a sad tale, and one heard all too often on construction sites everywhere. Fortunately, today’s materials management software can help you get a handle on your supply chain — and save money in the process.

5 Ways to Strengthen Your Surety Relationship
Call it a “necessary evil” or “the cost of doing business.” However you want to look at it, for most contractors, bonding is a fact of life. One way to keep your bonding capacity strong is to maintain a strong relationship with your surety. Here are five ways to do just that.

Psst — Wanna Buy My Construction Company? ESOPs Offer Another Retirement Option
As many contractors near retirement, they begin to wonder what to do with their businesses. In many cases, the answer is to sell to a third party, transfer ownership to family or key employees, or liquidate. There is, however, another option worth considering — the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).

Construction Success Story: Contractor Creates a Total Communications Plan
The owner of a midsize construction company that specializes in commercial projects was growing increasingly concerned that many of her staff members felt left out of the communications loop. And she wanted to restore morale without blowing her budget on expensive technology. For guidance, she turned to her financial advisor and, together, they devised a cost-effective “total communications plan.”

Presentations

Preventing and Detecting Fraud in Construction Companies; 2005

The Revolving Surety World; 2005 Presented by Smith Currie & Hancock, LLP 

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