The foundation of this article came in part from an article by Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch and Nitin Nohria published in the Harvard Business Review.

I am a huge fan of Michael E. Porter because of his grasp and understanding of how business works and his ability to convert complex business strategies that anyone can easily understand.

During the time when we owned and operated construction contracting companies Michael E. Porter's five forces model opened my eyes and provided lots of insight regarding how and why things changed in the building market.

Seven Unique Shocks Every Contractor Experiences

Shock #01 - You Can't Run Your Construction Contracting Company

Between the external demands of customers, clients, bankers, payroll, tax returns, vendors, suppliers and everybody and everything outside your construction company you do not have time to run your construction company.

When You Hired Construction Workers And The Bookkeeper Things Got Real Interesting! You would not be briefed on everything because the first few times your staff tried to tell you something you were already overloaded, so you growled at them and from that point forward they decided not to tell you anything unless they had too.

Shock #02 - Passing Out Orders Is Very Costly.

O.K. you are the boss, the owner of the construction firm and it is your name on the sign. You can be:

• "Super Star With Helpers" and struggle financially and emotionally with your contracting company your entire life.

• "Leader With Vision" building a contracting company everyone will want to be a part of and do it like you are going after Moby Dick, in a row boat, with tartar sauce!

Shock #03 - To Know What Is Going On You Need To Be A Detective.

No matter what you think you are the "enemy" management" greedy business person" and more choice words that I will not mention. Employees will withhold information from you in an attempt to get even or exert control. "We Live In A World Of What Is...Not What Should Be" - Randalism.

Shock #04 - You Are Always On Stage Giving A Performance And Being Judged

• Everything you say and does as well as what you don't say is judged

• The way you dress, eat and thousands of more things about you judged

• Take a lesson from the great leaders of history and never let them see you sweat

• “As a contractor you take over where your employee's parents left off” - Randalism

Shock #05 - Don't Oversocialized With Your Employees.

Familiarity breeds contempt, if employees get to know you, they will see your faults, and it will diminish your authority in their eyes.

Shock #06 - You Are Only Human.

Take care, get plenty of rest, drink lots of healthy fluids, exercise and don't let anything keep you up at night.

Shock #07 - You Need The Truth About Owning And Operating A Construction Company.

To get to the truth about your construction company, you must go on a journey which is Four Levels Deep and like most successful strategies in life, it is simple but not easy.

Listen to this Podcast for more…

If you are Thinking About Outsourcing Your Contractors Bookkeeping Services you are invited to download a guide to finding the right contractor bookkeeping service to fit your particular situation at www.FastEasyAccounting.com/hs

Call Sharie now 206-361-3950 or [email protected] and schedule your no charge one-hour consultation.