Difference Between Running A Bus. And A Contracting Bus.

dirt diggler

I've heard from some waaaaaaaay wiser/experienced than me that there is a difference (whether subtle or not, i dunno) between running a business ... and running a contracting business --- is it the "approach"


I've never run any other kind --- but i am curious to that "theory" if you will


talk!

mahlere

Yes, most business owners carefully assess the situation and approach it with some basic knowledge and understanding of what is requried to succeed.

Most contracting business owners approach it with $10 in the bank and the inability to get a job working for someone who know's what they are doing.


Is that what they meant?

dirt diggler

no ....

the comparisons I am talking about came from two very successful contractors ...

mahlere

dirt,

any idea on what they were referring to? or are you stumped as well?

dirt diggler

one said "yeah he [the person they were talking about] is an excellent businessman ... but lacks the skills in contracting"

that statement has stuck with me for awhile ...

only thing i can think of is that it related to the importance (profit-wise) of completing jobs within your budgeted timeframe

but isn't that true with any other business????

ugh, maybe i should just go ask the guys that said that

Gordo

Is this the owner/operator vs. paper contractor comparison?

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Looks like some pros were here.

Gordo

Yeah, and keep us posted. Thanks.

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Looks like some pros were here.

mahlere

I think there is something to that. Contracting, like other businesses, is about human interactions and not just numbers. They may have been talking about his ability to deal with numbers and know what needs to be done. But he may have been unable to deal with the personal element and how to do what needs to be done.

They may also assume that because his background is not contracting, he won't be able to be successful. However, some of the most successful contractors i know, in any trade, have little to know actual skill as a contractor. But they are able to recruit, retain and motiviate people to a degree I could never dream of.

I would be interested in knowing what they were referring to.

dirt diggler

I will ask next time i see them

Mahlere --- i think you're prolly on the same wavelength though

mahlere

dirt,

i'm all over the universe, i always end up on the same wavelength eventually

dirt diggler

no --- not at all --- i do know that much

realpurty2

Dirt, it could have been several major differences they were referring to.

Retail products versus Services is one major issue because anyone who has sold retail before knows you only have to have a good product and it will sell itself, whereas in the service industry, you have to work at it much harder since your selling something invisible at the time of sale. I can hold a product in my hand and decide if it's right for me...but when buying services, I have to feel secure that I'm spending it on the right person. As contractors, our main product is "trust", without it, the service never gets sold.

Another very major one is the root of why I am even around this forum.. Contracting businesses are not like any other.. you can't just know and have business skills to survive in this field, you must know the trades involved in your business. I came into this with a fairly solid business background, but zero contracting experience. I found out very quickly that just knowing the business end was not enough because I couldn't make a schedule that was workable in the field for sh*t. How could I if I had no idea how long the escavation crew needed before the framers came in? Without knowing the trades, I couldn't tell if the guys were working fast and on target or if they were standing around looking busy here and there. Heaven forbid if a vendor was out of a certain item so substitions had to be made. I think you get my point. And on the reverse of that, Ken knows the trades inside and out but he had no clue anything about business beyond "I go work, I get paid, end of subject."

To own and operate a solid and stable contracting business you have to be on top of everything...simutaneously. You have to know your trade skills, be able to jump in and fix problems when they arise, keep everything on schedule and on budget, take responsbility for everything that goes right or wrong on a jobsite whether you did it or not AND be able to manage every aspect of the business end all at the same time.
It's a huge responsibility for even the most seasoned and skilled ones out there.

And to anyone who has truly mastered the chaos... share your knowledge, there is enough work to go around.

__________________
Woman in a Man's World.

mahlere

I'm a loyal slave to my chaos...

realpurty2

I truly think each and every one of us is... no matter how big our ego's and attitudes.

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Woman in a Man's World.

dirt diggler

yep i think you're right in a lotta that post above

boman47k

I think this says a lot. Dealing with the client and the sub/subs can really stretch capabilities thin. When we had a our little textile operation, we got a taste of this. Of course our "subs" were our employees. And yes we did have to know how garments went together and the order in which the different parts were to be assembled.

Mike Finley

For me competitors are the biggest problem, not because they are such worthy adversaries, but just the opposite, sometimes the contracting business for me is like being forced to being handcuffed to your competitors and having to navigate through a mine field every day, only problem is you look over and you're handcuffed to a retarded kangaroo, named "jumpy crack baby", and he sees that little mound of dirt in front of you both that you are trying to avoid and he wants to pull you with him as he jumps on it as hard as he can.

dirt diggler

hmmm ... i liken it to owning a horse

you feed it
you groom it
you give it exercise
hell, you name it
you pet it
you take it places

but you walk around the wrong side ... and bam --- it kicks you right in the head

Double-A

Think of a business. Almost any service business. Now, pack that business up, and move it down the street for 3 days, then across town for 6 weeks and then back down the street for 12 weeks.

Now, think of a manufacturer, almost any manufacturer. Now, start building your product one at a time and customize it for the place it will be used, the family it will be used by, and do this with 7 different people that will do 7 of the 12 steps involved in producing this product.

Now, combine the two. Congratulations, you now have a mobile taco stand with subcontractors for labor.

You want fries with that?

But wait, we're talking contracting.. so add about 5-10k a year in insurance, an average education for the labor pool of 10th grade, 17-20 years old as the average maturity level, about 4-5 regulatory agencies (local, state and federal), and everyone with a pickup truck and a toolbelt as competition.

Oh, and two to three multinational corporations with multi-million dollar advertising budgets telling your clients they can 'do it themselves'.

Now you're starting to become a contracting business. And you thought raising kids was hard. Almost anything is cake from a business standpoint when compared to this business.

BTW, raising kids is still harder. If parents were paid fairly for parenting, none of us could afford a mom or a dad, let alone both.

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"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

dirt diggler