Transitioning to Run Your Own Construction Business

Question:

I attended your seminar this year on improving field productivity and enjoyed it.

I work for a commercial masonry contractor with 50 to 100 employees. The owner is moving toward getting out. I have worked for him for more than twenty years, and he has put me in a position to take over the business.

I have worked my way up the ranks and am now in this transition period from worker to foreman to project manager. I am a systems guy-I worked for McDonalds for five years throughout high school, where I learned the value of systems. I have been trying to get more and more systems in place here, and it is an uphill battle. The owner and our head estimator are “old school,” and my systems sound like OK ideas to them, but when it comes time to follow-through and implement the systems, the support falls down, and it seems like a waste of time and paper to them.

We have a great young group of foremen, and I am excited about the future, but I have a different opinion about what the company will look like. Being brought up through the ranks, I don’t have much “business” experience, but I have a lot of management skills and ideas. I am forty-four years old, and I want to be sensitive to their style, but I see lots of ways we can improve. We are doing a couple of the things you talk about, but we have a long way to go, and I’m eager for the systems to be in place. Do you have any advice for me in this transition period I find myself in?

Jim Greshem
Master Masonry

Answer:

If the “Old Guys” don’t want to change, they won’t, especially if they are the owners! If you were in charge, you could get the guys to follow the systems. But with others in positions of power, their style will win out every time.

I recommend you try to accelerate the ownership take-over so you will get the power you need to make the changes you want.

In the meantime, I recommend you get involved in your masonry and builders associations. Attend every convention and educational conference you can, and start to learn what it takes to make a profit in the construction business. Also checkout the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA), and get involved in their educational resources to understand the numbers. If you invest as little as five hours a week learning the business, reading books, attending seminars and listening to CDs,  you will be ready to make the move to ownership  in a year. 

Good luck!
George 

Construction Business Owner, June 2010