How to Plan for Success

Many people go into the construction business to build wealth and enjoy the life they want. Those who follow basic business-building rules for success achieve their goal. But those who don’t follow these rules always struggle to get ahead and never achieve the level of success they deserve or should attain.

True Freedom is Wealth

To be a successful business owner, you must make a lot of money, acquire growing investments every month and have the ability to buy and invest in business opportunities without worrying about finding the money to do what you want to do. When your business makes significant profits year after year, you’ll have enough money to hire the best people, acquire great customers, set your company apart, stop selling low price, invest in the latest technology and equipment and afford a management team to run your company. All of this will allow you to enjoy the benefits of business ownership; take plenty of time off; give back to the community, church or family; and focus on priorities that will multiply revenue, grow assets and increase your effectiveness.

Wealthy business owners want their companies to continually grow and expand. They are never content with maintaining a level of comfort or status quo. The more money they make, the more good they are able to do. When your business struggles, you never have enough time and money to give to others, help those in need or grow your company the right way.

Customers don’t want to hire cash-strapped companies to do their work for them. When you are restricted by a lack of cash flow and profits in your business, you feel boxed in and can’t perform to the levels you desire.

Stop settling. Stop accepting less than great results from yourself and your team. Stop blaming things on others, the economy, the government or your competitors. Your results are a reflection of what you allow and want to happen. If you aren’t winning enough profitable work in your market, it’s because you don’t do anything innovative to go after new customers and project types. If your field employees aren’t accountable and responsible, it’s because you let them off the hook. If you aren’t making enough money, it’s because of how you manage your money, track your job costs, estimate your jobs, use the same subcontractors and suppliers too often or mismanage your jobs and contracts.

What Do You Want?

Ninety-five percent of business owners never achieve the wealth or freedom they deserve and desire. They just continue doing their trade according to what they know best with the same size crew and small staff. Without hiring new people or finding better customers, they continue micromanaging their operations, remain overworked and continue to be stressed about razor-thin margins. They know this restrictive business strategy won’t allow them to reach their goals, but to get out of their rut, they realize they’ll have to do something uncomfortable, take some risks, hire professional managers and change how they do business.

To achieve the success, profits and freedom you deserve, you must decide what you want. When you don’t know exactly what you want, you can’t focus on what you must do to achieve those results, and you also can’t develop plans to create the future you desire. When I work with construction business owners, the first thing we do is make a list of what the business owner wants to happen during the next three to five years. The key focus is “continual upward increasing actions” that elevate you through step-by-step measurable progress.

You must identify your vision and make a list of what you want in your business and personal life. Dream big. Be specific—”make more money” is not a target. “Make $500,000 of taxable income per year” is a target. Write down exactly what you want during the next three to five years using this list of targets and goals:

• Size, sales revenue, growth, profits and dividends
• Equity, wealth, finances, investments and cash flow
• Customers, markets, location, project and contract types
• Services, contract revenue sources, ongoing revenue
• Strategic partners, “BIZ” opportunities and joint ventures
• Owner’s role, organizational structure and management team
• Project management and supervision
• Employees and training
• Field operations, productivity and tracking
• Equipment owned, revenue, profitability and management
• Estimating and pre-construction
• Accounting, financial management and technology

The first step to getting what you want is to know what you want. Then you can visualize the actions needed to attain your goals. Review your list often, and start making positive decisions about what you need to do to make the list become a reality. Email [email protected] to get a copy of “Goals & Targets” to help you get started.