Tips on how construction business owners make it work.

Tips on how one construction business owner makes it work.

Tips on how one construction business owner makes it work.

John Bosma, president of Boz Electric, (an electrical contractor in Vernon, NJ, which is run by Bosma and his brother, Bill) has a good problem-a backlog of contract work. This “problem” was created when Bosma decided to focus on business development in late 2007 because he saw the negative shift in the economy coming. At the time, Boz Electric was doing some public sector work, which they called their “bread and butter” work. Since Bosma saw that the private sector was going to get pinched by the economy, he positioned his firm to compete against contractors who were going after low-bid public sector jobs.   The Boz Solution  Bosma and his team developed a comprehensive business development plan focused on customer relationship retention and new...

In the six years since co-founding BleekerVigesaa General Contractors in Brighton, CO, James Vigesaa has learned a lot about the industry and how to best place his business for success within it.

Fred Richards remembers his first construction boss’s favorite saying, “Builders are born, not made.” Richards believes it. “I guess I was born to be in construction and I’ve enjoyed it all my life,” Richards explains. His father founded Richards and Sons Construction Company in 1985. Twelve years ago he joined his father and brother in the business and, in 2003, became the sole owner. Since then, Richards has learned a lot about how to do business, including one tough financial mistake. “We were trying to bid work below cost to have work during difficult times,” Richards said. “To correct that, we established a better job cost system and realized that you cannot do work for less than it costs.” Richards counts surviving those tough times...

Throughout history, the construction business has proven to be the virtual and literal building block of economic growth for anyone willing to take on the challenges associated with it. For Denna Millhollin, owner of DC Construction Group in Fresno, CA, one of those challenges was competing effectively in a traditionally male dominated industry.  But she was determined to prove that the work ethic instilled in her by family, ambition and effective relationship marketing were irrefutable tools for success in any endeavor. It didn’t take long before the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) took notice and awarded her company the first of numerous contracts. Since that time, DC Construction has seen it’s project revenues grow by over 500 percent. With such rapid expansion, Millhollin was...

“We are defined by the deals we don’t do as much as the ones we do.”  This quote from James Wermers, Wermers Companies’ founder, still rings true for current president, Jeff Bunker, some fifty-one years later. “Turning down business is counterintuitive, however if a proposed product, contract or customer profile does not meet our underwriting, we decline,” Bunker said. “Our philosophy: One bad deal can erase ten good deals.” While staying true to the founder’s vision and values is of utmost importance to Bunker, that doesn’t mean he’s stuck in the past. In fact, one aspect of the future is of particular interest. “Green construction and sustainable design is part of the Wermers family legacy and something our team is dedicated to every day,” Bunker...