Construction Secrets

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This episode is a re-run. It was originally published in June 2023.

Picture this: you're stopped at a red light. Someone rear-ends you. They get out and say, "100% my fault, I'll pay for everything."

Sounds like a win, right?

You've still got to get quotes. Chase the repair. Sort a rental. Lose the hours. And your car's now worth less because it's been crashed.

Even when you win, you lose.

That's construction disputes. And more often than not, you won't even win.

After thousands of these, here's my advice: negotiate. Give up a percentage. It'll save you money, time, and your attention. 

Timestamps:
(6:33) - AI is here. It's like when the Internet arrives
(9:43) - AI now has been created and it's very cheap and it's very quick and it's very powerful
(13:26) - The returns are in the terms
(13:28) - If you're a contractor, the margin is in the post-award phase
(13:33) - Avoiding a dispute is far cheaper than getting into a dispute

Join the Subcontractors Boardroom - ⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠
Need help with your contracts? - ⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠
Get The Subcontractor's Edge Book - ⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠

This episode is a re-run. It was originally published in June 2023.

Good subbies go out of business every day.

Not because they can't build. Because they didn't understand how much the contract mattered.

They figure if they do great work, the contract stuff sorts itself out. It doesn't. Paid late. Paid less. Change orders rejected. Made to look late on jobs that were never their fault.

The contractual game is being played whether you're playing it or not.

Learn to play it.

Timestamps:
(5:44) - In the last 5 to 10 years, standard contracts are few and far between
(6:09) - Cost plus is beneficial to the builder and it can be beneficial to the owner in a different circumstance
(9:56) - The concern is not the lowest price. The concern is I need to get that thing done and that's my number one priority
(10:54) - What costs a lot more money is the job not being done
(15:47) - You need to be looking at risk as a real factor in your business because eventually something will go wrong

Join the Subcontractors Boardroom - ⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠
Need help with your contracts? - ⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠
Get The Subcontractor's Edge Book - ⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠

This episode is a re-run. It was originally published in June 2023.

If you've ever told yourself "I can't negotiate this contract, I just have to sign it," read this.

That belief is the single most expensive thing in your business.

The biggest subs in your trade negotiate every contract. Not because they're difficult. Because they know the margin lives in post-award and the contract is what protects it. Signing without pushing back doesn't make you easy to work with. It makes you look like you don't know the game.

Timestamps:
(3:25) - A lot of the smaller companies, they're often of the opinion that they can't negotiate a contract and they have to just sign the contract
(3:58) - The bigger and more advanced construction companies know that the margin is in post-award
(4:22) - If you start off submitting a notice within your variations quickly, EOTs quickly, and following a contract perfectly, they just look at you as very professional
(5:15) - You want to be in the they know what they're doing camp, rather than they'll do whatever we say
(5:27) - They also know that companies like yours, if you are contractual, are actually going to be able to deliver the work because ultimately you're getting paid

Join the Subcontractors Boardroom - ⁠⁠Here⁠⁠
Need help with your contracts? - ⁠⁠Here⁠⁠
Get The Subcontractor's Edge Book - ⁠⁠Here⁠⁠

This episode is a re-run. It was originally published in June 2023.

I'll be honest with you.

Most of the subs we work with come to us already inside the vicious cycle. Margins getting thinner. Bidding harder. Hiring whoever they can get instead of who they want. Reputation quietly slipping.

And the worst part is they don't see it. They think it's just the market. Or just construction. Or just bad luck.

It's not. It's a system. And once you see it, you can get out.

More of this in the episode - tune in!

Timestamps:
(13:01) - Every major builder will have their own contracts because they are pushing risk
(13:14) - If you are lowering your risk as a builder, then you are without a doubt improving your long-term prospects
(15:34) - You will definitely get a higher margin if you deliver the projects on time within budget
(17:29) - People who are subcontractors that charge less tend to be at a higher risk in one way or another
(29:04) - Understand what happens. If you’re not happy with them, try and get them changed

Join the Subcontractors Boardroom - ⁠Here⁠
Need help with your contracts? - ⁠Here⁠
Get The Subcontractor's Edge Book - ⁠Here⁠

This episode is a re-run. It was originally published in June 2023.

Leading a team is more like training cats than dogs.

Cian Brennan sits down with Matt Wilk from Builderpedia for a two-parter on leadership, project management, and the game of contracts most subcontractors don't even know they're playing.

Why projects always blow the budget, what your contract should say when they do, and the one question that changes every client meeting: "what are your objectives?"

Give it a listen.

Timestamps:
(4:31) - In a leadership position, you're more of a servant to the organization
(9:32) - Every project has a combination of things that go right or wrong
(15:25) - Our success actually looks like silence, because if you sign a contract that has less risk or sets you up for success, there's no outcome
(18:05) - There's a lot more to be gained from just saying how it is
(23:02) - Being able to deliver your service to a high standard is just the price of admission