Construction Secrets

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

A construction dispute is a race to see who loses the least amount of money...

Even when you're 100% in the right..

That's the part most subs work out too late.

Tune in to learn more about effective strategies in navigating construction disputes.

Timestamps:
(2:48) - Once you understand how to interpret that contract honestly, most of the risk and understanding the risks that you're taking on goes away and you understand how to make more money in post-award
(3:17) - We win projects at a loss knowing that we have the contractual experience in the post-award phase on change orders to get our margin back and to make money
(8:52) - The key learning from the disputes is it's pretty simple. It's a race to see who loses the least amount of money
(9:44) - The key to a construction dispute and I know this sounds a bit painfully obvious, is to not get into a construction dispute
(12:28) - It's a lot easier when you're trying to work with everybody versus fight

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- 0:00 Why your construction profit margins are really this low
- 1:05 Killer #1: The hole you start every job in
- 2:06 Killer #2: The free loan you're handing your clients
- 3:30 Killer #3: The work you keep doing for free
- 4:32 Killer #4: The document you sign without reading
- 5:52 Killer #5: The one behind all the others

There are five things killing your construction profit margins. Your work isn't one of them.

You're probably brilliant at the actual job - it's the money side where you're getting walked on.

In this video, Cian Brennan breaks down all five. Get even two or three under control, and there's a 5 to 10% margin sitting there for the taking, every single year. Ignore them, and you're handing it straight to the main contractor.

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(Book comes with the free audiobook and a full video masterclass)

- 0:00 The biggest cost with no line item
- 0:24 The patterns that quietly kill construction businesses
- 1:05 Your number — and the six places it leaks from
- 2:52 What you've already lost before lunch each day
- 3:16 The system that stops the leak

The most expensive mistake in your construction business doesn't have a line item. Your accountant won't find it. Your P&L won't show it. 

But it's quietly costing you around $400,000 a year, and most subcontractors never even know it's there.

In this video, Cian Brennan will show you exactly where that money leaks from, how to put a real number on your own business, and the simple system that plugs it.

Most subs treat this as the cost of doing business. 
The best ones treat it as a system problem and fix it.

Work With Me - ⁠Click Here⁠
Get The Subcontractor's Edge Book - ⁠Click Here⁠
(Book comes with the free audiobook and a full video masterclass)

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

What happens if your head contractor stops paying you next month?

If you read your termination clause, the answer might be "nothing." They can terminate you for convenience. You can't terminate them at all.

So you keep working. Keep spending. Keep hoping. While the rumours about their cashflow get louder.

That's the trap most subs don't see until they're in it.

Listen to the full episode now.

Timestamps:
(5:28) - The worst contract in the whole chain goes to the guy that hasn't got the resources to deal with
(5:44) - That is probably the systemic issue in the construction industry where so many subcontractors actually don't understand how to negotiate and they don't understand what to negotiate either
(8:15) - Successful companies in construction have a long-term view
(12:18) - You got to look at your local laws as far as payment terms and things like that because you can leverage those laws on your behalf
(14:28) - Whatever you prefer to put up as security, you want to make sure it's tied to your own specific contract and not to the head contract

DISCLAIMER: The content of this podcast does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice, and can not be relied upon as such. You should seek legal advice or other professional advice in relation to any matters you or your business may have.

Work With Me - Click Here
Get The Subcontractor's Edge Book - Click Here
(Book comes with the free audiobook and a full video masterclass)

- 0:00 The lie killing your construction profit margin
- 0:33 What every losing subcontractor project has in common
- 2:16 What a mentor in Iraq taught me about real margin
- 3:11 Two electrical subs, same $10M job only one made money
- 5:00 Margin isn't priced. Margin is managed.
- 5:23 Pre-award: how to negotiate a contract worth signing
- 6:57 Post-award: the day-one habit that protects every variation
- 8:27 Why the best subs bid lower than you and still win 

Most construction business owners think their profit margins get locked in the day the contract gets signed. They don't. The subcontractors winning the bids you can't compete with and still making money figured this out years ago.

In this video, Cian Brennan breaks down the lie quietly killing margins on subcontractor jobs: the idea that margin gets priced. It doesn't. It gets managed.