Construction Secrets

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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.

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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.

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

If you've ever held back on a notice or a variation because you didn't want to "rock the boat," read this.

The subs who get taken advantage of are the quiet ones. The ones who absorb the hits, mitigate the delays, and never tell anyone.

Lovely humans. Terrible business owners.

You've got to tell everyone. Every delay. Every variation. Every notice. That's not being difficult. That's the job.

Don’t miss out - listen now.

Struggling with unfair contracts or slow payments in construction? With 6,000+ contracts reviewed and $20 billion in contracts managed, Quantum Contracts' proven framework is designed to help you negotiate fair contracts, secure faster payments, avoid disputes, and improve cash flow.

Work With Us: Here

Get The Subcontractor's Edge Book: Here

Timestamps:
(4:17) - If you want to be seen as professional and you want to be respected and have a good reputation, you don't get that from rolling over and doing what you're told nonstop
(9:59) - If you're contractual, you will be more profitable
(15:37) - Being contractual in inverted commas for the listener is not something that you shouldn't do. It's something that you should do because it completely and utterly protects you
(16:04) - No main contractor is going to come to you and start attacking you for being contractual if you're delivering on your promises
(20:04) - It's better to get a bad document in than waiting to get a perfect document because you can always revise about documents

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.