I’ve been around contractors for more than 20 years now, going back to my own salad days when I was a carpenter doing historic restoration. In that time, I’ve learned a couple of things about contractors. There are three basic types of contractors:
Type I is a technically proficient craftsman but a poor business person. Often, he or she came up through the ranks and learned how to do a great job on-site and found success there. He wanted a new challenge, so he started his own business, but has found running a successful contracting company is a lot different than being a good craftsman.
Type II is a great business person who may not know as much about construction as we (or his clients) would like. He often finds himself in trouble through a misunderstanding or overestimation of his capabilities. The good news is that he can usually survive because he’s got the business side buttoned up.
Type III is the rare breed who really understands the technical requirements of construction and can manage a strong business. This person is comfortable both with estimating and strategic planning. The people who fit the last type come from a variety of backgrounds and possess a variety of characteristics. He or she may be an engineer or self-taught. He might be a sales person by personality or could be a real number grinder. But there is one characteristic that I see in all of the people who are successful Type III contractors. They are focused on continuous improvement and constant education. They attend seminars, go to trade shows, read books, listen to webinars and take advantage of all the educational opportunities they can.
During my career, I’ve also known contractors who have transitioned from one type to another. Want to know what’s the common characteristic of that person? Education. If he or she doesn’t understand something, he figures it out. He doesn’t sit back and hope that it resolves itself. Hope is the bane of successful businesses. Nothing ever works if your strategy is just to hope it will change.
I call these contractors, who may be any one of the three types, the engaged contractor. He or she is fully engaged in operating his business, learning his craft and improving his circumstances. I also know that many of these people turn to a specific location to learn how to improve: their peers. Why? Because who else understands more about him and his business than the people who are doing the same thing?
This harkens back to a favorite old saw of mine. “Why bang your head against a door that’s already open?” Too often we sit in isolation, trying to noodle out a problem that someone else has already figured out.
Want to know how to land more government work? Someone has already figured that out. Want to improve the productivity of your field personnel? Someone has already figured that out. The first step is understanding that you don’t know something. The best contractors I know constantly question themselves and quiz people around them about better ways to do something. It all comes down to education. How engaged are you in your education and improvement?
