Tag: general contractor

How to Be a Successful Licensed Plumber

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As long as there’s pipes, there will be plumbers. If you’re thinking about a career in the contracting world, plumbing is a challenging, rewarding, and safe bet.

There are a lot of plumbers out there. In 2014, there were 425,000 plumbers working across the United States. How can you stand out against the competition? What can you do to make a name for yourself in the plumbing business?

For this article, we wanted to share some tips/things to think about when it comes to being good plumber.

  • Show pride and excitement for your work. Clients notice.
  • Communicate effectively and often with clients.
  • Be a salesman. Whether you work for yourself or plumbing business, sell yourself and skills! Lots of people need a good plumber at some point, and if they have your info handy, they can turn to you in their time of need. Actively market/sell your business or your own skills.
  • Don’t rely on others to find business for you.
  • Charge your customers fairly so you can make a profit, buy the best equipment, and grow your company.
  • Give your customers a flat rate with your services; if you leave your prices open-ended, they may think you’re too expensive.
  • Hire the best quality people and workers for your team. They will help you keep current clients and expand your clients.
  • Hire people with vast skillsets. Maybe if you can’t do something, someone else can! So now, your business can provide more services for people.
  • Look professional.
  • Drive vehicles with your name/contact info or company name/info on it. You’ll be a moving billboard.
  • Keep up with your skills and knowledge with frequent trainings. Take courses in finance, marketing, management and more to help you run your business.
  • Belong to trade associations and national organizations.
  • Be involved with the community.

Looking to get your Florida plumbing contractor’s license? Let us do the work for you! Click our plumber contractor’s license page for more info. We’ve helped thousands of people become licensed contractors. We are a Florida contractor licensing company. To start with us today, click here of call 239-777-1028.

Contractor Jobs 2018 Outlook

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Good news for our contractor community. In December, construction unemployment rates were down across 46 states. This was actually the country’s lowest rate of unemployment ever.

 

Compared to December 2016, the construction industry employed 250,000 more workers.

 

Why is this increase occurring? More work equals more employment. Unfortunately, a lot of the increases are due to natural disasters that happened in 2017 including hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. Contractors are needed all over the country.

 

There were 6 states with highest unemployment rates included New Mexico, Rhode Island, Alaska, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon. From lowest to highest, the top 5 states for construction unemployment rates were: Hawaii, Colorado, Massachusetts, Virginia, (Georgia, South Carolina and Texas tied for fifth).

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How is the career outlook looking for general contractors? On average, there’s supposed to be a 5 % job growth increase from now till 2024.

 

Construction spending is predicted to stay strong in 2018. According to ConstructConnect, the construction forecast for 2018 is a 4.8% increase. Commercial construction (offices, garages) is expected to grow 12.4% and continue to grow through 2021. Warehouses and factories is expected to decrease starting this year by 5.6%. Retail is expected to decline around 2.8% this year.

 

Overall construction spending for 2018 is expected to be a 2 to 7 % increase.

 

This is the time to get a job in contracting. The jobs are there because the work is there! Time to get into the field and make a name for yourself!  If you’re ready to become a licensed Florida contractor, or start up a contractor business, we can help your through the licensure process to make that happen. When applying for a contractor license or business license, there’s a lot of paperwork and requirements. It can be confusing and stressful; there’s a lot of deadlines to remember. As a Florida contractor licensing company, we know the process like the back of our hand, because we’ve helped thousands of people get their Florida contractor’s license. To get started with us

Communication is Essential For a Successful Contractor Business

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Being a good contractor isn’t just about your skillset (with your hands) or your contractor’s license, it’s your ability to communicate effectively with clients. Without your customers, you have no job! It isn’t just the face-to-face communication that is important, it’s the phone calls, emails and other messages that customers judge your communication skills on.

If a customer calls your contractor business to inquire about your work and that initial call was a bad experience for them, he or she probably won’t pursue working with you further. Statistically, if a customer has a good phone experience with you, there’s an 80% they will be a repeat customer. If it’s a bad phone experience, 74% of people will look for another contractor.

You want to be available to your customers as much as possible; however, this can be tough if you have a small team. Everyone is busy doing their jobs and manning the phones 24/7 may not be possible. If this is case, you may want to think about hiring a receptionist or a remote receptionist to help provide quality service to your customers, whether they’re old or new. Also, you won’t have to stop being productive in your work for every phone call.

Customers are likely to stick with you if a real person answers the phone instead of an answering machine. Whether an in-house receptionist or remote receptionist, you are able to tell this receptionist exactly what questions to ask and information to get, so the customer feels heard, and they feel like they’re going through step 1 in the process of connecting with you.

Your customers will find you approachable, trustworthy and reliable because you always will have a person picking up the phone ready to help them.  You also won’t lose time and money on the job being on the phone. You can focus your attention on your projects instead of phone calls that may not even be worth your time. A receptionist is good at weeding out promising leads from bogus calls.

You never have to worry about missing a potential customer due to you being busy or taking a break or being on the road. If you’re tight on money, a remote receptionist is more affordable than an in-house receptionist.

If you still need to get your contractor’s license, let us help you!  We make getting your Florida contractor’s license, fast and easy. We are a Florida contractor licensing company. We will do the work for you! We will work with you every step of the way until you are licensed. To get started on the Florida contractor license process, click here or call us at 239-777-1028.

Accidents Happen: Contractor Incidents and Safety Tips

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Accidents happen. This is why it’s important for a contractor or a contracting company to carry worker’s compensation, because you never know when someone with trip or slip!

In 2016, 203,500 injuries and illnesses were reported in the construction industry. Around 22,880 of these were sprains, strains, and tears; 13,020 claims were pain related; 11,880 were fractures and 11,810 were cuts, lacerations and punctures.

The average time a worker was out was 10 days. Of the 82,760 accident injuries reported, only 14 percent required just 1 day out. However, 26,010 injuries caused people to be way from work an average of 31 days; this accounts for around 1/3 of the accidents. That’s a lot of people out of work for a long time!

Why so many injuries? Well construction sites are full of hazards. Even when the right safety measure have been taken, accidents can still occur. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2016 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, here’s some examples of what hurt people.

  • 9,020 incidents occurred from building material injuries from pipes, bricks, wood, metal and stone
  • 1,700 incidents happened from nails and screws
  • 10,500 incidents happened from the way a worker moved. A worker tweaked/hurt something from climbing, walking, reaching, twisting, or bending
  • 8,490 incidents happened from hand tools
  • 7,140 cases happened from ladders.
  • 24,700 incidents occurred from falls, trips, or slips
  • 29,160 incidents happened from contact with objects
  • 2,960 incidents happened from contact with harmful substances or environments

 

Although not all accidents can be avoided, a lot can be prevented with the right safety protocols in place. There are so many safety tips on a construction site, but we just wanted to share a few as a reminder:

  • Be mindful of your surroundings
  • Always wear protect equipment: hardhats, safety glasses, vests, gloves, steel-toed boots, jackets
  • Stretch before working
  • Avoid sudden movements
  • Clean up spills immediately
  • Inspect all tools and machines before use to make sure they are working properly.
  • Use fall protection devices
  • Keep walking surfaces clear
  • Take breaks

It’s not only important to be safe at work, it’s also important to practice contracting work legally. If you’re looking to get your Florida contractor’s license, we can help you get through the  contractor license process fast. We are a Florida contractor licensing company. To get started on the process, click here or call us at 239-777-1028.

 

Target the right customers for your Contractor Business

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If you have your own contracting business, getting new customers is your livelihood. However, you want to promote yourself to the RIGHT customers. Otherwise, if you just promote to the masses, it can cost you. Spending time and money on resources that are going out to people who would never hire you. Don’t let the wrong customers take you away from the right customers. Your customer is someone who fits your business, the geography you work in, the price point your service at. You don’t want your promotions to go to people thousands of miles away who can’t afford your work, right? Right!

 

  • Recognize who your best customer is
  • Define your customer. Who do you love to do business with? List the traits that you think would or do define your best customer. Personality. Budgets. Geography. Project size. Type of construction.
  • Once you see who your customer is, you can go after them more clearly.
  • Use past years’ date and info to help you to also define your customer. See if your preferred customers bring you more profit.

Once you define and recognize your ideal customer, you can focus your attention on strategically marketing to that person. This person will guide your advertising and marketing efforts in person and on the web. You will realize what referrals are worth going after or know what types of customers will be a waste of time. With a target audience in mind, you will save time and money on marketing efforts and will continue to see more visibility and attention to your brand and business.

 

If you would like to start your own business or even need your contractor license, we can help you. We are a Florida contractor licensing company who helps contractors get their Florida contractor’s licenses, so they can work legally. We also help people get their license in other states, and start their own businesses. If you’d like to start the contractor license process, click here or call 239-777-1028.

Promote Contracting Business with Email Newsletters

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Looking for another way to promote your contracting business? How about an email newsletter? Sure, email newsletters can be annoying, but that’s only when they are not created or sent correctly. No one really wants daily newsletters from the same company. Some companies even go overboard sending multiple emails a day. This is enough to aggravate a person for them to remove themselves from your email list entirely. We wanted to share with you ways to use construction email newsletter that won’t annoy your audience.
• Be strategic in your approach.
• Make your email content relevant. Low quality emails can hurt you and increase the numbers of be unsubscribing.
• How often you send an email out will depend on your business, your customers, and your service.
• Your email will depend whether your target is a former customer or potential customer. A couple times a month for a former customer is good, as long as your information is useful. For a potential customer, you could double that frequency.
• Emails help keep your name in front of any and all customers, especially former customers who can give your more business or new clients.
• People will learn about your knowledge and expertise through your email and turn to you when they need help.
• Your emails need to provide value and offer people something. For example: home improvement tips, home trends, new products, etc.
• Make your newsletter 90 percent informative and 10 percent promotional.
• Make your newsletter intriguing. Catch your audience with a fun interesting title or visuals. Link to quality blogs or articles. Avoid using spammy words like FREE or CLICK HERE in the subject line.
• When you get a subscriber, let them know (on average) how often you will be emailing them so they will be aware. You can also provide an option for them to choose how often they get an email (which they may prefer).

 

If you’d like to get your Florida contractor’s license,, let us help you! We are a Florida contractor licensing company. To get started on the Florida contractor license process, click here or call us at 239-777-1028.

New Technology to Make a Work Site Safe

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We’re on the brink of having a society filled with robots. Think of recent developments: drones, roombas. Companies and consumers are turning to robotic technologies to make their lives easier. Now, robots can potentially help with construction site security. Security is key at a construction site. Why? Often, things get stolen from these sites, so it’s essential to think ahead and plan security measures to keep your site and equipment safe.

  • Virtual guards are a new technology that can replace a physical security guard. A virtual guard is a camera system, which means it can see and track more than a human. It also never leaves its post or gets distracted. Camera are set up around the perimeter of the site. The system does a walk through of the site on a schedule just like a regular guard would. The virtual guard also can have a panic button for workers to use if an emergency occurs on site when no one else is around. The panic button will contact authorities. Click here to learn more about this virtual guard.
  • Drones are starting to be used in construction sites. They can sense body heat at night and determine if there is a trespasser. They can fly around and search the entire property faster than a human can.
  • Robot security guards by Knightscope are 300 pounds and use to scare off trespassers. They move around quickly and chase away intruders and record everything. They haven’t been used in construction sites yet, but will be in the future.

These robotic options can make a work site safer, and also are most cost effective in the long run. If you are in charge of construction sites, you may want to consider using these new technological advances in security.

 

Looking to get your Florida contractor’s license? Or start your own contracting business? Let us do the work for you! Just answer some questions and we do all the heavy lifting! We’ve helped thousands of people become licensed contractors. We are a Florida contractor licensing company. To start with us today, click here of call 239-777-1028.

It’s Easy Being Green

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Being “green” isn’t a trend or fad, it’s the way of the future, and even the present! More companies are turning to greener methods and are learning how to be profitable while making greener decisions.  Not every green decision a company makes has to be out in the open or sellable to clients. If you are in the construction world, we wanted to share with you some ways you can be greener in this new year and the years to come.

 

  • Try to find ways to recycle waste at your job sites. If you can’t recycle something, see if you can reuse it somewhere else.
  • Find ways to reduce the amount of waste you produce at the construction site.
  • With mobile apps on phones and tablets, you can begin to reduce your use of paper. Everything you need can be on a portable screen! Plus you can’t easily toss away a computer like you can a piece of paper.
  • Find ways to reduce gasoline and diesel fuel.
  • Research green products and supplies. See what is reviewed to be good.
  • Communicate through email and web conferences when you can instead of driving and wasting gas.
  • Ask employees to turn off electrical or mechanical devices when not being in use to save energy. Or, install timers so things will automatically shut off if not used after a certain amount of time.
  • Look to see what your competitors are doing to be green.
  • Ask your clients and suppliers if they have any green suggestions for you to adopt.
  • Don’t participate just for the profitability. If you really are pro-green, then it’s a great way to be profitable. If you’re not into a lot of greener options, don’t do it just to please people, they will see right through you. Choose green for the right reasons.

 

Before you become greener, you need an actually contractor license to practice! Looking to become a licensed Florida contractor?  We can help you get licensed. We are a Florida contractor licensing company. We can help you create and submit a license application. To get started, click here or call us at 239-777-1028.

How to Better Communicate With Construction Clients

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If you want your business to grow, it’s a good idea to improve your communication with your clients. If there is a divide between you and your clients, nothing will get done and there’s a chance your client won’t speak highly of you or the work you and your team product.
We wanted to share tips to help you improve your client communication and relationship so you’re m ore profitable.

 

  • Have the client have one point of contact at your company. He or she will get confused if they have to talk to too many people. For any question or concern, there is 1 person they can turn to that will handle it and respond to them at any time.
  • Don’t use fancy construction jargon with your clients. Do you want your doctor talking in strange medical terms? No, you want him or her to be relatable. They know you’re an expert but they also want to know what you’re saying. If they can understand you, they will have confidence in you.
  • Always show and prove your dependability.
  • Show clients past projects you’ve worked on even give them the names of past clients for them to contact.
  • Be readily available for your client.
  • Use the latest tools and technologies with your clients so they know you value new ways of doing construction.
  • Show them before and after pictures of other similar projects so they will understand the scale of the project.
  • Use apps to help explain or show work better.
  • Constantly update your client through the construction progress. This helps build and maintain trust. Learn how much your clients wants to be updated.
  • Stick to a schedule as best as possible but tell clients immediately if it changes and why.

 

 

Not only is it important to communicate effectively with clients, it’s also essential that you are a licensed contractor who only hires other licensed contractors. When you’re licensed, a client will trust you infinitely more. Besides when you’re licensed, there is also less change of legal issues, because you are license and insured.

 

If you still need a Florida contractor’s license, we can help make it happen for you! As a Florida contractor licensing company, it is our job to help you get licensed, and we make the process stress-free and fast! To get started on getting your Florida contractor’s license, click here or call 239-777-1028.

 

Contractor Tools, Products Worth Buying

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A doctor has a stethoscope. A teacher has books. A policeman has a gun. A contractor has…tools!  What is a contractor without his tools? Being a contractor means you work with your hands. Most jobs are entirely hands on. Whether you’re building a home of fixing a sink, you need tools to help you complete the task at hand.

Some contractors have plenty of their own tools, while other’s use what their company owns. Either way, you want to know what the latest and best tools are out on the market. You want your company to be utilizing the best tools, so you can get the job done fast and more efficiently.

For this article, we found some great tools out there that you’ll want to get your hands on!

Pliers Wrench – This product is made by Knipex. This tool is handy because it is a pair of pliers and a wrench all in one. It has smooth jaws and a 10-to-1 lever ratio.

MSHC Hex Driver – This tool is made by Malco Tools. It has a duel hex socket, and an easily accessible magnet.

Triton Plastic Pipe Joining System – This product is designed to be used for fusion welding plastic pipe. It uses radio frequency electromagnetic technology to improve pipe joining and testing times. There is no long set up with this product.

Blue Monster Drain Opener – This product is made by KGH. It works to eliminate hair, soap, oils, and grease from drains. It works in under a minute. It is hot-water activated and only for us for professional contractors. It doesn’t harm plumbing fixtures, porcelain or septic systems.

Make sure to come back to our blog for more articles on tools and different products. We love sharing with our contractor community!

Looking be a contractor? How do you get your contractor’s license?  We know how! If you’d like to get your Florida contractor’s license, let us help you! We are a Florida contractor licensing company. We will do the work for you! We make the process fast and simple. We let you know everything you need to do in order to get licensed. To get started on the Florida contractor license process, click here or call us at 239-777-1028.