“Specialist Contracting Is Tough Sometimes!”
It certainly is, and that’s why our Wise Up Wednesday emails are exclusively written to help you in your battles as a Subcontractor or “Specialist Contractor” as we prefer to say.
Sometimes hard hitting, sometimes about the mundane but misunderstood aspects of being successful as a Specialist Contractor, but always, short, to the point and thought provoking!
Wow! – So Many Great Messages In One Quick Burst!
Today’s WUW is inspired by a quote from Christine Burrows who is the MD of aSpecialist Contracting company. Here’s what Christine had to say;
“…it’s very hard being a subcontractor at times, you have many sleepless nights and it does your head in when you are messed around with your money.
We’ve learned some very hard lessons and taken so many knocks it’s a wonder we’re still standing! We are concentrating on the good contractors now who we know and trust and there is a lot of work out there at the moment.
No-one likes being labelled as too contractual, but with the big players you have to be to protect yourself. You only need one big bad job to bring you down and ruin all you’ve worked for.”
Message 1 Getting Paid
We share Christine’s view that getting messed around with your money “does your head in”. Money is vital to run your business!
Getting paid in construction is sometimes a major challenge, with complex payment mechanisms, and we all know that the unscrupulous Contractors will make it even harder for you. The only way to sort that problem is to play them at their own game.
As Christine says; “No-one like being labelled as too contractual, but with the big players you have to be to protect yourself”
You must know and apply the rules of the contract, and when you do you put yourself at the very top of the “pay these now” pile!
If you don’t know or apply the rules you will be scratching around in the dirt and the Contractor won’t give you a second thought…
So, if you missed all the great advice about getting paid that was on offer at our conference this year, here’s how you can access it; “Win Work-Get Paid-Make Money”
Message 2 One Bad Job Can Bring You Down!
Spot on again Christine. I have seen it happen so many times it’s like Groundhog Day!
Trust me, seeing everything you have worked so hard for, being broken up and sold for buttons before your eyes is a very traumatic experience.
Don’t go there. Take action.
But you need to take the right action, at the right time. Waiting to see what happens, or asking the wrong person for advice will not cut it.
Better to be “too contractual” than be broke and lose your business!
Protecting and growing your business was one of the key themes at our conference this year, access it here; “Win Work-Get Paid-Make Money”
Message 3 Concentrate On The Good Contractors
Christine says she is “…concentrating on the good contractors now who we know and trust”
Absolutely bang on, and if you are a regular reader of Wise Up Wednesday you will have heard me imploring you not to do “Call Girl Marketing”.
In other words you need to be selective. Getting enquiries is easy if you don’t care who you work for, and that’s no way to build a sustainable business.
If you’re not sure how to improve your marketing, there was a lot of great advice at the conference about that too; “Win Work-Get Paid-Make Money”
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and if there is anything you would like us to help you with, please email me at info@streetwisesubbie.com.
Once again thank you all for your support.
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