It is said in construction that success is defined not by the jobs you do, but by the jobs you don’t do. But how do you identify which jobs to walk away from? Watch the second episode of Dennis’ final ten videos where he highlights the ways you can identify and avoid stinker jobs.
We’d love to hear your bad job stories – every contractor has at least one, right? – and what lessons you learned. Please share with us in the comments.
The Contractor Business Boot Camp class beginning Feb 9-10, 2023 in Raleigh is ALMOST FULL! If you haven’t yet enrolled your rising NextGen leaders for this transformational program, now is your chance. Contact Charlotte at ckopp@familybusinessinstitute.com to learn more.
John Nicolay says:
Very good message. A very important bit of discipline for all the reasons you stated.
I have a followup topic for you. What happens when you fail to say “no” or don’t realize until you are married to the client that you have made a mistake in becoming attached to a client and project that will be very hard for you to succeed ? You need to develop the strength (and strategy) to “fire” the client! It’s delicate but I’ve done it, and to this day, thankful that I did.
Happy to discuss it if you wish.
Dennis Engelbrecht says:
John,
Great point and suggestion. Firing a client is always hard, because we still want the work so badly and we rationalize that we can fix it. Often time, you have to be willing to fire the client in order to fix it. Once you walk away and they say; What? Why? you may be on even ground from which to fix the relationship for mutual benefit. Then again, some people are just not worth dealing with and the sooner you get away from them, the better.
It is tricky to walk away from a contractual relationship – need to make sure your ducks are in order and have great legal advice and representation. If you have to “live through” a project like this, it is useful to get a claims expert on board early to assure you win the documentation battle! I have fought a number of these kinds of battles, won some and lost more. The best battle is the one you never fought!
Dennis