If you’re going to be operating a construction business, whether it’s large or small, then you’ll want to ensure that you have a decent grasp of your costs. By identifying your areas of spending, and looking to streamline them, you’ll be able to maximise your profits, and thrive in the long-term.
The biggest costs involved in running your business
Let’s start by looking at your major overheads, in turn.
Labour
This is a major one. Without skilled workers, you’ll be unable to deliver quality results. Keeping labour costs down isn’t a matter of keeping wages down, but of getting the maximum productivity from the available time. When you discover a worker who can get a lot done in a day, you should look to hire them for the long-term, as a labour-saving measure.
Supplies and equipment
Your materials should be of a high quality, for a low price. By establishing ongoing relationships with reputable, reliable suppliers, you’ll be able to negotiate a discount. This goes especially if you’re buying in bulk. What’s more, you might be in a better position to react if something should go wrong.
Equipment is something that you should ideally only need to purchase once. Look to invest in quality. This will ensure that you get superior results, and that you don’t have to replace your equipment for a long-time to come. If you find that you can’t rely on a given reciprocating saw, hammer drill or electric planer, then you might find that the time you waste has a big impact on your reputation, especially if it results on delays in the project being delivered.
Smaller costs to consider
There are also smaller ongoing costs which might accumulate. If you haven’t anticipated them, you might well end up being blindsided. Think about how you’re going to maintain the vans you use to get to a given jobsite. If it fails, then the disruption to your business could end up being extremely expensive. By the same token, you might book your MOT online, to ensure that you don’t miss that, either.
Growing the business
You’ll want to reinvest your profits in the business, so that it might expand over time. If you anticipate growth, you might even take out loans for specific projects, to facilitate that growth. There are government-run options to consider, too.
Marketing
You’ll need to let your customers know that you exist. This means effective marketing, and managing your reputation both online and off. Make sure that you periodically evaluate the return you’re getting on your advertising efforts. If something isn’t worth the asking price, then look to alternative methods.
Of course, your biggest marketing asset is the favourable reaction of the clients you’ve already served. Make sure that you encourage them to spread the message through word of mouth – and that you do a good job in the first place.