Many of us feel like we are firefighters rather than contractors on a typical workday. We arrive in the morning with the intention of completing a to-do list, only to spend much of our time putting out others’ fires. Then...
Increased profits, productivity and accountability are common business expectations. Business owners and managers build a team of hard-working industry all-stars, yet they never seem to win the big game and achieve the owner...
What sets you apart from your competition? As the end of 2021 nears, now would be a good time to evaluate how you can maintain what I call your “success differentiators” in the future. The first differentiator should always...
It is hard to find a book, article or YouTube video on business ownership that does not include something about strategic planning. Some are quick how-tos, while others include lengthy, soul-searching processes. Most of these...
Manufacturers of many heavy-duty, engineered industrial products—such as gas turbines, electric drives, wind turbines and heavy trucks—derive most of their top-line revenues from their factory production, while the sweetest...
For electrical contractors, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of establishing and evolving their digital presence in a marketplace that has been profoundly impacted by the health crisis. Electrical...
Many people think of business plans as long, complex documents that describe every detail of the business. While this format has its place, for most companies, the owner can accomplish the same goal with a one-page business...
Valued at some $170 billion annually and employing more than 650,000 workers across 70,000 electrical contracting firms of all sizes nationwide (pre-coronavirus), America’s electrical contracting industry is essential and...
In 2012, you could have felt hopeful about the economy on any given day. Some days, you also could have felt the opposite. It was the year of the rocky recovery. But if you take a closer look at what happened in key...
It used to be easy to labor fixtures. I learned a lot about lamps and fixtures in the ’70s and memorized all the standard labor units 30 years ago. For a long time, nothing changed. Apply the standard labor unit, throw in the...
