New contractor, getting work.

Question

I have been in the framing industry for over 20 years before opening and starting my own contracting buisness. Although I know how to build a house with ease and quality, I still find it hard to get new contracts with builders and how to line up several months of work. I tend to "rush" through my projects with ease, never sacrificing quality, and be done well before my next project. I ask to get fillers from my current builders and can never be accommodated. So I sit for weeks in between waiting. I cant sustain that as a new company, and beyond that I just wanna go to work everyday, sitting at home is death. How do you successful framing contractors line up work? It it just a matter of who you know and not what you know?&nbsp;

awcllc · Answer

Be aggressive. Call realtors and ask if they know local builders, drive around jobsites, and ask for the GC's number. Do a local search and find licensed general contractors in your area. That's the best way to find repeatable clients. If you want custom builds from one-off customers looking for your work, that's where marketing comes in.

pestfreecanada · Answer

"I know how to build a house with ease" That kind of skill and confidence can't be held down for long.

Real tangible work is hard to come by these days, a lot of people have more money than skill and pay well to those who can build or take care of problems. I would take the downtime and build your business base. Not everything we do for the business necessarily makes us money, there are things that just need to be done. Marketing, creating a logo, building a website, creating a strong plan...I know you are probably doing this, but its a grind man. Nothing comes easy to those who decided to ditch the safety net and fly on our own.

One thing I learned early on, and I pass on to others quite regularly on here is to start small. Take on smaller jobs, less crew, less material, less overhead. Ask for a deposit to keep yourself going and use personal credit cards if needed. Chip away at it bit by bit and build yourself up. Not everything comes instantly, its a hard push out here sometimes. Keep your head up and press on man, you will be just fine.

I hope you look back on these days and think "I wish I had as much free time to do what I want/need to". Or look back and remind yourself how hard work and determination pays off and pass that on to others.

Forum Discussion

New contractor, getting work.

2 Replies