287 - 12 Days of Contractor Christmas

Written By Guest User

Ever feel like your contracting business is hitting every possible roadblock during the holiday season? In this festive yet practical episode, Martin and Khalil break down the "12 Days of Contractor Christmas" - a humorous but painfully accurate look at the common problems contractors face. From scope creep to unpaid invoices, they explore how these challenges drain your profits and what systems can prevent them.

What You’ll Learn

  • Why most contractor problems are influenceable even when they seem uncontrollable

  • How to handle change orders profitably instead of losing margin

  • That your business culture gets set by what you're willing to accept

  • Why concessions typically come from a mindset of fear

  • How proper systems prevent the domino effect of contractor problems


Time Stamps

  • 00:00 - Episode Intro

  • 01:41 - The 12 Days of Contractor Christmas: Days 1-4

  • 11:00 - The 12 Days of Contractor Christmas: Days 5-7

  • 18:40 - The 12 Days of Contractor Christmas: Days 8-12

  • 28:12 - Reflections and Holiday Wishes

Snippets from the Episode

  • "Control is an illusion. You can’t have full control but you can heavily influence. And everything we're talking about there, it can be heavily influenced by preparation and contracts and systems."  - Martin Holland

  • "The more that you concede and allow that behavior, the more that you've set the standard of what your culture is and you're gonna see more of it."- Khalil Benalioulhaj

  • "Change orders can be great because if you're doing change orders properly, you are bidding, it's almost a guaranteed bid. And you should be doing it at a much higher rate because the scope is changing."- Khalil Benalioulhaj

  • "You’re setting the standard for your culture based on what you accept in your business. You can have conversations about this and include expectations to set the company's culture."- Khalil Benalioulhaj

  • "Concessions are a mindset of fear."- Khalil Benalioulhaj

Key Takeaways

  1. Properly priced change orders should generate higher margins

  2. Systems prevent scope creep and payment disputes

  3. What you tolerate becomes your company culture

  4. The real cost of callbacks goes beyond materials

  5. Unfinished work is often tied to lack of clear scope definitions

  6. Invoice promptly to avoid cash flow problems

  7. Control may be impossible, but influence is always available

Resources

  • 24 Things Construction Business Owners Need to Successfully Hire & Train an Executive Assistant

  • Schedule a 15-Minute Roadblock Call

  • Check out OpenPhone

  • Build a Business that Runs without you. Explore our GrowthKits 

  • Need Marketing Help? We Recommend Benali

  • Need Help with podcast production? We recommend Demandcast

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286 - Solving People Problems in Construction with Tom Bunn