Masonry Magazine January 2014 Page. 47
A D V E R T O R I A
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organizations that can help you achieve these goals.
As you look at the New Year upon you, what are your plans for prosperity and growing your business? Will you continue to do only the same old things, or will you consider other ways of help�ing your business?
What I find effective is using "lead�generation websites;' geared toward automatically getting your phone to ring. These work for me. Maybe you've got some other ideas. I'd encourage you to test them.
"Difficulties break some men but make others." -Nelson Mandela in a let�ter to his wife, written from prison
Scary times call for bold plans. Well into Mandela's prison stay, the bitterness and hatred had left him. He saw a big picture. For him, it was a free South Africa, and the passion, strength and coura ge it would take to pursue it and end Apartheid -a bold plan.
"J learnt that courage was 1101 the absence offear, b11t the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
-Nelson Mandela
May God bless you this coming year with all of the tools, energy and commitment required to accomplish your goals, and may your goals be big enough to be worthy of your efforts. Here's to a great 20 14! IMAS
Gary Mlchelonl is a construction company marketer, working project manager, speaker, author, consultant and coach.
Copyright 2014 Gary Miche!oni
What's your plan to move forward in 2014? Need to get that special report on lead generation websites? Just write Coach Gary at FullContactTeam@gmail.com and type "Lead Gen~ into the subject line. Business development and marketing coaching will help you get there in less time, with more success. Ask Coach Gary to speak for your group, association or convention, or to coach your company. His first book. "Get Paid for a Change!~ is available at Amazon.com. Pick it up there; change your business.
Throughout the years of business, we have all made mistakes. Just like when I get together with friends, and one of us makes a mistake. Something happens, like throwing an eight-inch block in the back of your truck when there is a spade shovel laying in there, and you pay the price coming from the shovel handle to your head. During those times, one of my friends (we call him Rat) always asks, "Did you leam anything?~ Well, since most of us have taken a pretty good beating during the Great Recession, Iwould like to ask the same question, "Did you leam anything?"
One thing the Great Recession taught us is that the companies that were working on narrow margins when the economy was good were quickly working at a loss when the economy got tight. This caused several low-margin bidders to close their doors. The economy remains like a new born elk: A calf's first stand is all wobbly and unsteady. This isn't over yet, as some contractors are still playing the same low-margin game expecting to get different results. It won't happen.
Speaking of elk, Ijust got back from an elk hunting trip in New Mexico with four friends, including two doctors, one lawyer who is now a judge, an accountant who has three offices with hundreds of clients, and me. Sounds like the beginning of good joke, doesn�t it? This is no joke. Over a few drinks and a Texas Hold 'em game, we were discussing how hard it is to make a living these days.
Ithought only contractors had hard times. One of the doctors explained how potential law�suits had driven up the costs of liability insurance to the point that he decided to sell his local practice and go to woril; for a hospital, where they were under an umbrella. The other doctor. who is a surgeon, explained how a knee surgery that paid $4,000 20 years ago must be done for around $1,200 today. It reminded me of the masonry trade and how we are laying block per piece today cheaper than we could get to lay them 20 years ago. He said he was lucky he does not have to woril; for those slim margins as if he could not get a fair price to do the work, he had saved up enough that he could retire if he wanted.
Then, the accountant chirped in and said, "You know, it is unbelievable how all businesses are just hanging on for dear life. They work on such slim margins that they are all Just one bad deal from going bankrupt!" Itold him I could resonate with that as my bonding agent used to tell me when I would ask for a bigger bond than he wanted to write, that contractors are all just one bad job away from going out of business.
The interesting thing of the conversation at hunting camp was that all my friends had gone through pricing pressures and tough times In their Industries, and they all made changes accordingly. Both doctors went to work at hospitals, the attomey ran and became a judge, and the accountant went to different cities to find a different dientete than he could get in our local town. All are prospering today, due to the courage they had to make those changes.
Statistics show that more contractors go out of business when the economy is coming back than during the recession. That's due to the cash requirements it takes to fund future projects. Instead of taking on low-margin/ higtHisk business, like my friends, don�t be afraid to make a change. If you do less volume on low-risk,lhigh--margin business, you save the risk of running out of cash in the process. There will be a time when opportunity presents itself, and you can grow again. In most areas of the country, pricing pressures do not allow us to take on extra woril; right now.
Next month, we will talk about building your treasure chest for when your company goes
through a rough stretch. Stay tuned! Damian Lang owns and operates four companies in Ohio. He is the inventor ofthe Grout Hog -Grout Delivery System, Mud Hog mortar mixers, Hog Leg wa/1.IJracing system and several other labor-saving devices used in the masonry industry. He is the author of the book called "RACE-Rewarding And Challenging Employees for Profits in Masonry.� He writes for Masonry Magazine each month and consults with many of the leading mason contractors in the country. For information on how Damian can help make your jobsite more profitable using his equipment and systems, email him at dlang@langmasonry.com orcall 740-74S.3512.
All rlttts m em ,.
www.masonrymagazine.com January 2014 � MASONRY 45