The Independent Research Facility … Designed for Room Addition & Screen Room Companies

It was founded to assist professional builders of room addition, sunroom, screen room, 2nd story addition to become stronger, more efficient and more profitable. Because we don’t sell any products or services; nor can you hire the facility to do work for you … we’ve earned a great deal of trust from contractors across the United States & Canada.

Our access fee provides addition builders insider opinions of construction, business and marketing, how-to tips, tricks, strategies, tactics, step-by-step instructions, opinions, articles, blogs, software recommendations, software tools, Word and PDF documents, security measures, procedures, charts, graphs, photo’s, SEO measures, screen captures, Excel spreadsheets, forms, examples, video tutorials, reading suggestions, reading materials … and more.

• Hundreds of Topics – Thousands of Pages – No Hype – No Sales Pitches – No Hidden Agenda
• The Industry Standards and best practices for Strength, Efficiency and Profitability
• Dynamic web-based content accessible 24/7 with your computer
• Plus, the Contractor Reference Guide includes lifetime membership to latest revisions, amendments and updates
• Fueling those Professional Contractors who like Total Control over their life and business

A Personal Message to Room Addition Contractors

We believe addition builders shouldn’t have to hire advertising agencies, marketing firms, web designers, SEO experts, business consultants … and lead generation services just to get room addition and 2nd story leads.

We share ‘what to do’ and ‘how to do it’ so your business can grow without the expense.

The Best Strategy for Screen Room & Sunroom Leads

To receive addition leads from the Internet, you must have complete control over your website. It too, doesn’t matter if you modify your existing website or start yet another. You’ll have you a new one up in a couple of hours. From there you’ll use our free software recommendations to make your job easier (graphic design, web creation, keyword creation, SEO, and more).

Here’s the key: You will create hundreds of web pages (we’ll show you exactly how) so that each page is targeting very specific keyword terms that your customers are using.

12 Example Pages & Keywords:

• Residential Room Addition
  
• Chicago Addition Contractor
• Screen Room
  
• Sunroom
  
• 2nd Story Addition
  
• Addition
• Room Addition
  
• Planning a Room Addition
• Sunroom Ideas
  
• Building a Screen Room
  
• Room Addition Costs
  
• How to Find an Addition Contractor
  

Quite literally, we’ll show you how to setup tens of thousands of ‘keywords’ for free. Both Google and Bing will gladly send you an endless supply of new customer business leads. We’ll show you how to rank each of these ‘keywords’ in organic searches as well as show you how to setup a PPC account.

Our Point Is: The Contractor Reference Guide will share the knowledge so you can make all of your own decisions to do whatever you want. This keeps you in control of your business, marketing and checkbook.

Feel free to read through our entire website and blog. As you will see, the Independent Research Facility is ready to share a ton of materials that you can access 24/7 (and not just on how to obtain business leads).

Use a website correctly to grab quality room addition leads … verses throwing money away bidding.

Comparing Media Types & Cost

The top-half of the below chart compares the Cost Per Lead between using:

• Direct Mail
• Yellow Pages
• Craigslist

The bottom-half of the below chart compares the Cost Per Lead of a new website between using:

• Our Intelligent Solutions (where we provide you all Independent Research to do it yourself)
• A cheaply designed website (usually given away by the Yellow Pages or low-end web designer)
• An expensive website professionally designed, installed, and optimized on your behalf.

Google Search Trends

Let’s look at some real-time Google stats of my local community in Indiana. Building a construction company requires the understanding of how Google operates. This chart shows actual keywords being searched by potential clients, and the frequency per month those words are searched.

This is the proof of what was said earlier, “I’m amazed at how easy it is to get leads from the Internet”. This example gives a contractor ~25 million potential leads per month if they targeted these keywords to grow a construction business. What’s really amazing is that this is just 16 keywords. Most contractors can easily target 2,000 keywords.

The fact is that each of those 25 million search requests were indeed given (by Google) to many contractors free of charge. When a homeowner is looking to hire a contractor they will use the Internet 60% of the time. Growing a business requires learning how to play with Google.

When a homeowner types in anyone of these keywords, and your company website isn’t being displayed on the first couple of pages of Google or Bing, then your business is only targeting the other 40%. However, that’s only true if you’re actually using direct mail, yellow page ads, newspaper display ads, craigslist, radio, television commercials, church bulletins, social media, billboards, door hangers, home show booths, and many more (which combined make up the 40%).

Building a Construction Company Requires an Agressive Marketing Stragegy

Our slower building economy has changed the way we think about getting leads. We must be more agressive to get our name out to the neighborhoods we work.

For every 100 actual paying jobs in your neighborhood, most contractors are invisible to over 99 of them. Quit going after the expensive <1% of leads and start going after the nearly free 60%.

The Contractor Reference Guide helps you to build your company. It gives you the ability and confidence to quickly move your company into a better position by providing alternatives and options that you can easily use and do yourself.

Contractor Website Return on Investment

Because we don’t sell products or services, contractors have gained trust with our Independent Research Facility. We truly research topics and materials that have the most impact on their performance and bottom line.

Then, the Contractor Reference Guide presents these materials to you so you don’t have to hire others. Doing things yourself will be the best return on your investment.

This data will also prevent you from ignoring opportunities for business growth. Simply put, when you don’t know What to Do … it’s equally hard to know How to Do it. The result is that your annual income becomes fixed at a certain level. You miss out on the big profits that other companies seem to be enjoying.

The only way to make more money is to have more people know you exist. Your potential customers are continually searching the Internet for companies that can do their work.

With that, the Internet just also happens to be the cheapest form of advertising for contractor leads that you can use.

Contractor Website Truths

We look at a lot of contractor website’s. Unfortunately more than 80% fall in the category of needing a lot of work to help bring in more construction leads.

Actually however, it’s not that these underperforming websites are that bad as much as they just don’t have a good strategy to make them work better.

All contractors need hundreds of web pages so they can target thousands of keywords. These keywords are the magnets that pull in customers.

The Contractor Reference Guide was designed so that you can create additional websites, web pages or construction blogs … so that you can stop missing out on lead opportunities.

By allowing you to do this work yourself, you literally can save thousands of dollars that otherwise you’d have to pay someone else. This is quite a step over your competitors who have limited budgets, web knowledge and web pages.

Finding more construction leads is really as easy as having a strategy, some better knowledge and having hundreds of pages, thousands of keywords that are be optimized so that you appear more on the search engines. This is the only way potential customers can find you on the Internet.

This Cost Comparison is that of comparing Building Profit (the corporate owner of the Contractor Reference Guide … to that of other alternatives.

Note: The above competitors prices were supplied by a popular website of web designers. This www.DesignQuote.net website boasts having 53,000 international web designer members submitting these costs.

The whole reason to have a Contractor Website is to have it making you money.

What our Independent Research Facility has discovered about you

The following are short little conversations that we hear time and time again. They’re really just common questions and answers to typical concerns of residential general contractors.

►How to Start a Construction Company

So not to ‘learn’ by mistakes

I love being a tradesman as it puts food on my table while keeping me working outdoors. However, I’d really like to overcome my anxiety and prove to myself that I too can own my own company. I feel now is the right time to find out. After all, the worst that could happen is I’m back working for someone else.

►How to Get More Construction Leads

The Holy Grail … Solving through Analytics

Me and my friend have been residential general contractors for many years with lots of good employees. However, I wish my mind could just stay focused on the job without having to worry about where my next lead will come from. I’m slowly learning that I’ve missed out on many big jobs because I wasn’t aggressive enough in my marketing. Seeing my savings account, I’d like to start making some changes.

►How to Grow a Construction Business

Using an Excel Expansion Matrix

I take great pride in saying my company does quality work for mostly referral type clients. However as good as these referrals are, I’ve always felt I should have several more crews working exclusively on jobs that weren’t referral based. Now I’ll setup different divisions on each of my service offerings. They each must stand alone and become profitable by year’s end.

►Creating a Construction Website

Including a Blog & Landing Pages to capture leads … Certified Google Pro Tips

I’d be the first to laugh my butt off if I heard any tradesman say they used social media, websites or was a blogger. But now, all my building suppliers, manufacturers, subs and most other residential general contractors have a web presence.  I guess I need to spend time learning what everyone else seems to already know. I’m putting my domain name on my job signs, business cards, ladders and trucks.

►Business Strategies for Residential General Contractors

Mathematically formulating for Retirement Options

I may not have been great in school when it came to math, but as I’m getting older I wish I learned more about how compounding interest worked. I don’t care what it takes, this year I will get someone to help me see what I need to do. I love being my own boss, but right now I wish someone would give my business (including me and my family) a big ol’ booster shot.

►Diversification

Techniques to extend your service offerings and geographic boundaries

I like working close to home with the same group of guys. However in this economy, I’m finding it harder to find the same good quality jobs. I always thought that expanding my market would spread me too thin where maybe I’d lose quality or money. Today, I see the companies who did this are actually much better off than I am. I’m now getting new phone numbers in other areas.

►Better Office Systems

The What, How and Why of fine-tuning

I’ll admit it … I hate paperwork. I’d rather walk walls than play with a mouse. But I also know that if I had better contracts, change orders and employee handbooks that I would have earned, collected and kept more of my money. Can someone just give me some templates and procedures to follow so I can get back to scraping the ice off my top plates?

►How to Write a Business Plan

… although some alternatives may prove more beneficial

What the heck is a business plan? You get up in the dark, pick up materials, grab a donut, meet the guys, visit a new lead, answer the phone, chase down your money, put out some fires, work late on an estimate, sleep … and, rinse and repeat daily. As you can see, I don’t have any time to plan my business … it’s too busy running me! Tell me there’s an easier way … I dare you!

►Learn technology to Boost Leads

Use the slow season to regain a competitive edge

I already use the newest computers, latest software, backup devices, smart phones, and have an informative website. The problem is keeping up with this technology. I’m smart enough to know that I probably don’t know half as much as I should when it comes to them helping me run my business. Just like owning a skill saw… it doesn’t mean I automatically know how to cut stairs.

►How We Support You

Q & A Emails to your Toughest Challenges

I like being the boss, but sometimes owning business can be a bit lonely. I mean who can I talk shop with? I can’t share everything with my employees and subs; and my spouse doesn’t know construction. When it comes to business planning, marketing and advertising I’m glad I now have an Independent Research Facility to help … clearly, without any strings attached.

►Building Profit | Independent Research Facility

Your Partner in Exponential Growth

Lately it seems that greed and profit might be considered dirty words. Sorry, but I’m in business for the money. Yea, I do build quality jobs but I wouldn’t touch any of them if I couldn’t first make a healthy profit. I’m curious though, how can I make even more money? I don’t care how busy I get or how big I grow … I just want to make a ton of money … ‘Show me the money!’

►Educate Yourself on Growth Strategies

Building Profit for you … not Building Projects for others

I get that we business owners should work ‘ON the business verses ‘IN’ the business. If I hire a project manager at $40,000 to run my jobs while I grow the business … I’m afraid I’ll only keep the $20,000 leftovers. On the other hand, I see where I’m working 3x as many hours in the field while getting that $60,000. Wow, maybe I can make $180,000 (-$40k) if I reverse my thinking?

►Business & Marketing Controls

Microsoft Excel with instructional videos

I use my computer to prepare internal estimates that pulls from a master database of costs that I configured myself. Unfortunately it needs more detail, columns, costs segregated per job type, and an easier way to update all of the templates when there’s a cost change. I was glad to hear that the Research Facility is open to working with me when the solutions can be used by others.

►Construction Marketing 101

Thinking BIGGER

I thought marketing was only placing an ad in the Yellow Pages, printing up business cards and designing company t-shirts. I struggle to see how I can afford anything else. Perhaps my bigger problem is not knowing what I can do … let alone how I can do them. I’m now on a mission to become more intelligent to learn everything and anything that could improve my business.

►The Psychology of Buyers

Getting them to say YES

I don’t like the sales process of trying to convince someone to hire me. But since I know my craft very well, I just keep blowing them away with my knowledge until they hire me. I realize if I learn techniques like ‘mirroring’ or understanding the ‘buyers’ thought process, I might just sell more jobs.

Break Time: A Quick Plumbers Joke_

There just happened to be a lawyer convention and a plumber convention in Oregon at the same time. There was a party of three plumbers and three lawyers leaving California and taking the train to the conventions. As they were standing in line for tickets, the lawyers noticed that the plumbers only bought one ticket. The lawyers bought their three tickets and boarded the train but watched the plumbers to see how they were going to get by with only one ticket.

After boarding, the three plumbers squeezed into a restroom. Finally the porter came by and knocked on the door as he said, “Ticket please”. The door cracked open and an arm reached out and gave the porter the ticket.

After the conventions, the lawyers decided to do the same thing so they only purchased one ticket. However they noticed the plumbers didn’t purchase any tickets at all. They weren’t too concerned though because -hey- they were saving some bucks right? Well, they all boarded the train and the lawyers packed into a tiny restroom. After a few minutes, one of the plumbers came by and knocked on the door saying, “Ticket please.”

►Consumer Disclosures

State and Federal Forms to comply with laws

I always give my customers the required forms so not to get in trouble with the law. Actually, they always seem more of a pain than anything else. However, I didn’t realize that I could use them as a marketing tool in my portfolio book. I now will look more professional to my potential customers because I’m more forthcoming in telling them their rights than my competitors.

►Making Record Profits

How are so many residential general contractors doing so well in this economy

While I agree that our politicians appear to be doing more harm than good to bolster our economy, I’m also confident that most of my own business struggles are probably more related to my efforts (or lack thereof). I really want to learn how I can dominate my neighborhood so I too can start making better profits. I know it’s possible, as I hear the talk at the supply houses.

►Million Dollar Plan

A business strategy using Excel to target Personal Goals

I would love to say that my business has enabled me to save one million dollars. Actually, when I first started out that wasn’t even on my mind. But I’m sure it would have seen more than doable. Now years later, I desperately need a real plan that could make it happen. It also needs to use my language, be realistic and show ideas that make sense to me. I want this challenge!

►Client Matrix

Using your past clients data to find new jobs and money – Excel

My accounting software keeps track of my individual job costs so I know how much profit I made on each job. I obviously know which of my job types are more profitable for me, but I really don’t know how to use that information short of advertising everything to everyone. I’m looking for someone to share their strategy allowing me to use this information to gain more clients.

►Employee Handbook

A template … a starting point to managing your crew

I find it easier to fire someone than to hire someone. Actually, I‘d prefer to do neither but I’ve grown partial to eating every once in a while so I guess I’ll need employees. I know all of the reasons I should be using an employee handbook (cheaper insurance, lower business exposure, protecting against lawsuits). I just need to do it so I’ll feel I’m better controlling my employees.

►Legal Construction Draws

Strategies to gain more profit if a client goes bad

This is such an interesting topic in our office. I’d like to have construction draws that are legal, binding, cover my expenses, and make me my profit as early as possible. I would also like to know how I can actually legally collect far more from my clients’ lender, a title company or a lawsuit if a job does actually go bad. I don’t want to compromise with my hard-earned money.

►Critical Path Schedule

Customizing Excel to run jobs with fewer headaches

I like to project manage and I’m very good at it. My jobs always finish on time and on budget. However, I find myself always thinking of things I should be doing tomorrow when I’m supposed to be eating dinner or sleeping. I wish I had the time to create an Excel CPM schedule that would allow me more free time to not think of repetitive things anymore. I only want to read a list.

►Fixing Websites to Bring in Leads

Solving why most website aren’t bringing in Paying Customers

I’m not stupid, but I know there are thousands of residential general contractors who each want to have their website rank #1 on Google. That’s not possible. Help me understand how I can at least beat the guys in my own backyard. These guys aren’t as computer savvy as I want to be. I want to be the company to beat when it comes to Internet marketing. I also want to do it all myself.

►Creating a Company Blog

So potential customers will trust you … and call you

I’ve heard the purpose of having a blog is so that potential customers can get to know who you are. However, as good as that is, can you share why you say there’s yet another better reason for residential general contractors to have a blog? [Yes, a blog gives you the opportunity to use more keywords to attract more customers. You want to dominate hundreds of keywords in your neighborhood.]

►Time & Cost Analysis

Finding both time and money in key personnel To Fund Growth – Excel

In my local building associaton, I know many residential general contractors that need honest feedback on how they can use their existing resources to grow their businesses. Most have a big overhead with having both office and field employees. They need an analytical way of determining where their wasting time and/or money. They want to have a lot more productivity for growth sake, without spending another dime.

►Design-Build Retainer Agreement

Using to eliminate competition and Sign More Jobs

While I currently build some very large projects, I currently shy away from advertising as a design-build company. I feel I’m missing out on a very large market by ignoring this opportunity. I want to capitalize on this growing trend while also using its benefits to sign other smaller jobs. I want to gain another edge over competitors who can’t or won’t do the same thing.

►About Us: Customer Demands

Customers must read about you before they’d ever call you … let’s give it to them

I’m normally a very quite person. I feel as that when I talk about myself or my company that it sounds too much like bragging. I want to overcome this as I see my shyness is causing some people to not hire me. I get that I can put up a website where people can simply read about me without me having to tout my greatness. I’m anxious to hear how my story can pull in leads.

►Outsmart the Guys without Computers

And those waiting for the economy to improve

I’ve been looking for ways that I can improve my business so I can give my family more. My kids want vacations, my spouse would like a new car, and my daughter has some big college debts. I’m not looking for a quick fix but a slow-steady system that can get my business performing better. I really believe my business has yet to peak. Tell me what to do … and how to do it.

►Contract and Building Specifications

Language to limit Collections and Civil Litigation

I remember the days of taking on big jobs with only a handshake. Back then, we never had collection problems or an attorney drafting language. While the times have changed, can I see contracts and specifications that others are using so I can setup as a template to eliminate the time it normally takes me to prepare them? I want to know what I’m protected against.

►Change Orders to protect your butt

Including Statement and Invoice best practices

So how do my competitors deal with homeowners constantly changing their minds? I used to discourage them as it seems to slow the job and my payments down. Lately though, I’ve been profiting from ‘changes’ as well as being able to extend my time to complete the original work. I’m also able to collect more money upfront. I need to learn more on doing this even better.

►How to Design a Huge Website

Using the Best International Framework

I happen to have an old website that isn’t bringing in any leads (even though I paid dearly to have it built). I would like to start over doing it all myself. Honestly though, there are way too many choices. I’m glad the Contractor Reference Guide does not sell websites (trust thing) and I’m glad you’re willing to teach me using simple steps and language with the best framework.

►Creating Your Own Website

Step-by-Step Instructions to DIY

I would love to have several websites for my company. I’d like to have one for each of my different service divisions.  If you can teach me the terminology along with insider tips and strategies I will be forever grateful. However, I really don’t have the time for a lesson on theory as much as just needing a very practical step-by-step approach to follow. [Glad to help!]

►Troubleshooting those Free/Low-Cost Websites

What you really get for your money

Years ago, I figured a bad website was better than no website at all. Today however, my needs have changed. My website must actually bring in work. This economy has me up against the wall trying to keep leads and jobs coming in. This time, I don’t want to make another mistake. I want the ability to build, control and change my website as I grow without ever starting over.

►Keyword Research

Sharing how to do so the search engines will display your company

Insiders Tip: [Using KW’s is not about declaring them in your Meta data. It’s about optimizing your content so that your KW’s will rise to the top in density and prominence. The Contractor Reference Guide will give you free software to use. BTW, having multiple KW’s on each webpage only dilutes their effectiveness. We freely share the best techniques to use with you.]

►60% of Customers Search the Internet for Residential General Contractors

A little knowledge can capitalize on this growing market

Okay, I hear you. I spend a ton of money with the Yellow Pages at it only reaches 9% of the market. I need to do a better job at marketing or my company won’t survive. Tell me exactly what I must do. I don’t want to let go of my employees or be forced to sell my home. I am ready, willing and able to build homes … help me find some clients, please.

►Website Landing Pages

How you can flood your neighborhoods with free ‘flyers’

If I understand correctly, these LP’s will pull in leads and clients. Can you explain how this works? [Yes, each LP will be targeting a specific keyword that you anticipate your prospects will be searching for. Most residential general contractors should have hundreds of LP’s targeting thousands of KW’s. This is a much better strategy than only having a 6-page website using only a few overused terms (roofing).]

►Understanding the Search Engines

Giving them what they want … learn their game & rules to get more jobs

I’m not a fan of these monster-sized conglomerates that appear to have the power to decide which construction companies will succeed and which ones will fail. However, being that I’m too old and stubborn to work for someone else, I must learn to play nice(r). I want a strategy that I can understand and put in place. Straight-talk without speaking computer-ease.

►Meta Data to Draw in Customers

Understanding On-Site & On-Page SEO

I know that Meta data encompasses a lot of variables on a website and each could play a part in getting some leads for me. My question: is this as confusing as it sounds? [Yes and No. Yes in that you can easily see why your existing website isn’t working; and no because constructing a custom home per building codes is much harder. Professional residential general contractors don’t really have a choice.]

►Using Google & Yahoo as a Lead Generator

You can’t ignore them or they’ll ignore you

As much as I’d like to say I don’t have time for this. I’m also tired of seeing my business struggle with getting leads. I don’t want to use Lead Generation companies. If I knew more about the subject I could see where I could do a much better job at getting my own leads. I’m sending you my money so I can start reading this weekend. Thanks for putting this all together for me.

►Search Engine Optimization

Removing the complicated with free software tools

I’ve noticed that since nobody can earn a degree in SEO that it actually must be pretty easy to learn. After all, since Google doesn’t share their algorithm’s which determines which company gets shown … that means most everyone to some degree is only guessing. I want free software that tells me if what I’m doing will work or not; as well as tools to monitor my progress.

►Website Analytics

Tracking your website visitors

I think this is so cool. I want the ability to know exactly when someone is looking at my website in real time. I want to know what page they’re currently looking at as well as how long they spend reading it. I want to know what operating system they’re using and their monitor size. I think all of this information will be valuable to me in helping to figure out how to sign more jobs.

►Becoming a Web Designer

You can’t afford to do what YOU need … You must do it Yourself

Tip: [The best internet and affiliate marketing companies have thousands of keywords, landing pages and blog posts. These companies dominate the market using mass saturation. They use organic, AdSense and AdWords to the extreme. Learning to duplicate their moves ‘yourself’ (otherwise you’d go broke) will get you sipping Pina-Colada’s fulltime on the beach somewhere.]

►Dominate Local Search

Get your company on Google and Bing

I’ve heard that Local search, Places, Google+ and local AdWords can work well for service residential general contractors. I’m concerned about only reaching a small part of my service area unless I have multiple service addresses. I want to beat out my competitors who otherwise have a poor showing on these venues. I see a local opening not having to compete with the World Wide Web.

►Spying on Competitors

View their web strategies, backlinks and PPC campaigns

I’m excited to hear how I can peer into and copy some of my competitor’s tactics. I now realize that this public information is how marketing firms push their clients ahead of their competitors. It’s like their entire web strategy is available for everyone to see. Now I don’t have to work so hard in finding backlinks and keywords. Awesome.

►Page Rank Concept

Grab high ranking Backlinks, Ping Lists & Directories

I like the saying that, “All is fair I love and war”. If some of my competitors can afford to hire expensive web designers and SEO experts to increase their business … I’m glad I can piggy-back on their knowledge without me spending money. There is so much I can learn from others that I’ve been missing out on. Yep, two can play this game. I too, want my business to do very well.

►Encrypting your Data

Protecting your Computer and Files

I used to be one of those that never backed up my files on a regular basis. I’m glad I got into the habit before my computer crashed.  However, I see my life would have much easier if I had done an Image Backup, as you’ve suggested. I too never thought about all of my files being exposed to the several guys that looked to fix my computer. Never again will I make that mistake!

►Craigslist Ads that Sell

Turnng into colorful posters with photos and links pointing to your website

I know that these free ads don’t usually bring in quality leads. However, I’m committed to running several really cool ads all year long. My past experience tells me that I should be doing everything possible to help my business. Besides, you can’t beat free ads that are so big and beautiful. I want my neighborhood to see and read all about me on my website.

►Software and reading recommendations

… and a bunch more free stuff

Most residential general contractors are not ones to sit around and read books. However, many do actually like to read about certain subjects. I guess running a business is a little different than I thought it would be. I’d really prefer to be out on the job-sites but if some books and new software can help to land more jobs and make more money … well, count me in.

►Keyword Prominence and Density

Making it part of everything you write

This is new to me. I have no idea what you’re talking about. It makes sense though that if I say my website is about ‘Building Additions’, and my Meta data says ‘Additions’; then my content better speak towards ‘Additions’. I’m looking forward to what I know will be another Eye Opening experience. [yes, you owe me an OMG, I don’t believe how dense I’ve been; LOL]

►Tons of Free Software the Pro’s Use

Making your marketing efforts so much easier

[95% of our Contractor Reference Guide (providing specific opinions of knowing: What to Do and How to Do it) is entirely free. This includes our step-by-step instructions, videos, some books, most software, Word, Excel and PDF files, etc. The Independent Research Facility wants to provide you the knowledge and means to do things yourself without hiring or spending money.]

►Step-by-Step Tactics to Improve Your Entire Business

… AND SO MUCH MORE

[Busy residential general contractors simply don’t have the time to research all of the potential better ways to run their business.

Building Profit created the Independent Research Facility as a tool for contractors to use to help improve and grow their business.

We’ve managed to keep the access fee to the Contractor Reference Guide extremely low considering the volume of data it includes.

Plus having an access fee keeps out low-level tradesmen from having the same competitive advantage as professional contractors willing to invest in some continual education.

The Contractor Reference Guide includes a lifetime membership to receive continual updates and $50 member referrals. Email any questions or concerns _ Building Profit

You’ll notice the photo’s on this page have nothing to do with construction, money, blueprints or jobsites.

These photo’s are the life reminders of why you must do everything within your power to get your business performing up to its full potential.

Residential Construction: The Bigger Picture

Let’s face it, completing a big project, seeing the happy faces of the clients, picking up a referral for your efforts, and collecting your construction money is all pretty darn good. As contractors, we live for that.

However, we believe that if professional tradesmen had a couple million dollars of construction money in the bank they wouldn’t hesitate a moment to close up shop and do away with all those happy feelings (and headaches).

Business strategy focuses on the bigger picture. It defines the exact steps needed to accomplish your goals. Is your goal to build houses, lay shingles and replace windows, or are you simply doing these things to make money?

Business Strategy 101: More Construction Money

Let’s start there. How much money do you need in your savings account? If you had 1 million dollars earning between 5% – 10% interest, it would provide you with $50,000 – $100,000 each and every year for life.

Having 2 million dollars would give you $100,000 – $200,000 each year for life. Heck, you’d have trouble spending just the interest. You wouldn’t have a mortgage or truck payments. Traveling the countryside sounds a lot better than chasing down leads, materials and construction monies owed.

Strategy: Construction Leads

You want your business to create a 1,000,000.00 savings account within 5 years. Your currently have/anticipate $20,000 of annual business bills and another $50,000 of personal bills.

Simple math tells us that you would need an additional $200,000 ($1 million divided by 5 years) to make this assumption work. So your goal is to earn $270,000 ($20k business bills + $50k personal bills + $200k savings feed) annually the next 5 years.

However, that doesn’t take into account that any construction money saved would be earning 10% interest (compounded monthly) while it’s sitting there growing. With that factored into the equation you then only need $234,000 ($20k business bills + $50k personal bills + $164k savings feed).

Using Marketing Data to Generate Construction Money

This is why it is really important to use our Excel spreadsheets on collecting your marketing data. Let’s use our previous pages example of a typical re-roof job earning profits of $2,500 each. This means you need to sign 94 jobs per year ($234,000 divided by $2,500).

We also believe in hedging our bets ten-fold. So we’ll also look at your marketing data on nine other job types. We’ll look at the profits earned on building custom homes, spec homes, a typical siding job, bathroom remodel, kitchen makeover, basement completion, window replacement, exterior wood decks, and additions.

If you don’t have 10 services … get them. You need to have 10 different company divisions each with its own website. Making more construction money means to Think Bigger!

Our strategy isn’t to divide up your 10 services so that each of them provides 1/10 of what is needed. We want to market them so that if they all succeed you’ll have $10,000,000.00. Got It!

Theory meets Reality: Construction Money doesn’t Grow on Tree’s

Signing 94 roofing jobs sounds great but we struggle to find 25 jobs. Plus, our 4:1 closing ratio will bring our needed bid opportunities up from 100 (25 jobs * 4:1 ratio) to 376 (94 jobs * 4:1 ratio).

Yep, that’s right. You need better advertising … preferably little to no cost … that is seen and used by the largest majority of potential clients … hmmm.

Some contractors do have websites. However, most of these sites do little but look good. Potential customers can’t find it using search engines so they’re only useful if someone knows the exact URL address to type. That has to change, today.

If you call yourself a professional contractor
then having a kick-ass website that advertises your services
that YOU control … is the absolute minimum must have.

Why You Must Control Your Website

The short answer is that it’s too expensive otherwise. Web designers and SEO guys charge thousands of dollars to create 6 optimized pages. Additionally, the website is like plants and flowers. It needs constant love and attention (backlinks, keywords and fresh content). As soon as you stop making your monthly payments the link juice dies away and you have to start over.

This is crazy. Even more so when faced with the reality that having only 6 pages and a couple dozen keywords won’t bring you didly-squat in leads or jobs (as most of you have already found out).

What Your Construction Business Needs

Using the Contractor Reference Guide, our contractor members create multiple websites with each having hundreds of pages. Each site targets thousands of keywords to dominate their market.

Their cost: $15 per year per domain name; $7 per month to host the set. Some purchase a premium master template theme to redesign for each website which has a one-time cost under $100; although not necessary.

Fact: Having a web designer and SEO guy creating all these websites, pages, keyword research, and SEO would cost you nearly a million dollars. It’s no different than you building 10 custom homes … or asking another contractor to build them for you.

You can’t afford to do what needs to be done. So you must learn how to do it yourself. That’s how our Independent Research Facility was founded. That’s the only way to earn more construction money. That’s why the Contractor Reference Guide is so valuable.

More Construction Money Pep Talk

You have the talent to complete many jobs. The process to remodel a bathroom or to put a new roof on is the same whether you have 10, 100 or 1,000 different job locations.

As a business owner, your efforts can’t be continually focused on the tasks (completing those jobs) that you’ve already mastered so well that you can do them in your sleep.

You’re biggest competitive advantage is having the skill to acquire new jobs. Meeting and talking with clients while getting them to sign your contracts is what makes you more money. Completing those jobs once there signed is easy … anyone can do that … that’s what employees and subs are for.

In this poor economic time, your job as an owner is to focus near 100% of your time doing the marketing and advertising to get yourself in front of a lot more potential customers.

Obviously you’re in business to make more money. Whether you like it or not, Google and Bing are your biggest business partners. They control 60% of your potential earnings.

You either can ignore them, complain about their power, refuse to deal with them … or, you can kiss their butt, play their game … and get filthy rich.

Your goal is to only get better than your neighborhood competitors. Most of which, don’t even know there are 750 different search engines wanting to feed them work.

Making money is easier with an open mind
and the willingness to change.

Final Words

Don’t over-think and make the Internet thing too confusing. It really isn’t. You must have tons of Internet traffic. In this day-and-age you can’t ignore 60% of your market. Think about that.

Assuming too, that if you don’t advertise in the newspaper classified section, or with their display ads, Craigslist, church bulletins, school directories, radio jingles, television commercials, PR campaigns, direct mail postcards, door-to-door flyer’s, etc., etc. … (the remaining 40%) …

Then you are just marketing to a small subset of the remaining 40%. If you only use referrals, the Yellow Pages and a job sign, you’ve reduced your target market down to about 12%. That’s no way to make good construction money.

No business can sustain itself by ignoring 88% of those individuals looking for your services … not even a Fortune-500 Company.

If you’re really in business to earn more money … then consider using the Contractor Reference Guide. It’s Independent Research Facility for Residential Contractors doesn’t sell products or services and only gives out information and opinions that will make your business stronger. Our only interest is in helping you. Our resources were designed for you, the residential contractor.

As an example, even if you are a really great contractor out in the field. Your company will never give you the enough money to gain financial freedom if/when your marketing and advertising is operating at 12% efficiency.

On the other hand, if you normally can make $100,000 per year operating at 12% efficiency … think of the financial rewards in reaching out to another 60% market share. Going from 12% to 72% is like going from $100,000 to $600,000. Guys, this is a no-brainer. Our point is that you have to try.

What you’re missing … may only be a better Strategy

General Contracting | Remodeling | Home Building | Sub-Contracting

If you were considering buying into a hair salon or pizza franchise, did you know you would be disqualified if you actually knew how to cut hair or flip pizzas?

And, did you also know that regardless of what type of business you own (a hair salon, a pizza place, a plumbing company or a general contracting construction business) that there are only 4 ways to grow that business?

In the above, the franchise doesn’t want its owners cutting hair or making pizzas. Instead, they want them continually learning and growing their business.

More success comes when you learn how to work ON your business verses working IN the business.

Trade contractors have mastered how to get their jobs done. Where they fall down is not having the resources available, like the Contractor Reference Guide, to immediately know what to do … and how to do it … in relation to finding leads and growing their business.

How to Grow a Construction Business | Framing Business | Plumbing Business | Roofing Business

Regardless of what trade you’re in, there are a ton of little tips, tricks, tools and secrets that you’ve already mastered to get the job done. In fact, tradesmen make it look so easy that many homeowners believe they too can general or build a new house as well as you can.

This is such a bad idea for them. They usually don’t know … what they don’t know. Their indecisions, lack of construction knowledge, inability to talk the lingo with the trades will always cost them dearly in the end.

They think the price a supplier or trade quotes them is ACTUALLY going to be their final bill. Worse yet, they think their estimates are actually ALL that is needed to get the jobs done.

Our point being is that most construction company owners hate working in the office. When we tell a contractor they should no longer work in the field, prepare estimates, order materials, schedule jobs, talk to trades … they’re response is that they’ll now have a great golf game.

The Contractor Reference Guide is a tool that contractors can quickly use without having to do tons of research themselves or listen to a ton of sales pitches, hype or hidden agenda’s from companies seeking to sell you something. With a reference guide at you disposal, you then can then grow your construction business while remaining focused on the job-sites.

It’s funny, but when we say a contractor could be working the same 50-60 hours a week working ON the business instead of IN it … we get that blank stare of what possibly would I be doing with all my time?

Construction Business Strategy: How to Grow a Construction Business

Like the homeowner who thinks they’re qualified to build a custom house because once when they were a kid, they watched their father take 7 months to build a garage.

When it comes to how to grow a business, you too don’t know … what you don’t know. The Contractor Reference Guide is meant to give you a better strategy that you can implement yourself.

Mastering your trade allows you to put good food on your table.
Mastering the business allows you to put 7-figures in the bank.

Retirement Now?

I don’t care how old you are, how many years you’ve been in business, or how many referrals you get …

If you can’t say that you have a 5 year plan that will make you a millionaire … then you’re not using your construction business and your talents to their full potential.

Learning how to grow a business is what you may be missing out on _ Building Profit.

Either way you have to get up and work the next 5 years …

Together, let’s work a strategy for yourself …

Instead of working a blueprint for some client?

The Reasons to Start a Construction Company

Most tradesmen dream about wanting to start a construction company. They often feel they can run their business as good as, or better than their current employer. While others start a company out of sheer desperation to keep their bills paid.

Either way, the worst that can generally happen if they start a construction business is that they again go back and work for somebody else. However, the best that can happen is that their business provides their family a much better way of life.

Most contractors make a lot more money
after they start a construction company.

Tradesmen who would still use their tools out in the field will make better wages than before. Additionally, they’ll also bring home the business profits from the job. As you know, bids are figured calculating material costs, labor (your wage), overhead (the cost of license, bond, insurance), and profit.

How Much Profit in a Construction Company

When you start a construction company you want to know how much money you can make. It’s typical to sign jobs that will bring in between $1,000 – $2,000 per week in ‘profit’.

A four week job will have $4,000 – $8,000 of profit built in to it. So, your annual profit will bring your family $50,000 – $100,000. Not bad considering you can still make wage on top of that ‘profit’.

Also, this $1,000 – $2,000 weekly profit is based upon signing the smallest of remodeling jobs. Such as remodeling a small bathroom, replacing a shingle roof, putting a wood deck on, or replacing windows. Look at these jobs:

• Master Suite Expansion into adjoining bedroom: $15,000 – $25,000 profit
• Basement Completion: $10,000 – 25,000 profit
• Major Kitchen Remodel: $10,000 – 20,000 profit
• New Windows, Siding, Eaves, Gutters and Roof: $5,000 – 10,000 profit
• Speculative Home: $30,000 – 60,000 profit
• Custom Home Building: $50,000 – $100,000 profit

Can you Start a Construction Company and Succeed

It’s a fact that when a construction company starts, 80% of those won’t make it past the first year. Of those remaining, 80% will never make it to year five. That means that for every 100 businesses opening its doors only 4 make it big time. Still, a 1:25 chance to make hundreds of thousands of dollars is better odds than any lottery.

In fact, we believe contractors who start a construction company will have much better odds as they actually have a trade skill they know very well.

People need and want the services of a well run business.

Why will a Construction Business Make It while Others Don’t

Most companies that struggle will tell you these reasons:

• The poor economy hurts their construction business
  
• The current Whitehouse administration
• Too much regulation
• Banks won’t lend money for client blueprints or their construction business plans
  
• Too much business competition
• Too many foreclosures, etc., etc., etc.

However, there are hundreds of thousands of contractors across the nation doing just fine. In fact, our building and remodeling trade magazines continually list thousands of construction business professionals making record profits.

Don’t get me wrong, those factors above certainly do play a part. However, most times they just act as an excuse to cover up the real issues that a business won’t or can’t deal with.

Secrets of Success: Start a Construction Company

You can be the best tradesman in the world … if nobody knows you exist … you’ll go just as bankrupt as the guy who doesn’t know which end of the hammer to hold.

The guys who constantly bury themselves in construction field work will go broke (as soon as they stop).

You must work ON your business instead of always IN it.

In real estate … its Location, Location, Location.

In running a construction business …

its Marketing, Marketing, Marketing.

For every hour a contractor spends in the field making $35 per hour … you cost yourself $1,000 per hour in missed opportunities selling something to someone. Tradesmen who are employees can concentrate on the job. Tradesmen who are company owners need to see and work on the bigger picture. Learning business strategies to exploit your construction skills will create wealth.

Acknowledge your shortcomings. Again, most tradesmen who start a construction business are great ‘construction’ workers out in the field. They can run jobs, bend pipe, lay shingles, hang siding, frame roofs, cut stairs, draw plans, meet with suppliers, and coordinate construction company crews.

The Contractor Reference Guide helps you to learn marketing, creating targeted websites, monitoring financial statements, streamlining the estimating process, preparing detailed building contracts and job specifications, learning how to make better use of Excel and Word, picking up CAD programs … and about 300 hundred other ‘business’ things.

The guys who start a construction company that are successful

… are as talented in the office …

… as they are in the field …

Using the Contractor Reference Guide will greatly increase the odds of your success. It gives you actionable Step-by-Step instructions on how to setup everything within your business. It also gives you access to our Q & A email format allowing you to ask specific questions.

Construction Leads for Residential Contractors

Do you have a website that is directly responsible for bringing in 60% of all your construction leads and profits? Remember, our Independent Research Facility doesn’t sell any products, services or websites.

That means that our research and opinions are given with your best interest in mind. No hype, no sales pitches or hidden agenda’s.

The purpose of the Contractor Reference Guide is only to help you to see the choices you have while giving you 24/7 access to the Step-by-Step instructions of how to implement any of them. This keeps you in control without having to hire out expensive web designers,  consultants or SEO wizards.

Let’s look at an example:

• Say you were a roofer that made $2,500 profit per average re-shingle job.
• You also want to make $200,000 per year in profit.
• That means that you need to sign 80 jobs per year.
• Marketing data shows a 4:1 closing ratio as people are price shopping.
• That means your advertising needs to generate 320 qualified contractor leads.
• In this example, the Internet must be responsible for generating at least 192 of those construction leads (320 * 60%).
• We also know that most websites have a 100:1 unqualified to qualified ratio as there are many people just ‘looking’, spammers, marketers, search robots, directory inquiries, salesmen, people who typed the wrong address, out-of-country hits, etc.
• This means your website must be generating near 20,000 hits per year in construction leads.
  

The good news: These construction leads are free. The Internet is free. Creating a great website is nearly free ($100 annual for a domain name and a hosting provider).

The bad news: In order to get these leads however, your website must appear in the top pages of the search engines.

We’ve Been Told: Getting Internet Construction Leads is too Confusing

We all heard it before. Setting up a website is complicated. Leave it for the professionals. You must hire an advertising agency, graphic designer, copywriter, and a web designer with knowledge of computer coding, php, css, html, and JavaScript.

That’s crap. If it was so complicated and confusing to actually get Internet leads, you would think someone could obtain a 4-year Bachelors Degree on the service. After all, you can get a degree in construction, project management, architecture, and structural engineering. In comparison, what contractors do … that’s complicated.

The same holds true when we hear of a homeowner wanting to build their own custom house. We tell them it’s too confusing. You have to hire plumbers, electricians, hvac guys, and framers all with the knowledge of building codes, the IRC, the NEC, and Energy codes. Here, ad agencies and carpenters each must protect their own turf.

Builders and contractors excel at complicated. The Contrator Reference Guide excels at uncovering all the available resources to improve your efficiency and profits.

Website Truths about Construction Leads

If you have a free (or near-free) website that you got from some company (the yellow pages, some accounting software) then it is garbage. You have no real controls of design or SEO, and you’re probably not getting any substantial quantity of leads.

If you have a cheap website template, it too may be garbage. Many of these have you renting your domain name – yikes!

If you spent thousands of dollars on a custom built website that takes an engineer and more money to add pages, content, photos, SEO … then it too is garbage. If you hear Internet web terminology and don’t understand their meanings … then your web designer is doing you a disservice.

If you can’t access the ENTIRE backend of your website (including all of your server files) so you can change the look, feel, color, columns, layout, design, meta data of your website … then you need to save what you can and toss the rest away. It’s purpose is to generate lots of construction leads … and that isn’t possible if it only looks good (sitting there collecting dust).

If you pay monthly fees to some web design company to help make layout changes to your site; or to perform some search engine optimization (SEO) for you … then you’re throwing money away. Instead, have your spouse or an employee do it.

A website can make your phone ring … but you must DIY. That’s because you don’t have enough money to sub out what needs to be done to someone else.

The Contractor Research Guide gives you the knowledge to generate your own computer leads instead of relying on others.

Here’s the real test

Think up 100 words that best describe your business services (not your company name as new potential customers won’t know it). Type each of those (one at a time) into a Google Search box. If your company website doesn’t appear … then it’s time for a new marketing strategy to grab more construction leads.

The Internet isn’t going away. 60% of all people looking to hire a contractor use the Internet to find them. Second place is the Yellow Pages at 9%.

Let’s see another example:

• Say there were 100,000 homes in your roofing service area.
• Let’s assume that only 1,000 roofing jobs will actually be done (check permits).
• With the Yellow Pages, you’re only marketing to 9% of them or 90 potential jobs. Assuming all 90 actually call you; and you have a 4:1 closing ratio; then you’ll land 22 jobs for $55,000 (22 * $2,500 profit).
• Using the Internet for contractor leads will bring your potential profits up to $375,000 (1,000 jobs * 60% * .25 closing ratio * $2,500). Weigh that with the continual cost to run multiple ads in several Yellow Page books … to that of a basically free website … the choice is apparent.

Stop Buying Construction Leads

We know contractors are successful at ‘construction’. However as you know, the only way to make a ton more money is to sign more jobs. And, the only way to sign more jobs is to get more leads. Your phone must be constantly ringing if you’re going to be successful at ‘business’ too.

You wouldn’t hesitate to purchase skill saws, a generator and nail guns to frame a house for some client;

Or, purchase scaffolding, ladders, and a fall arrest system to hang vinyl siding for some client;

… but some are hesitant to do … what they know must be done … and that is to learn and master the web (or marketing in general).

A well-designed and properly functioning website is a tool that can generate a ton of construction leads and money.

Showing and teaching you how to do it yourself is why the Contractor Reference Guide was created by the Independent Research Facility.

We service the Residential Construction Industry throughout the U.S.A. and Canada

Residential Contractors Website Evaluation

In this process, we run a quick construction website evaluation to determine some of the following:

• Age of site
• Domain name expiration
• Hosting provider
• Sitemap
• Past site ‘look’
• Proper use of:
  • H-tags
  • Meta description
  • Keywords
  • Custom title tags
• Page rank
• Number of internal links
• Number of external links
• Backlink count
• Navigation ease
• TOS & privacy policy
• Google index
• Search engine visibility
• Direct competitor sites
• Word count
• Keyword performance
• Alt tag usage
• Photo tags
• Perma-link structure
• and any other item you may mention

We will email your free construction website evaluation

Have a Great Day!

[contact-form-7]

Minimum Requirements in Today’s Economy

The Independent Research Facility takes the position that every construction small business owner wants to make more money. Thus our goal with the Ultimate Contractor Reference Guide is to help make that adventure a little bit easier to accomplish.

This page represents the MINIMUMS that every construction small business should be doing to some extent within their business. The Contractor Reference Guide speaks to each of these MINIMUMS by way of offering strategies and tactics to make a business more profitable. These speakings include:

Insider opinions of construction, business and marketing, how-to tips, tricks, strategies, tactics, step-by-step instructions, opinions, articles, blogs, software recommendations, Word and PDF documents, security measures, procedures, charts, graphs, photo’s, SEO measures, screen captures, Excel spreadsheets, forms, examples, video tutorials, reading materials, etc., etc.

Below is a partial list of some of the materials discussed withing the Contractor Reference Guide. Each item has actionable Step-by-Step instructions to implement or improve within your business.

WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN

BUSINESS PLAN SUMMARY

A common entrepreneurial error is thinking that as a contractor … that you ‘own’ your business and thus are entitled to do as much, or as little with it, as you see fit. While technically speaking there is a lot of truth to that, there too is a better position to take.

That is, that you work for your business. It wants to provide you with a million dollar savings account. Think of your business as your boss. A living, breathing entity that is capable of creating wealth for you and your family … you simply need to allow it and help it along … like a good employee.

This entire WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN section isn’t required. You certainly can (and probably have) run your business without a formal direction. Ignoring it doesn’t mean you won’t be successful. We often see these produced when a company is seeking a large business loan to expand.

The Contractor Reference Guide is full of ideas and opinions to make your business more profitable. Our Independent Research Facility doesn’t sell products or services, thus its opinions are in your best interest.

Summary Overall Position

The purpose of a Summary Overall Position is to quickly give information to its readers (your employees, key personnel, board of advisers, shareholders, bankers, and you) a quick snapshot of who you are, what you do, and what you want to do.

It has to tell the readers what the business is doing now (in terms of age, sales volume, profit, expenses, employees, etc) and what you the business desires to do (be specific). Lastly, it tells how it plans on going about making those changes, how it will pay for them, the objections/hurdles, and of course its anticipated income.

DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY

HISTORY OF COMPANY

WHAT’S IN A NAME

SHAREHOLDERS – BIOGRAPHY’S

Current Company Position

This is an area to state where the company is right now in terms of sales, employees, income, job types, assets, and target market location.

An opportunity to start shedding light on what the company needs to change, why it needs to change, and how it will change.

Company – Personal Goals

This is why you get up early every morning. It has nothing to do with sales, or the number of jobs you can do, the quantity of employees you have, whether you offer benefits and paid vacations, the skills your team brings, or anything having to do with your clients.

It’s all about you and your family. We ask that you put these personal goals into one of two categories. Those that require money to accomplish them; and those that do not.

Sample of different types of Goals:

BUSINESS GOALS

OWNER’S PERSONAL GOALS

Measuring Success

Obviously it’s not enough just to have dreams. Nor is it enough just to list out specific goals. In fact, regardless of your overall business plan, you must also have a means and method to measure the progress you’re making.

These are measurable factors tracking company progress toward its goals.

CUSTOMER: 100% client satisfaction

FINANCIAL: Realizing the owners goals and dreams

EMPLOYEES: Good environment with benefits and opportunities

COMPETITION: Staying ahead of threats and risks to your bottom line

QUALITY: Superior product with reduced owner involvement

QUANTITY: Job backlog growing into other geographical areas

TIME: On time completions

COSTS: Higher profit margins and lowered job costs

Mission Statement

A mission statement answers the question, “Why do we exist?”

The mission statement articulates the company’s purpose both for those in the organization and for the public.

Similar is a Unique Selling Propositions (USP) that needs to convey to your potential customers how you are different from all of the other contractors out there. The What you do differently that they can’t get anywhere else; and the Why they should give their money to you verses your competitors.

We know this all sounds a bit corny.
But we need to help you figure out … how BEST to convince others to hire you.

Sales Goals – Summary

A Sales Plan is basically a listing of desired target quotas in any geographical area, for the many different job types you perform. Contractors need to know exactly how many different types of jobs, per area, are needed. It must be realistic using your past historical data as its support.

This is the BEST starting point. We’ll show you what to do with that information.

Marketing Goals – Summary

Marketing Goals are nothing more than defining who your target clients are, where their located, the services their interested in having you do for them, the probable sales volume for each of these job types, and the anticipated profit you can make.

This is where you should be spending most of your time. Our Creating Growth Strategies section goes into specific Excel worksheets specifically designed to help your business.

THREE YEAR HISTORIC GROSS PROFITS

THREE YEAR HISTORIC GROWTH RATE

HISTORIC BID TO SALES RATIO PER PROJECT TYPES

HISTORIC CLIENT DEMOGRAPHICS PER PROJECT TYPES

Advertising Goals – Summary

Advertising Goals are the inner workings of what makes up your advertising materials. Your business cards, brochures, and your website. The how and what to say. The logo and the tag-line slogan can be your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

We’ll show you how to create some great looking ads … and an awesome free website. All without having to hire marketing firms, web designers and SEO experts.

Financial Goals – Summary

Your business and its ability to grow may be limited to sources of obtainable working capital. It costs money to make money and thus financial planning also requires planning and strategies so that the owners goals can be accomplished. Another words, the Sales, Marketing and Advertising methods need to be adequately funded so that substantial growth can be achieved.

Executive Management

Typically, most residential construction small business companies are small family owned entities. This is usually true regardless of their sales volume. However, just because both spouses legally own the business usually doesn’t mean that both parties share in the responsibilities.

In fact, being an owner of any type of business can be very lonely at the top. The pressures and stress to continually find leads, sell jobs, do the work, collect the money, pay employees, deal with clients, and babysit everyone else … can be a real headache.

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM SAMPLE

SCHEDULING LONG TERM PLANNING

Remember the definition of ‘IGNORANCE’:
“Continually doing the same thing … the same way … and expecting different results.”

The clock and your age are speeding forward … take care of your family … as well as you take care of your clients. Use your education, your skill and your experience to their full potential.

Plan to create wealth for yourself … instead of creating projects for clients.

The Contractor Reference Guide is designed to help you. Using it gives yourself the best chance to succeed.

Objectives

More often than not, the owners of a residential construction small business company can be found either out on the job with a tool-belt on, or in the office project managing. In fact, most company owners would rather do most anything else rather than draft a business plan. This sounds very ironic as it is those same owners that constantly dream of how to make their business more profitable.

Defining the Role of your Executive Management Team (even if only you)

PLANNING

ORGANIZING

STAFFING

DIRECTING

CONTROLLING

Critical Path Chart

This visualizes all the different hats construction small business owners must wear to run their business.

7 KEY DIVISION’S . . .

COVERING OVER 26 BUSINESS AREAS . . .

OF OVER 400+ CRITICAL DETAILS.

PDF file: Critical Path Chart of Business Operations

In our opinion, the purpose of owning a construction small business company is to make money … lots of it. Enough to stuff your savings account, close your company and enjoy the rest of your life sipping margarita’s on some exotic beach somewhere.

You’ve heard the expression: Take care of your clients, your employees and enjoy the work you do. While we believe there is nothing wrong with loving your work, your clients and your employees, we simply want to help you put YOUR goals and desires ahead of others.

The Contractor Reference Guide helps you set goals, create strategies, and organize tactics. As a construction small business owner, these are the MINIMUM things you should be doing … when desiring to make more money.

CREATING GROWTH STRATEGIES

BUSINESS PLANNING

Business planning is the only realistic way … to gain enough momentum … to become financially independent. Nor should this be formal and complicated!

SWOT Analysis

In any business class that students may take, the first principle they preach is to do a SWOT Analysis of both your company and that of your competitors. Perhaps this is a little too much ‘theory’ but we’ve included because it does force you to think.

We give many examples of each of the below:

STRENGTHS

Your Company

Your Competitor

WEAKNESSES

Your Company

Your Competitors

OPPORTUNITIES

Your Company

Your Competitors

THREATS

Your Company

Your Competitors

Brainstorming 4WtGyB

There are ONLY 4 ways any business can expand to be more profitable. This business principle holds true regardless if you own a pizza parlor, a barber shop, an auto repair garage, a dentist office, or a residential construction company.

We’ll explain how to use this as your ultimate business strategy.

Million Dollar Plan

This is one of our most popular downloads.

Obviously we all want to make more money. Your construction small business provides you the means to create wealth for your family.

This Excel spreadsheet allows you to calculate exactly how much money you need to make with regard to your goals. As an example: If you want to retire and close your business within 5 years with a million dollars in the bank … this spreadsheet will tell you exactly how many of each different types of construction jobs you need to do. This takes into account your savings account and interest rates.

THE FORWARD THINKING MILLION DOLLAR SAVINGS PLAN

THE BACKWARD THINKING MILLION DOLLAR SAVINGS PLAN

HISTORICAL DATA OF PAST JOBS

Time Management – Time & Cost Analysis

This is yet another one of our most popular downloads.

This Excel spreadsheet is used to identify loss time and money opportunities from your management team and employees.

Each worksheet can track 4 different employees as it relates to their overall pay and the hours worked per business task.

We literally have found enough money to market entire advertising campaigns.

SALES PROMOTER

The purpose of a Sales Promoter is obvious in that you want that person to acquire more leads and jobs for you.

Per our contractor clients, we’ll be talking more on sales techniques in future months.

The 20 – 80 Rules

This business principle is necessary to continually see the overall bigger picture. It reminds us that regardless of how comfortable certain clients are; and uncomfortable others can be; that we need to continually look past them all to find others to help us grow our business.

C-5 Plan

A simple marketing tactic that often goes overlooked. This business principle is a reminder that you should ALWAYS BE SELLING. In order for any business to grow in size and/or profits, the owners need to spend more time acquiring sales than on managing the workload.

If “wanting to make more money”, is a problem that continually needs to be solved, then the principle of “working ON your business” verses “working IN your business” is certainly an answer.

That’s because when you “work IN your business” you are usually doing someone else’s job. Granted you can usually justify “working IN”, but that is often the chicken’s way of doing things. You must find a way to delegate most of your work so you can spend more time doing the things that ONLY you can do … LIKE SELLING, PLANNING & GROWING YOUR BUSINESS.

The 5 P’s of Selling

This business principle is a common sense reminder on how to treat both existing and potential clients.

HOW TO SERVICE OUR CLIENTS

MARKETING

Equally important to knowing the HOW and WHERE your company is going … is knowing the HOW and WHERE it came from. Just saying that you want to make a million dollars sometime in the future isn’t good enough. You must use your past performance and historical data to assemble and prove your plan. The Contractor Reference Guide will show you how.

You must do these steps to have any chance of obtaining a bigger savings account.
Combine your construction talent with a little more business talent.

Client Matrix

This is one of our most popular topics. By far, the best way to analyze a business for growth is to look at its historical marketing data. This data is in the form of a Client Matrix.

We provide an Excel spreadsheet with 7 worksheets. It’s designed to capture your client job information. You use this information for marketing purposes in determining which avenues your company should pursue.

This answers the question of, “How can I make a million dollars”.

MEDIA TYPE ANALYSIS

PROJECT TYPE ANALYSIS

CLIENT MATRIX SUMMARY ANALYSIS

YEARLY ANALYSIS

REFERRAL ANALYSIS

Marketing Guide

Most contractors need to think bigger when it comes to figuring out new ways to generate more leads. There are lots of different Media Types and different strategies to consider. Although to be honest, sometimes it’s not the don’t know What to Do … as much as the How to Do it. Plus it has to be done in the most professional and economical way.

A graphic wheel displaying strategies for:

EMAIL MARKETING

LEAD GENERATION

ORGANIC SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION / MARKETING

CONVERSION OPTIMIZATION

ANALYTICS

CONTENT MARKETING

PAY-PER-CLICK

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

LANDING PAGES

Environment Influential Factors

Understanding that your business has to operate in an ever-changing environment is the key to survivability. Our current building economy has certainly proved that point.

We list the conditions that make up each of these pressuring factors. Use them to help prepare better business strategies and tactics so that your business and personal goals are accomplished.

ENVIRONMENT

ECONOMIC CLIMATE

SOCIAL ECONOMY

TECHNOLOGY (HOW IT IMPACTS US AND OUR CLIENTS)

COMPETITORS

POLITICAL

LIFESTYLES

GEOGRAPHICAL

PHILOSOPHY

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Usually the only time a construction small business company considers hiring a Public Relations firm is to try and spin a negative story that developed about the company. Usually these are a corruption story, a civil suit, a public IRS audit, or perhaps after some employee was severely injured on the job.

How to get a PR person (for free) to work on your company image.

Press Releases

The biggest advantage to using a Press Release is that it is a form of free advertising with the media. However, you must write a release in a way that would really interest the readers (especially the editor who must approve the release before printing it).

HOW TO WRITE A PRESS RELEASE

HOW TO ‘PITCH’ YOURSELF

SAMPLES

WOW Factoring

WOW Factoring is designed to get your creative juices flowing. It’s basically a list of things that will WOW the socks off your clients. Their purpose is to create your competitive advantage.

The fact is that people ‘buy’ from people they know and trust. When you and your competitors all look alike, the next best thing is to shower those prospects with a list of the things that you’ll do for them.

We list plenty of examples to get your juices going.

ADVERTISING

We know that marketing is all about perception. We want to convey to others that we are bigger, better, smarter, and more economical than our competitors.

A list of advertising mediums to use as budget allows.

Media Types

Your profits can’t go up until you first create the opportunity to sign more jobs. The only way that will happen is to get your company name into the minds of your prospective clients. The following list gives you many different ways to accomplish that.

AIDA’s Formula

One of the best ways to get your phone ringing more is to apply AIDA’s Formula to all of your advertising materials. The Contractor Reference Guide will describe the following:

ATTENTION

INTEREST

DESIRE

ACTION

SALES

Portfolio Book

After a job lead is gained, a sales call is necessary to meet the homeowners and discuss their home project. If the owners have already seen your website then they’ve already seen much about you, your past work, and references.

Using a portfolio book is another perfect opportunity to market yourself ahead of the competition. We’ll share how to create a great book and what exactly its contents ought to include.

QR Code Generator

QR Codes are 2 dimensional bar-codes that are easily scanned using any modern mobile phone. We discuss how your company can use them on your marketing materials to get more clients; as well as share how to make them.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS

LEGAL WORK – ATTORNEY

The best defense is said to be having a good offense. That’s best accomplished by having your legal contracts reviewed by an attorney with their eye on trying to plug any potential liability holes.

We list many common issues that could develop with a customer contract including sample language and what the language actually does for you … on a line-by-line basis.

Example Problems a Contract Must Address:

• Dealing with the homeowner that refuses to pay until a court orders them to. They admit you gave them a great job but they’ll assume you don’t want the expense and hassle to chase them down.
• Getting yourself legally out of a contract when the owners insist you do things ‘their’ way instead of the way the building codes allow.
• Dealing with homeowners who appear to be selling drugs out of their house while you’re trying to remodel it.
• Calming homeowners who see water damage after they hired you to take their roof off for a 2nd story addition.
• And many, many others.

Business Entity Types

There are different informal and formal ways to setup your business. We describe the difference between them as well as tax implications.

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP

GENERAL PARTNERSHIP

CORPORATION

S-CORPORATION

LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY

NONPROFIT CORPORATION

LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIP

Corp Resolutions – Minutes

Any corporate business entity has a responsibility to maintain accurate and current corporate records. In as much that the corporation does not maintain regular records, the entity can be declared invalid. If this happens (say in a lawsuit) the owners of the corporation will lose their corporate shield protecting their personal assets.

We include a sample PDF and Word document to use as a template for your review.

AUTHENTICATION OF RECORD BOOK AND RECORDS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COPY OF CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

COPY OF ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

SHAREHOLDER MEETINGS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS

COMPANY BY-LAWS

CORPORATE RESOLUTIONS

Arbitration – Mediation

Every construction small business owner prefers that all their jobs will go smoothly and that they’ll get paid. However, contractors and subs will make mistakes that may result in you facing a legal challenge. Furthermore, jobs can go smoothly and can still wind up in court as the homeowner refuses, for one reason or another, to make payment.

Contracts with Arbitration and Mediation clauses explained so you can more easily collect any monies owed to you.

ACCOUNTING

We walk you through a quick way to get started.

The first is setting up your internal bookkeeping procedures.

The second step is the procedures to record everything.

Payroll Service

The reasons to use a service verses doing payroll in house.

Minimum Wage Table

Both Federal and State laws dictate the minimum wage an employee must earn. We provide details and a table for our 50 States.

Financial Ratio’s

If you ever intend to borrow money for a slush fund, a spec home, a rehab loan, or to become an approved builder with lenders providing your customers financing … then you need to understand these.

These are the tools bankers use to measure your companies solvency. We provide the top-11 that apply to the construction industry. They are grouped into the following categories.

LIQUIDITY RATIOS

PROFITABILITY RATIOS

EFFICIENCY RATIOS

NAHB Chart of Accounts

The IRS requires a breakdown of all your income and expenses into categories. Doing this in your daily bookkeeping is done using a Chart of Accounts. A fancy name that details a list of possible categories that payments and deposits can be assigned.

We provide a PDF version of the:

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS – shortened version

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS – simpler version

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS – full version w/ descriptions

INSURANCE

Certificates of Insurance

A Certificate of Insurance is a document issued by an insurance company that is used to verify the existence of insurance coverage under specific conditions granted to listed individuals or company.

You need these certificates to obtain business licenses and building permits. You also need them to prove to your customers that you have adequate insurance (per your contract with them) to cover their property while you are working at their home. These certificates also make a great sales tool in your Portfolio Book.

We tell you how to obtain these certificates (for you as well as your subcontractors) and how best to record and monitor them.

Health Policies

Obviously many contractors do not provide insurance benefits to their employees. With new laws coming into play a deeper look into the options will be warranted.

However, the owners of the company still need private health insurance for their family.

We provide a means to search for the best possible rates and features within your State without having salespeople calling you.

Worker Classification Codes

In an effort to keep both your ‘workers compensation’ and ‘general liability’ insurance premiums down, means to properly classify your work and workers.

Generally your insurance company will lump you into the highest classification based upon all the different types of work you perform. However, setting up payroll to monitor the actual hours spent in lower classification type jobs will save your money.

We list different SIC INSURANCE CODING for you to use.

DESIGNING – ARCHITECTURE

Marketing your company as someone that can prepare designs and blueprints is priceless in your attempt to make a lot more money. Not only will you pickup larger more profitable jobs; but you’ll also pickup smaller jobs.

The reason is that homeowners will perceive your company to be more sophisticated and smarter than the average contractor. We speak how to include design services to make more money.

Retainer Agreement

When contractors can advertise themselves as a ‘design-build’ company they will eliminate a lot of contractor competition that otherwise can’t/won’t market themselves as designers.

Similar to using a sub to do your electrical or roofing work, you can hire someone to do some CAD drafting for you. A Retainer Agreement is separate from a building contract. It locks the homeowner into using you while you work on financing, designs and blueprints, and building materials specifications.

The Contractors Reference Guide has enclosed a PDF and Word document template. It also goes line-by-line explaining the reasons why certain language is included.

OFFICE OPERATIONS

HUMAN RELATIONS

For those construction small business owners who haven’t had the privilege of hiring employees this page is for you. Most company owners started off working out in the field as an employee tradesman for someone else. Somewhere along the way you got the vision that you could probably run your own company a little bit better than your boss.

Even if you didn’t quite have the confidence of knowing what all was involved you figured you can learn it along the way. You also figured you’d make a lot more money.

Human Relations is a broad term used to capture anything and everything relating to the hiring / firing, managing, record keeping, and the babysitting of employees. We make a great book recommendation to keep all your HR legal.

Time Cards

We’ve included PDF and Excel time card templates for use by your employees. They include all of the necessary information areas to accurately keep job cost records.

Confidentiality Agreement

It may become necessary to disclose certain information about your company to others. If this information is private and confidential whereas you want to prohibit any misuse or sharing of this information, then it is necessary to restrict those who obtain it.

These people may be individuals that you’re considering hiring as an employee of your company (i.e. certain office managers, commissioned sales staff, a bookkeeper).

These people may also be outside contractors that will have access to your private company matters (i.e. artwork/logo’s for an advertising agency, your financials for an accountant, your business plans for a banker).

We’ve enclosed a PDF and Word document for you lawyers review.

New Hire Tax Forms

State and Federal Government agencies require certain hiring and tax forms be completed as soon as a new/re-hired persons are hired by your company.

We include PDF forms for:

FEDERAL

STATE OF INDIANA

Employment Application

We include a sample PDF and Word document sample of an Employment Application. Be sure to use any application form consistently with every applicant without discrimination.

Employee Handbook

The first step in dealing with employees is to have a very detailed job description of what that person is responsible for, and what they’re not. The next step is to lay the groundwork of company rules and regulations that they are to follow.

The Contractor Reference Guide includes a really big Word Document of an editable starter Employee Handbook.

OFFICE STAFF

Phone Answering

We’ve all learned how to answer phones since the age of six. However, this is the first opportunity the company usually has in creating that first impression with a potential client. This is really important for spouses and secretaries that otherwise aren’t as construction knowledgeable as we are.

Conversation sample on what to leave on a potential customers voice mail.

Screening – Taking Messages

Solutions to screen out and determine if calls go through from a secretary to management. Sales people, supposed personal calls, tradesmen, and potential clients.

Sample conversations are included.

Screening – Client Appointments

[in progress]

Filing

Per the IRS, we must keep all of our business records for many, many years. Having a good filing system can really help in an Audit, lawsuit or any claim/ disagreement.

We provide many tips to keep your records safe and easily locatable. This includes hard copies as well as tips to organize your computer hard drive for digital filing.

Data Entry

Accurate record keeping is critical to any business survival and daily operations. Develop and use linked databases for as many things as you can think of to track. This is a great marketing tool when used routinely. Microsoft Word, Excel and Access are great tools. Let us know what you need.

Fax Cover Sheet

You are legally obligated to send a cover page with every fax you transmit. The logic is that when you send information about your company or that of a client that you need to take reasonable measures to ensure the data transmitted gets to the appropriate person/party without anyone else using the information/data in an inappropriate manner.

The Contractor Reference Guide includes a Word document that can be modified with your company name, address, logo, etc.; as a template.

Email Cover Page

Later we speak to how to write good looking html emails for your clients viewing pleasure to boost your professionalism. For now, it’s important that you include some legal opinions to the bottom of every email to reduce your liability.

FIELD OPERATIONS

ESTIMATING – JOB COSTING

The simplest way to estimate and/or job cost is to use an Excel Spreadsheet modified to your liking. Nowadays, many builders have bought custom software to do just that. However, using an Excel spreadsheet that is formatted with labor and material costs also work very well. We too included many Microsoft Excel training videos.

Master Price List

A key to landing more profitable jobs is simply having a Master Price List that you can quickly use to put together an internal cost estimate. Your numbers for materials, labor, overhead and profit must be accurate.

We include a PDF file and an Excel spreadsheet template that you can easily modify for use on all different types of jobs.

Client Written Estimates

The Written Estimate is a means to tell your potential customer how much their total job will cost (labor, materials, overhead and profit).

However, the Written Estimate is really a Marketing Tool. It is your opportunity to show-off how competent and professional you are.

The Contractor Reference Guide includes a PDF document and an Excel spreadsheet file of a great template to use. It is highly detailed which will impress your customers, as well as easy to modify to suit each individual job.

CLIENT FINANCING

How to get a construction loan

How construction small business loans work

Credit Application

A PDF file template of a credit application that your customers can complete. Placing yourself in control of helping to arrange financing will land you more jobs.

It doesn’t matter how many NO’s ‘you’ may hear from lenders … however if your customer hears one or two, they may get discouraged and cancel their plans.

Credit Reports

Discussions on how to obtain credit reports, clear errors and raise credit scores. This is required for builders helping their customers to get construction loan approvals. Builders also need spotless records as their good credit is necessary to be an ‘approved’ builder before they even consider loaning to your customers. Banks won’t deal with contractors with bad credit as their risk increases that you won’t have funds available (or the financial wherewithal) to finish the job.

We provide the source and directions to obtain credit reports:

EQUIFAX Credit Information Services, Inc.

EXPERIAN

TRANSUNION Consumer Solutions

CONTRACTS – BILLING

Proposal – Contract Small

The key to any job running smoothly is having great communication. This is accomplished by getting everything written down prior to doing anything. Be sure to include both what ‘is’ and what ‘isn’t’ included in any job.

We provide a PDF and Word document to use as a template for small sized jobs. We detail and provide explanations on the language included to protect your interests. We point out what needs to be included in every contract by law to make it legal and binding. Additionally we point out many ‘clauses’ that aim to reduce your liability as well as make it easier to collect your money.

Proposal – Contract Large

The key to any job running smoothly is having great communication. This is accomplished by getting everything written down prior to doing anything. Be sure to include both what ‘is’ and what ‘isn’t’ included in any job.

The Contractor Reference Guide provides a PDF and Word document to use as a template for mid to large sized jobs. We detail and provide explanations on the language included to protect your interests. We point out what needs to be included in every contract by law to make it legal and binding. Additionally we point out many ‘clauses’ that aim to reduce your liability as well as make it easier to collect your money.

This section alone can save your thousands of dollars.

Building Specifications

Building Specifications are a contractor’s bible. It tells you everything you are to do on a job, how you’re going to do it, the materials you’ll use, the colors and more. Any deviation from these ‘specs’ must have a written Change Order.

They must be so detailed that you can hand them off to another contractor to build the home for you without ever having to take phone calls. They must be detailed enough to protect you in a court of law.

We provide a very lengthy and detailed Building Specification template as a PDF and Word document template for a custom home.

We comment line-by-line the language in the specs so you know how to use and apply them accordingly for your job.

This section can save your thousands of dollars.

Express Limited Warranty

You need to have an Express Limited Warranty Rider as part of every contract you provide your customers to limit your liabilities.

We provide a PDF and Word document template for your review.

Implied Warranty

There are many Implied Warranty’s that the homeowners of your projects can hold you to. These warranties are enforceable by them over you in any court of law.

WARRANTY OF HABITABILITY

WARRANTY OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS

WARRANTY OF WORKMANSHIP

WARRANTY TO NOT DELAY OR HINDER

State Builder Warranty

Most States require a new home builder to provide a warranty on their home per ‘the States’ requirements. This is true whether your paperwork contradicts the States statutes or not.

These requirements include the homes’ structure and mechanical’s.

Disclosure – Right of Recession

Often referred to as a Cancellation Notice, this Right of Recession is required by Federal Law to be given to homeowners engaging in construction and remodeling work.

We inform how to comply with this law as well as providing a PDF and Word document template for your use.

We also detail line-by-line how to use the form.

Disclosure – Lead Base Paint

Contractors must comply with the EPA Lead Base Paint act when remodeling or renovating any home built prior to 1978. Homeowners can no longer sign a waiver releasing a contractor from liability. Contractors must perform said work while adhering to strict government guidelines. Contractor who work in and around any home built prior to 1978 are required to be a Certified Safe Lead Base Contractor.

As an Independent Research Facility, we provide no training. Instead, we provide PDF documents on:

SMALL BUSINESS COMPLIANCE GUIDE

LEAD RENOVATE RIGHT PAMPHLET

LEAD-SAFE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM FOR CONTRACTORS

Disclosure – Consumer Rights

Most States have some sort of Consumer Rights Protection of which all contractors must adhere to. These rights are severely protected and enforced by each States’ office of the Attorney General.

We’ve enclosed the following PDF files:

HOME REPAIR & CONSTRUCTION

FINANCING HOME REPAIRS

THREE DAY RIGHT TO CANCEL HOME REPAIR

Disclosures – Other

We provide PDF files, as it may be necessary on certain jobsites to provide your customers with the EPA educational materials and regulations on the following:

RADON GAS

ASBESTOS

MOLD

LEAD IN DRINKING WATER

Change Orders

These are a necessity if you want to stay legal with your Building Contract and Building Specifications. They must be used to indicate any changes or deviations from these documents. They’re also the best way to ensure you’ll get paid on any change.

The Contractors Reference Guide has included a sample PDF and Word document that you can use as a template. We also comment quite extensively line-by-line on how and why certain language is used and how it protects you.

Construction Draws

Developing a construction draw schedule is critical to maintaining cash flow throughout the job so that you can pay the subs, the suppliers, your employees, and yourself. Much discussion is placed on how to properly ‘front-load’ the contract to protect your profit.

We talk about how to setup deposits and retainer agreements to your advantage, all the while making it a great selling tool.

A sample PDF file is included on the exact steps and language of a big ticket construction project. Important too, we really explain the reasons of how we divide the contract into draws; as well as discuss why each sentence of the language is important.

This section can save you tens of thousands of dollars if/when a job goes bad. We share how to make more money if the job is unable to be finished.

Job Statement – Invoice

A Statement is nothing more than a summary of the job events to date. Whereas the Invoice (often times combined with the Statement) is a bill reflecting the amount of money your customer owes as of the Invoice date.

We’ve enclosed a Word and PDF copy for reference on how to complete them.

Bank Sworn Statement

Bank Sworn Statements are requested by the banker of your customer who had got a loan for their project. They need copies from you at the beginning of the project (before funding) and at each construction draw stage, and upon completion.

We’ve enclosed a PDF copy for reference on how to accurately complete them.

Tips on how to supply the needed information without risking the homeowner removing you off the job (because they see how much you’re paying each sub/supplier and your profits) are discussed.

Contractors Sworn Affidavit

A Contractors Sworn Affidavit is requested by a building department for the sake of obtaining building permits. They want to make certain that the subcontractors listed by the general contractor are the ones actually that will be doing the work.

Sample PDF and Word documents to use are supplied.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The importance of having good Project Management is very apparent. This is true for field work (our jobs) but also in the way we carry out our office work. Having good systems in place is also critical when trying to achieve financial independence.

Project Managing a Million Dollar Savings Account: Similar to designing and building a custom home … this too takes lots of time and a commitment. We help you set goals, set strategies and carry out tactics to make it happen.

The hardest part to becoming a millionaire:
Changing your Thinking … Follow a Critical Path Schedule to Wealth.

Critical Path Scheduling

The ability to schedule a job so that it runs as efficiently as possible, is critical to keeping it from problems, and gives you the ability to collect all of your money as quick as possible. In most projects there are hundreds of details to coordinate. From acquiring permits, meeting inspectors, scheduling each tradesman, ordering materials, etc.

Critical Path Scheduling is a process of coordinating jobs from start to finish using a list so never to have to think of what to do or order next.

We provide a Short version Excel spreadsheet and a longer version PDF file.

Material Ordering

The how and what to include in writing so to eliminate mistakes. A sample PDF document of a detailed material order list completed in Excel.

SUB CONTRACTORS

The advantages and disadvantages of using subcontractors is explained.

Preparing Bid Instructions

An explanation of what to include and how to put together a package for all of your sub types per project.

Request for Info W-9

Its purpose is explained as a requirement of the IRS. Sample in-house PDF and Word documents are supplied to request this information from your sub/contractors you employ. Actual W-9 form is also supplied.

Year End 1099

Its purpose is explained as a requirement of the IRS. Sample PDF and Word documents are supplied to convey this year-end tax information to your accountant so that the proper 1099’s can be completed and mailed per law.

Waiver of Liens – Instructions

The purpose of a Waiver of Lien is to guarantee to the homeowner and their financial lender that all contractor’s that provided labor and all suppliers of materials were paid for their work and materials.

Each sample has the following:

A PDF sample format that can be printed out and completed by hand.

A Word Doc with form as a background image to complete and print from a computer.

A PDF document of a completed Lien Waiver so you can see how to fill in the blanks.

ILLINOIS FINAL WAIVER OF LIEN

ILLINOIS PARTIAL WAIVER OF LIEN

INDIANA FINAL WAIVER OF LIEN

INDIANA PARTIAL WAIVER OF LIEN

Waiver Request of Subcontractors after Payment Received

This is the request for Partial or Final Waiver Of Lien for work completed and previously or currently being paid in full. Its purpose and how to use is explained. Sample PDF and Word document.

Monitor Own License Expirations

Its purpose and how to keep yourself and all of your subs organized is explained. Sample PDF tracking document that you can use in Word or Excel to monitor certificate expirations.

Monitor Trade License Expirations

Its purpose is explained.

Monitor Certificates of Insurance

Its purpose and how to keep yourself and all of your subs organized is explained. Sample PDF tracking document that you can use in Word or Excel to monitor certificate expirations.

Sub Contract Agreement

Sample agreements in Word and PDF format along with suggestions on how to use.

If you are the General Contractor receiving a subcontract agreement.

If you are the Subcontractor submitting your proposal to a General Contractor.

INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES

In the old days it used to be all a good contractor needed was a truck full of tools to make a good living. Nowadays, that talent goes unnoticed unless you can reach your potential customers via Facebook, Twitter, and a kick-ass website.

If people can’t read about who you are, where you learned your craft, what similar projects you’ve done, how long you’ve been in business … well, they just don’t care to call you.

Why? Because your competition has learned they can reach out and impress your potential clients better than you can. Potential customers will only call a company AFTER they can thoroughly research them. Your company must be able to be found on the Internet (using search); and your web presence must be modern and professional.

The rules have changed with the Internet and Google. Either you can ignore them and go broke, or you can learn to play by their rules and get rich.

60% of all consumers use the Internet to find a construction small business. That number is quickly rising. Like it or not, it doesn’t matter how good of a contractor you are if you can’t get your phone to ring.

The Independent Research Facility and the Contractor Reference Guide is all about helping you become more successful.

CREATING A WEBSITE

Domain Name Registration

This is the address of your website. Ours here at Building Profit is http://www.BuildingProfit.biz. We’ll show you how to search for available Domain Names to see if there available. We also will show you how to get available suggestions (and a really good trick to get a name very close to what you want if otherwise unavailable).

We’ll walk you through the entire process so you can be up live and running in an hour. The cost to a 3rd party will only be about $15 per year.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION

Web Hosting Provider

A website requires a company to act on your behalf to show your web pages to your visitors when they need it. It stays on all the time and can handle large volume of users at the same time.

We’ll show you where to go, what to get, and how to use it. By the way, this will cost you about $7 per month.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR REGISTERING WITH A WEB HOSTING PROVIDER

Building a Website

Every construction small business owner should be making better use of their time when it comes to marketing their business. Since our building economy is in a slowdown we should be using our extra time to learn new advantages over the competitors.

One way to do this is to create a website that will bring in leads, customers and money into your business. Once completed it takes little effort to keep it working effectively. Do it now before you get busier.

60% of all consumers turn to the Internet to find contractors. The ‘yellow pages’ account for only 9%. Referrals are great too … but let’s focus on having your business create wealth instead of just a paycheck.

There are 3 ways to create a website:

ONE: Hire expensive marketing firms, web designers and SEO experts. The initial cost for a small site will be just under $10,000 with a big continual monthly maintenance fee.

TWO: Pickup and use one of those ‘cheap’ site templates that usually come nearly free from some accounting package or Internet company out of India. Here, you get what you pay for. They may look pretty but they don’t bring in any leads.

THREE: Do it yourself.

The Contractor Reference Guide was designed to give you the information the pro’s use.

The Independent Research Facility doesn’t sell products or services. Our team exists just to help you get better. No Sales Pitches. No Hype. No Hidden Agenda’s. Just Straight Talk.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CREATING A WEBSITE

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

Your entire website and all of its 5,000+ files are installed on a hosting providers server. Because of this, you need a way to talk to this server (a really big computer that display a lot of peoples websites).

This ability to read and write files back and forth is referenced via FTP. This is just a fancy name to access your websites files and folders. Similarly, you have the same ability on your computer via Windows file structure.

Instructions to download, install and use a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Software onto your computer. A real must have. Don’t worry it’s free (as is 95% of all our opinions & software).

C-Panel

This is very similar to the FTP above except that it is provided to you by your hosting provider (verses a 3rd party software to download on your computer). It’s only real benefit is the ability to download backups of your databases; and to create and access email settings of which the FTP can’t do. So, you need them both.

Configuring the Backend

This is the actual website framework. There is quite a lot to go through but it is super simple with only having to do it once or as a new need arises.

Making Website Backups

As with any computer files you definitely need to make regular backups of your entire website, its databases, and your Widgets.

Really important is to make backups BEFORE any changes your about to make to your website. As a safety measure you can always go back to an earlier point of time. Remember, your website and its file structure is located on a hosting server. You want to make backups to your computer and/or external hard drive (or the cloud).

Installing Themes

A theme in a website is a ‘look’ that lays over the framework.

In home building, the framework is the shell of the house whereas the theme could be the vinyl siding, brick veneer or a certain style of kitchen cabinets. As in construction, there are many different Themes that you can apply to give your website pages and posts a particular look. Think of a Theme as the many different finish material selections one could choose.

There too are Themes that are designed to allow you to fully customize the look and feel of your site. Think of a speculative home verses a custom home.

Another cool feature is that these Themes can be easily remodeled giving your website a completely new look in a matter of minutes.

Don’t worry, the Contractor Reference Guide explains all of this in great detail giving step-by-step instructions.

Installing Widgets

In the computer world, Widgets are a placeholder upon your web page that does a particular task. Say you want display your company logo within the page sidebar. You simply create a ‘text widget’ to hold your logo.

Think of a Widget as a ‘rough window opening’ whereas you can ‘place’ the actual window within it. Trust me, it sounds a lot more confusing than it actually is. It’s all very user-friendly.

INSTRUCTIONS TO INSTALLING WIDGETS

INSTRUCTIONS TO INSTALLING PLUGINS

Most Popular Plugins

In the world of making websites there are mini pieces of software that you can use to make your website more versatle and efficient. Pretty much anything you can think of to do on your website has already been thought of by someone else. Thus, there are Plugins that you can use to do that work.

As an example in the building industry: If you had a bunk of lumber to cut you could use your default handsaw. In the Plugin world means that you could get a Skill saw plugin, a power cord plugin, and a generator plugin.

An example in the website world: One plugin would prevent spam, another would collect customer information in a contact form, or yet another could help in your SEO efforts.

We have a list of recommended Plugins ready and waiting for you.

Creating New Posts

‘Posts’ are nothing more than ‘pages’ that are used in a blog. A blog is a series of ever-changing articles written about interesting stories for your potential customers. Their goal is two-fold:

ONE: To give you the ability to use a lot more Keywords in your website to attract more potential customers.

TWO: To allow your potential customers to read, see and learn about you and your business. In this high-tech age we live in, consumers want to know everything about you BEFORE they call you out for a bid.

If you’re business isn’t online then you’re not visible to 60% of all consumers looking for you.

Creating New Pages

Our materials are going to show you how to technically create web pages. ‘Pages’ are typically fixed on your site with little adjustments having to be made to them. Updating photographs, refreshing the content, or tweaking meta data is generally all that is needed.

Keyword Research

This is similar to building a spec house where you have to know how many bedrooms and baths that will help sell the home better. Keyword Research is the process to determine a list of words and phrases that you anticipate your potential clients are using to find a contractor.

60% of all consumers use the Internet search engines to find you. They do so by typing words into the search boxes of Google, or Bing. Your job is to develop a list of words and assign them to different pages, blog posts, and landing pages. An Excel spreadsheet works well.

We’ll show you tools that will make this thinking process really easy. We’ll show you how to research the best-of-the-best words and phrases that consumers are already using. And, it will only take minutes!

The Goal of Any Website is to make you money. Doing so requires you to do either of two things:

ONE: Hire expensive marketing and web design companies to do it for you.

TWO: Learn how to do it yourself.

As a business owner, your #1 job is working ON the business (growing it and making it bigger and better). Most construction small business owners don’t make all the money they’re capable of because they only learned how to work IN the business (estimating and using power tools).

Creating Custom Headers

A website header is what makes your website unique to others. It is the mast head at the top of every page. It’s like a paper letterhead. It can include your company name, your logo, a set of picture s and a marketing tagline.

This is the first thing people see. This is what makes you look professional. We’ll share how to create your own custom header and get it uploaded to your web pages.

Creating Custom Footers

A website footer is located at the very bottom of your web pages. It’s purpose can include your company address, phone numbers, hours of operation, emergency contacts, links to other pages (about us, contact us, terms of conditions, privacy policy, etc.)

Often times this footer area has a different color background than the rest of the site. Or, it may have an image as its background. We’ll share how to create footers, links and other items so your site looks really impressive to potential customers. After all, you’re trying to impress them so you can get their work/money.

Most other contractors aren’t taking the time to do this. This puts you at a real advantage over them. Funny too, the ones that are doing some of this are spending thousands of dollars doing so!

Creating Landing Pages

Think of a landing page as a flyer that advertises your website.

In other words, your website is your most powerful sales tool, but it needs a lot of promotion so people know it exists.

If like most contractors, your website has a few pages on the services you provide (roofing, remodeling, home building) as well as an ‘about us’ and ‘contact us’ page. Unfortunately, so does every other contractor. This puts you in competition with millions of other wanting their website to rank number one in the search engine wars.

In fact, if all you have is a website without a blog (a place to tell stories about yourself, company and services) or landing pages (flyers posted all over the Internet) you would have little chance competing for leads with other contractors.

The Contractor Reference Guide provides plenty of examples (good and bad) as well as strategies to follow. It’s actually quite simple once it’s all broken down. The ability for your website to be found by a potential customer using Google search is actually quite logical and mathematical. We provide plenty of free software to help you out.

How Do Keywords Work with Landing Pages

The reason you wouldn’t gain leads is because of this. If your business is located an area that has 100 cities around it within a 50 mile radius; and there happens to be 20 other competing contactors in each of these towns; that means you’re in competition with 2,000 other companies.

Using the example above, let’s assume that each of these contractors have the same 5 web pages that you have. That’s 10,000 pages going after 1 lead. You have a 5:10,000 chance to land it.

Homework Assignment: Go to Google and type in ‘roofer’ (or whatever you main service is) and hit ‘enter’. In the top-left-hand corner what is the ‘about how many page results’? That’s your competition.

The good news is that the number displays is know where near accurate. It’s a LOT lower. Further, we share the exact steps you need to do to attack this 60% market.

Creating hundreds or thousands of Landing Pages each with their own unique Keywords will allow you to flood your neighborhood with lots of permanent flyers. All of which are pulling in leads into your website.

Creating a Landing Page

We have a couple methods we would like to share with you. Both of which are simple to do. Today’s software makes things easy with a little insight. Basically you will need a great headline and a few sub-headlines, about 500 words of content talking about a subject of interest to your potential customers, some professional looking photographs (we can help), and access to a computer.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)

Having a website without continually working on SEO is like owning a generator without any gasoline. It’s capable of performing well … but won’t do squat as far as getting any leads, jobs or money if ignored.

SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of training the search engines to know what your site is about.

That’s important because the engines want to match up their users queries (what people actually type in the Google search box) to what your meta data and content is.

This following is why you need to do your own web design and SEO yourself. Our construction small business industry has thousands of words that potential customers type into the search box (i.e. remodeling, kitchen remodeling, kitchen remodeling in Chicago, etc., etc.). The only way to pull in potential customers would be to have thousands of corresponding webpage’s to act as those magnets.

You see the problem?

Web designers and SEO experts charge between several hundred dollars per page … to thousands of dollars.

They also work on a retainer to continually pump link juice to those pages. Doing it yourself for free is what this site educates you on.

Site Analytics

A developers insight into your websites performance. We walk you through the slightly complex setup so you can see if your site has any errors or issues needing addressed. Some items include:

The number of times that specific search engines are used to send visitors.

Any search engine crawl errors when going from page to page within your site.

A list of your top keywords.

A list of the web pages you’ve submitted within your sitemap.

The number of internal links per page (links on your pages pointing to other pages).

The number of page impressions.

What other company domains are linking the most to your site (backlinks).

Your most linked content so you know what page is well liked.

Content keywords per page or post (a post is a page used within a blog).

Malware detection to see if your site is infected.

The number of times that search engines review and record your site.

HTML code suggestions … yikes … probably above most of our pay grades!

Don’t worry about understanding all of these … we’ll help you along telling you what you need to know.

Website Analytics

The ability to track information from the visitors to your website.

Some items include:

The total number of website visits from people.

The number of times all web pages and post pages get visited.

The length of time visiting any web page to know if the page is or isn’t being read.

The % of new visitors coming to your site to measure its efficiency.

The type of browser your visitors have (so you can modify web design to fit).

Your visitors operating system.

The visitors internet service provider.

The number of visits from mobile devices verses a regular computer or laptop.

Types of mobile devices so you can test if your site is readable to those small screens.

Flow diagram of all web pages visited.

Entire Adwords campaign (if using any pay-per-click).

Identifying traffic sources (search engines, referrals from external links, direct).

The number of visitors arriving from social sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)

Individual page stats.

Page, domain & server load times as too long visitors won’t wait and engines penalize.

Discussions on how to setup and track these metrics in a multitude of ways.

Local Search

Setting up and using correctly will act as a mini-website drawing in local customers organically … meaning free.

Backlinks – Directories

This SEO tactic is two-fold: First, listing your business in relevant directories will help your business get found. Think of directories as a phone book. Second, by having links back to your website from prominent directories will boost your SEO relevancy. All of which will help drive more customers to your business.

We’ll show you hundreds of great locations to get listed in and how correctly to do so.

Article Writing

Some say the hardest part of creating a website is creating the content to put on all the pages. Not true. We break writing down really simple with a structure that the search engines and your potential customers will love. You should be able to knock out a page in a hour with another hour optimizing and uploading it. Do this once a week and you will look great with Google.

We also teach how you can write and submit hundreds of different articles for the purpose of Link Building without spending more than another hour doing so. Remember you want others websites to place your articles on their blogs. Each will have clickable links on them that will bring potential customers in to your site.

How bad do you want to make money?Remember, your customers want to read about who you are and what you do.Getting them to like you and your business before they even meet you is your goal.People will call contractors they feel they know and trust. Article writing gains this trust.

Link Building

This tactic is used to increase your websites authority in the minds of the 750 different search engines. Link building gives your site ‘clout’ so that it appears important enough so the search engines will share your web pages with others. The search engine gods that see a website with hundreds or thousands of external links as a site that must be authoritive (otherwise why would all these people be linking to you).

It’s a game that has continually changing rules. However, you must get in the game if you ever want your business to be successful. Over 60% of all potential customers use the Internet to locate, study and read about contractors before they would even consider calling one out for an estimate.

Even the Fortune-500 companies can’t ignore 60% of the market.

Measuring Success

The whole idea of having a website is so that it can bring in leads, jobs and money. Creating a website that does that is simply a matter of identifying ‘key’ words and ‘key’ phrases that would exactly matchup with the words and phrases your potential customers are typing into the search engine query boxes.

But will it? You must use techniques and tools to monitor how well your ‘keywords’ and ‘keyword phrases’ are doing in the minds of Google, Yahoo and Bing. This allows you to watch your words on a screen or in a graph of how well their climbing position so you can make adjustments as necessary.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS

You constantly need to watch your monthly sales/profit quotas.

Fine tune the strategies of knowing what type of work to go after in relationship to location and anticipated profits.

Monitor the time and expense variables of management and key employees using our Time & Cost Analysis.

Spy on your competitors. Determine exactly why their site out-ranks your website in search engines.

Compiling keyword research charts using Excel spreadsheets.

Adjusting your meta data to better match page objectives to user needs.

Create more persuasive webpages with professional photo’s, quality videos, and enacting call-to-actions.

Determine larger geographical areas using demographics, population, median income, and housing data.

Building multiple landing pages. These pages (similar to a flyer) act as a magnet drawing in leads.

Sign up for directories, citations, and other high-ranking backlink sources to give your website clout.

Put together a company blog page and continually update with new weekly posts to attract the search engines.

Create a link exchange program to build backlink interest.

Add social sites into your marketing mix to draw in better SEO and potential new clients.

Understanding Meta Data

The search engines use your meta data to help it learn what all of your website pages and posts are about. These engines must see your web pages as significant so that it will match them up with potential customers who happen to type in ‘certain’ words or phrases. We provide detailed explanations of each of the meta data parameters listed below so that you can understand and use them to pull in customers. This strategy is known as SEO (search engine optimization).

DOMAIN NAME

PAGE NAME

PAGE TITLES

KEYWORDS

META DESCRIPTION

PAGE CONTENT

H-TAGS

PHOTO TAGS

COMMON ERRORS

Meta Data Efficiency

A measurement of how well you are tying your web pages and posts meta data together. As an example: The search engines would be really confused (and wouldn’t display your site to potential customers) if your Domain Name was ‘www.1800goodfood.com’ and your Page Title was ‘Joes Place’; and your Keywords displays a list of everything on your menu; the Meta Description is ‘the best pizza in town’; and your Page Content talks about ‘ingredients, prices, and your hours of operation’.

A tool that helps you align and measure your entire meta data efficiency is important. This also will help you measure up your competitors. This will help you understand how they are making their phone ring.

Keyword Efficiency

It’s critical to measure the SEO keyword efficiency on each of your web pages and blog posts based upon your desired targeted keywords. Basically this measures how effective the words in your content are compared to the message you intend to convey to your customers.. This is important so that you can align what the search engines believe your web pages are about, verses what you actually intended them to be about.

A quick tool will help you align your verbiage so that Google understands your content correctly and displays your website as relevant to your potential customers. This also includes Keyword Density and Keyword Prominence.

This also is great way to spy on your competitors keywords and content.

You can mimic a competitor that is doing well.
To use a competitors knowledge that they may have paid dearly for.

Grading your Website

Opportunity to see how your website stacks up against others in a wide variety of metrics including social media.

Competitors Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

This quick little tool gives you inside information on what your competitors are spending on Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads, what keywords their using in those ads, how often they run them, and display the actual ad they ran each time. Talk about copying a competitors strategy opportunity!

Explaining the differences and strategies to using Organic Search, Places Search and Pay-Per-Click (PPC).

Web Page Analysis

Tools to monitor you and your competitors site structure, meta data and strategies so that you can adjust, copy or amend better.

Backlink Analysis

To increase your SEO and website presence so that potential customers can find you is the practice of creating backlinks from other websites pointing back to your site. The more backlinks you have creates authority for your site. Tools to spy on competitors backlinks so that you can copy. Tools to find sources to backlink to.

COMPUTER SECURITY

Cloud computing, encrypted and automated external hard drive file backups.

Software Protection

To protect your hardware, software, internet browser and email from cyber attacks that can destroy your computer, programs and files.

File Encryption

Encrypting your usernames, passwords and your computer files and data so that nobody can access or read them without your permission. This is really important when protecting employees and clients personal and financial information. Computer theft of information can also get you sued in court especially if you have employee or client personal data on it.

This will aid you if your computer crashes so that you feel comfortable letting someone fix it without being able to read/access/steal any of your computer files.

Password Protection

Protecting and storing your usernames and passwords of hardware, software, programs and internal files. The Contractor Reference Guide will show you how to test your passwords.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Learning to use simple software to create professional ads for your website, blog, social media sites, yellow page ads, newspaper display ads, business cards, marketing materials such as your estimates and proposals.

Sizing, Pixels, File Types, Upload

Determining the size of your ads. When and how to convert inches to pixels using a special calculator. Knowing the differences when saving in different file types. Re-Sizing Your Images to fit your layouts and to reduce file size and load times on the internet. Uploading your images to your web pages and blog.

Stock Photography

All of your webpages, blog, yellow page ads must use photo’s. Viewers want to see images that make you look professional. An alternative to taking pictures yourself is using high quality stock photographs. There too is a list of tips of what not to do.

Selecting HTML Colors

Choosing colors when each different computer monitor, their settings, and printers can display differently to the user. Understanding how HTML and color tools work. Using painting charts to help select proper colors in your designs. Color tips and tricks with different Internet browsers.

Craigslist Display Ads

Using free Craigslist ads to find employees, subcontractors and to bring in new work.

How to create and upload professional display ads with nice photography instead of using boring text ads.

Create links to your website pages, about us page or click to call features. How to avoid website and email spam on Craigslist.

SOFTWARE RECOMMENDATIONS

Business Software

Accounting, obtaining corporate records, mind mapping, software, taxes, virtual phone services, domain and IP research, client retention management solutions, real estate values, obtaining health insurance rates.

Computers

Accessing remote/other computers, backup storage devices, file backups, file security, computer security, sending large files, searching files/words within your hard drive, file transfer protocol, hard drive cleaner, web browsers, internet speed check.

Drawing

Graphic design, computer aided design, choosing HTML/RGB colors, how to convert files to other formats, screen/image capture, image size calculator, converting inches to pixels, kitchen/bath design, photo storage servers, stock photography.

Education

College resources, construction forum, learning SEO, money, investing, construction/business books, training videos.

Lead Generation

Advertising sources, social business sites, social media dashboard, webinar platforms, telemarketing, article creation.

Website

Submitting articles for link building, blog software, video creation, using a clean file processor, creating link codes for YouTube, domain/hosting providers, email services, creating landing pages, link building tools, website analysis, backend c-panels, website checkers, website page checker, link builder, spying on competitors web strategies, local search options, pay-per-click advertising, web tools & analytics.

READING SUGGESTIONS

Business, motivational, money, dealing with employees, graphic design and layouts, bookkeeping, using the right words in your marketing messages, managing, estimating, how to close a sale, seeing the bigger picture, rules of marketing, setting and acquiring goals, how to get people to do what you want, how to coach others.

COMING SOON

If you printed out the list shown above, it would be 36 pages long.

And this is just an abbreviated version of just the Table of Contents.

As you can imagine, our actual content is thousands of pages of details.

Perhaps surprising would be the fact that we barely touched the surface. We intend to double the content.

Don’t worry though, our Contractor Reference Guide is dynamic so that you’ll get 24/7 continual access to all the updates as they become available.

Click on the BUY NOW or START button below to get started _ See you inside

Some of the trade comments we hear:

► I DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY TO SPEND RIGHT NOW

CONSTRUCTION COMPANY OWNER: The best way to sign jobs is to advertise. The cheapest, most effective means is to ramp up a good website. However, that does take some time. In the alternative, make up some flyer’s and go ringing doorbells on a weekend passing them out. Simply introduce yourself and tell them you’re working in the area and would like the opportunity to bid any upcoming job they may have.

The Contractor Research Guide database walks you through how to setup your own website for $15 for the domain name; and $7 per month to host it.

Take advantage of your free time to setup permanent advertising. Getting your website working correctly so that you have plenty of visitors and leads does take a time. In that sense, it’s perfect timing. Regardless, as a professional contractor you need a professional website. People need to see who you are and what you do. Having free time right now is great news if you take advantage of it.

UNEMPLOYED TRADESMEN: Obviously your first priority is keeping a roof over your head and food on your table. However, working in construction means that you’re a professional tradesman with skills homeowners would love to hire.

Use the Contractor Reference Guide to help get you started correctly.

► I’LL WAIT UNTIL THE ECONOMY GETS BETTER

Perhaps surprising to some, but there are hundreds of contractors in every State making records profits. The trade magazines annually list the top builders and remodelers who have figured out how to still make money.

A new website costs only $7 per month to host. The web reaches 60% of your potential customers. Let them know you exist and that you want their work and their money. Waiting only hurts you?

The fact that the building economy is slow creates a great opportunity for you to master your own advertising. Working in construction means we can’t wait for others to fix our problems. That is why the Contractor Reference Guide was developed.

► WE ALREADY HAVE A WEBSITE

Send us a link. We’ll do a complimentary evaluation for you. Often times, existing websites just need a better strategy. That means an understanding of what the search engines want from you, more pages and better optimized content.

A website should be responsible for 60% of all your income. Our resources allow you to make it better.

Control is waiting for you.

► OUR LEADS COME FROM REFERRALS NOT THE INTERNET

That’s good news and bad news. The good news is that you obviously know how to produce great looking projects while keeping your clients happy.

However, all of these referral profits should go directly into your savings or retirement account.

Do not pass go, do not pay business bills, do not pay personal bills with it.

Referral money should be the rewards for doing perfect jobs and enduring the risks of entrepreneurship.

The bad news is that if your business referral rate is more than 10% of your annual gross profit, then you’re not marketing your successes. That’s like winning a monster poker hand with a table full of chips, but you only take a couple leaving the balance for your competitors to grab.

Use business strategies to realize a better company return on your referrals.

► WE’RE CONSIDERING BUYING LEADS

Yikes. That means we have our work cut out giving you the materials and know-how to do things yourself.

Unfortunately, buying leads put you in competition with too many others. All are chasing after the same not-so-good leads that have already been picked over.

The Contractor Reference Guide is all about giving you the resources to do it yourself. This also happens to be a lot cheaper than buying leads and you don’t have to share them with anyone.

You’re losing money every day by not having your company visible to all your neighbors. Homeowners are searching for contractors using Google and Bing. Learning to master the search engines will stop you from losing out on leads, jobs and money … and it’s not difficult … in fact, it’s very methodical.

► WHY SHOULD I PAY TO ACCESS THE CONTRACTOR REFERENCE GUIDE?

Because as a professional contractor, there are certain things you should know and be doing with your operations, marketing and advertising. You’ll really be amazed at how much you don’t know!

In fact, there are hundreds of business strategies waiting for you.

If you’re reading this, that means you’re still in business trying to make it big (as opposed to sipping mai-tai’s on a private beach somewhere). Each day working should put you closer to achieving a millionaire status.

Business is like a game of chess. What moves don’t you yet know, that are costing you millions?

► WE KNOW WHAT TO DO. OUR COMPANY HAS BEEN STRONG FOR 50 YEARS

The reason most contractors are still in business is because they still need to put more money into their savings or retirement accounts.

Sure builders love the trade and seeing their wonderful projects and the happy faces of clients.

If you’ve been in business for more than 10 years, you may be doing something terribly wrong.

We can say that because when builders and contractors have managed to put 1, 2 or 5 million dollars in their saving account … they close their risky business.

The Contractor Reference Guide speaks to this. It answers, “What can my business do so that I can close its doors and move to South Florida within the next 5 years?” Interested?

► IS THIS RESEARCH FACILITY FOR EVERYONE?

Actually no. The Independent Research Facility is designed for residential contractors working in construction. In fact, the Contractor Reference Guide is filled with hundreds of topics and thousands of pages. This is obviously not a quick fix. For those guys wanting just to put food on their table tomorrow; or those not wanting to focus on business strategies; or those that see their company as only a name to place atop of their tax returns; then this facility is not for them.

If however, you’re a professional contractor that realizes you have a talent both in the field and in the office; you can see the bigger picture of what your business is truly capable of; and you’re eagerly looking to learn and implement business strategies; then your wealth potential is limitless.

Heck, most contractors can build homes in their sleep. The next challenge is mastering the thought process that goes with building wealth. This really brings back the excitement into your day!

► WHAT IS THE BIGGEST HURDLE FOR GUYS WHO DON’T MAKE IT BIG?

They think too small. They’re too focused on the daily activities of their client’s jobs. While they do delegate and ask for help when it comes to plumbing, electrical, roofing, drywall and most other activities out in the field … they don’t ask for help in the one area that can make them the most money.

Business strategy falls beyond the typical knowledge base of most guys working in construction. However,so did everything else in life that they’ve ever learned … before they learned it.

Although in all fairness, we now live in the age of information overload. This is why Building Profit founded the Independent Research Facility. We then spend OUR MONEY and OUR TIME researching and documenting what you need to do. We’ve included all of this in the Ultimate Contractor Reference Guide.

Being that the facility doesn’t sell any products or services, our opinions always stay in your best interest. No Sales Pitches. No Hype. No Hidden Agenda. Just straight-talk on What to Do … and How to Do it.

► CAN I REALLY ASK BUSINESS STRATEGY QUESTIONS?

Yes you can. We confidentially answer emails. We too initiate some phone calls. We love talking strategy. We’ve even been seen out on job-sites.

► I’M A TRADESMAN. CAN YOU HELP ME START MY OWN BUSINESS?

Absolutely, having an experienced mentor behind you is very comforting. It saves you years of trial and error. It saves you mistakes that cost you money. Working in construction can make you and you’re family quite a bit of money … with the right strategy. The Contractor Reference Guide is a great learning tool.

► DO YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?

Email Building Profit with your thoughts, questions and your business hurdles. We’d love to hear from you!

Construction Website Design Samples

Below is a partial list of construction website design samples that you can freely use for your business. Obviously it’s purpose is to help you make more construction money.

The below header images can be customized with your own photo and/or company logo and tagline. The colors can be changed, the layout, and the number of columns can also be modified to fit your interests. Or, you can go for a 100% custom design giving you the most options.

The Independent Research Facility for Residential Contractors created the Contractor Reference Guide so that you can master the business and marketing world without having to hire expensive advertising agencies, marketing firms and others.

Your most important job is learning to use the Internet to get your business visible to many people. The Contractor Reference Guide will help you Step-by-Step of the way!

Having a great looking construction website design is just the beginning

Including New Construction Website Leads

We’re amazed at how easy it can be to get new construction website leads and remodeling website leads from the Internet. Now we’re not talking about buying leads from a lead generation company either. Actually, the amazing part isn’t that you ‘can’ get website leads, but many contractors have been told that they can’t.

Unfortunately, some contractors were made to believe that mastering the web was way too complicated to do themselves … that they need to hire others.

Because we all tend to believe what others say as being the truth, we tend to believe that a website can’t bring in leads. Of course those telling us all that are usually guys that either haven’t a clue as to why their website doesn’t work. Or, we here it from guys who already figured it all out. They’ll tell you anything to keep you from developing your website better, so not to take their leads away.

How to Capture Remodeling Website Leads

The fastest, easiest and cheapest method for any tradesmen to pull in remodeling website leads (aka: money) is to build your own website. When completed, it will reach out and pull in buyers out searching for your services. The key to building it yourself is learning SEO techniques that will get your company pages to the top of the search engines. This is way less complicated than building a house.

Building a construction website using the best international framework couldn’t be easier as it is so user friendly. Then, creating sales pages to act as magnets pulling in cash jobs can each be done in a couple of hours each. By creating multiple sales pages (sometimes hundreds or thousands) each with a specific target customer in mind, promoting a single service to a chosen geographical location is why Google and Bing are currently uniting contractors with an endless stream of website leads.

Keeping your company in the good graces of the search engine gods (who ultimately decide which contractor to pair up with each buyer’s pocketbook) requires you to learn and to play by their rules. Of course the upside is that you may get filthy rich.

This is why the Contractors Reference Guide was created. It gives YOU the knowledge without the sales pitch, hype or hidden agenda’s, that you otherwise get from companies that want you to hire them.

Website Strategy

To get more remodeling website leads, the search engine rules dictate that you must give your website some weekly love. This love is only possible when you’re in 100% control of your website (not using outside firms). Quite simply, you must have a simple strategy to follow that will guide you along the path. Doing it yourself also saves you tens of thousands of dollars.

Furthering your competitive advantage is that most other construction companies would rather spend their downtime complaining about their lack of  leads instead of learning to outsmart their competitors. This will work to your advantage for years to come.

Your best business strategy is to kiss the butts of your biggest business partners … that of Google and Bing. Ignore them … and they will ignore you. Best of all they are free to use.

If you Build it … they will Come

• Between $0 – $100 in materials to fully create, control, and optimize
• $15 annual domain name registration (if required)
• $7 monthly hosting fee (if required)

Design Control (so that your website looks good to potential clients)

You can continually change layout, look, feel, number of columns, colors, photos’, background, theme, capture user analytics, create custom headers, footers, add/modify content, use of unlimited sales landing pages, blog, RSS feeds, linking your social media, can add sub-domains, email controls, security, backups, help forums, etc.

SEO Control (Search Engine Optimization so that potential clients can actually search and see that you look good)

You can research keywords, trends, set meta data, page titles, descriptions, optimize content, enter photo alt tags, enroll in directories, grab citations, set categories and tags, sitemaps, link building, article creating, join with other companies in posting blogs to create backlinks, geo target communities, etc.

The Contractor Reference Guide provides you everything you need to know including step-by-step instructions. If you can assemble your kids new bicycle on Christmas Eve, then you can easily follow our tutorials and get remodeling website leads.

Some more good news: If you already have a good new home or remodeling website (one that gains hundreds of unique visitors per week) then you’re well on your way to web success. We never suggest to throw away a good website or do away with a marketing firm that you’ve found helpful.

Instead, you may need to build supporting sites or landing pages to target additional keywords. However in some cases, it may be easier just to keep your domain name and all of its backlink juice while creating a fresher new look. We think that decision should always be yours.

In either case, we want to inform you of all the pros and cons so that you can make informed decisions. The ability to acquire new leads for you company is its life-blood. You must continually have them to succeed. The Contractor Reference Guide was assembled by the Independent Research Facility for Residential Contractors to give you the best chance of success.

Taking Lead Generation into Your Own Hands – The Inexpensive DIY Approach

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The Construction Reference Guide provides hundreds of how-to resources similar to a construction mentor for the residential construction industry. 312-470-6699

Getting Started Today | Simple Subscription

• Open to Business Professionals
• Free Continual Updates
• 24/7 Access
• Lifetime Membership to Continual Updates
• Hundreds of Topics & Thousands of Pages
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$50 Member Referral Rebates – Completely Voluntary

• We Rebate $50 for Each New Member Signed
• Simply have your new member write your name to the Referral Application below
• No Limitations
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• This equates to a .19¢ per hour investment in your business

After you refer:

• 2 additional new members: .14¢ per hour investment in your business
• 3 additional new members: .12¢ per hour investment in your business
• 4 additional new members: .09¢ per hour investment in your business

And that is just the 1st year investment. All subsequent years are free!

Misc.

The only other optional costs would be if you chose to purchase some of our recommended books or software from 3rd party vendors (not us … and usually under $100). For the most 95% of any strategy can be done for free.

We continually need new members to pay our staff and research. This is especially true when we don’t charge any recurring fees of any kind. Assisting us helps strengthen this entire contractor group. Then too, by only charging .19¢ an hour keeps out the riff-raff looking for quick fixes without wanting to invest time or money into their education and future. Knowing too, that you’ll continue to use the Research Facility for many years to come … will reduce your costs down to a penny a day!

Our Guarantee

Upon becoming a member we guarantee to help you in any way we can. We have terrific email support which can be used for individualized strategy sessions – all inclusive on a first come basis.

However as with any business in the world, there are no guarantees of success, so that part we cannot guarantee for you. We will show you ways that have been used by others to greatly increase their business visibility, professionalism and profits.

Our Refund Policy

Upon joining you will have full access to our Business Resources. Thus, we will be unable to issue any refunds as we have no way of getting back the information viewed or downloaded. We think it only fair to offer a no refund policy and to state this up front.

The Steps to Accessing The Ultimate Contractor Reference Guide

We use a secure 3rd party PayPal account. Payment can be made via credit card or company check. If needed, use the email form located in the footer of our Home Page.

Click on the PayPal button located within the sidebar.

Once your payment has been verified and we receive the below application we will provide you a URL address to sign-in. For security reasons, you then will be asked the same questions as below. Within 24 hours (usually much quicker) you will receive an email indicating your Username and Password to log-in. Through the Manage Services you can change your Password.  Building Profit can be best reached via email (see the Home Page footer) or a detailed voice message at: 312-470-6699.

Note: This is a single user license. This means that the computer you are registering on today, must be the same computer you continually use to access our Independent Research Facility.

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The Contractor Reference Guide provides hundreds of how-to resources similar to a construction mentor for the residential construction industry. 312-470-6699