Contractors can produce more profit and less risk by using labor in a intelligent manner.
I left off my last column by inviting you to fill out the missing blanks on a worksheet containing four hypothetical contracting jobs with different overhead factors. I requested that you mail them back and also identify the most desirable job of the bunch.
Predictably, the answers ranged all over the place, but more than half of you who responded did come up with the correct answers shown on page 47. I would love to take that as a sign that our industry is getting its act together when it comes to business knowledge, but I’m afraid there is a simpler and more disheartening reason for the high percentage who “passed” the course. I know from my teaching experience that most PHC contractors are totally befuddled by these worksheet problems, and they aren’t inclined to take the time to participate in this exercise. As usual, it is the more diligent and knowledgeable contractors who find intellectual stimulation in business problems, just as they are the ones you find attending seminars, participating in industry affairs, etc.