How To Start Your Own Construction Business

The great thing about the construction industry is its stability. It won’t be replaced by some other industry any time soon, so it’s a great place to get your start. To give you a little bit of assistance, we’ve come up with a few tips on how to start your own construction business. This guide should help you get off the ground so you can build something truly impressive.

Do Thorough Market Research

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you’re planning on starting, market research is key to your success. You’ll need to use it to make sure the area in which you’ll operate actually has enough business opportunities to sustain you. Always check out your competition first; get a read on their reputation, their areas of operation, and how much they tend to cost on average. “Know thy enemy” is as important a phrase today as it was when it was first spoken.

Research your potential customers. Find the major population centers where you’ll spend most of your time doing work. Get an idea on the trends they like to follow and the design elements they enjoy incorporating into their homes for a better idea of what your jobs will look like in the future. It’s also crucial to know what kind of socioeconomic status most of you customers are based in, as this will also inform your business’ practices and potential contracts.

Craft a Good Business Plan

Whether you plan on being a roofing contractor or a concrete grinding contractor, your business will need to have a business plan written down somewhere. The business plan will serve as a guide for your practices going forward and be a crucial element for obtaining future funding.

A good business plan will cover many of your business’ important functions and how you plan on moving forward. Some of the essential elements to any business plan include:

• Structure and management positions
• The services you’ll provide and the kinds of jobs you’ll perform
• What and where your target markets are
• Your top competitors and where they operate
• Your starting employees
• The estimated cost of starting the business
• Marketing plans

For anything else your business might need, bring in a CPA to help you draft your plan. They’ll help you finalize any other details you may have missed and put your business plan in official writing. Then you can register your business for all the benefits provided to businesses, including tax benefits and legal protections.

Get Licensed and Obtain Permits

When it comes to knowing how to start your own construction business, you need to make sure you have all the appropriate licenses and permits in order to operate fully. These can vary greatly based on a number of factors including your area of operation, the type of construction you’re going to do, and how many employees you’ve hired.

Many of these allowances are rather simple to apply for online—but you’ll need to separately apply for both federal and state guidelines. As long as your location won’t be somewhere with a zoning ordinance, you can apply for the licenses and permits you need very easily.

This step is vital. You cannot overlook licenses and permits to work in certain areas—unless you want to incur heavy fines and your worksite getting shut down.

Get the Right Insurances

Your business can’t get off the ground without the right insurance, both for the business itself and for each worker it employs. Construction is a dangerous business; the more you ignore that fact, the more people are going to get hurt and be unable for damages. Always have a plan for the worse case scenarios, no matter how unlikely they are to happen.

Almost all of your contracts will make you show proof of worker’s compensation insurance, but there are other types of insurance you may also want to consider, including:

• General liability insurance
• Auto insurance
• Builder’s insurance
• Professional liability insurance

Secure Your Funding

Funding is going to be the lifeblood of your business. If you aren’t lucky enough to finance your entire business yourself, you’ll need to get a bank loan. You can also look into government loans and funding programs. Check your state’s website to see if there are any grants for small businesses to help you out as well.

It’s important to remember that construction projects tend to have small profit margins, so you’ll need to be on top each project’s funds. A lot of construction project costs come near the beginning, so make sure you can secure funding as early as possible. If not, your company might be unable to even start.

Bedrock Supplies wants nothing more than for your construction company to succeed. That’s why we provide the tools you need at the best price possible so you can focus on getting the job done right. When the time comes to start up you own business, we’ll be there to help you along the way. Don’t hesitate to give us a call if you have any questions about our products or services.