States set orders to stay at home or shelter in place for a few weeks at a time. By this point, you’ve probably noticed that the dates have been extended more than once. This makes it harder to know when things might get back to normal. If you’ve been reading the news and reports from … Read more
The beginning of a recession, or even a minor economic downturn, is never the best time to be looking for any job. Although the construction industry can be one that gets hit harder when finances everywhere are tight, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad career choice overall. When you see professionals who have been doing … Read more
Learning to answer questions may feel like a skill you picked up in preschool, but it’s more complicated than you think. Within a question, even a short one, may be assumptions and details that you miss if you’re not paying attention. Knowing how to break down a question can help you figure out how to … Read more
One big concern coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the sheer number of people in the United States who have no sick leave. If they contract the virus, many of them worry they would have to choose between staying home sick and paying the bills. The federal government recently passed legislation to provide some … Read more
The longer you develop your business, the more opportunities you have to build relationships with business partners. Your contractors, subcontractors, supply chain and other companies help to keep you running smoothly. When you do it right, it’s a win-win for everyone involved. The trick is that you have to maintain the relationship so that it’s … Read more
As a contractor, you know that prices for materials fluctuate regularly. Most of the time, you can anticipate what’s likely to happen and plan ahead. At other times, you get hit with a surprise new tariff that dramatically increases costs. When you’re bidding on projects that won’t be completed for a year or two (or … Read more
Several states, California included, have shut down what they call “non-essential services” until they can get better control over the rising cases of COVID-19. Although construction is currently proceeding mostly as usual, this may not be the case next week. Dealing with a state-level or city-level shutdown presents a number of possible complications for your … Read more
If COVID-19 has shown anything, it’s that the U.S. is quite unprepared to deal with a large number of sick people. Other countries have dealt with it by addressing faults in their infrastructure, like an insufficient number of hospital beds. And while the healthcare industry is in more need than ever now, these kinds of … Read more
When you make arrangements to work on a large-scale construction project, you’ll probably work with a lot of invested parties. The property owner, the client, the city or state in some cases. You may be the general contractor, or you might be subcontracting under another professional. But what about the community? Construction projects that are … Read more
Cold and flu season comes for several months out of every year. Once in a while, you’ll see something bigger that feels out of control. Novel coronavirus, currently known as “COVID-19,” has many symptoms similar to the flu and is spread in a similar fashion. But since there’s no vaccine for it yet, there’s a … Read more