Profit First for Contractors: Transform Your Construction Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine

by Shawn Van Dyke, Mike Michalowicz (Foreword)

Construction industry business coach, speaker, and author, Shawn Van Dyke, has taken the core concepts of Mike Michalowicz's Profit First and customized them to address the specific needs of the construction industry. Profit First for Contractors addresses the major struggles contractors face and provides clear and actionable guidance on how to overcome them. Shawn shows contractors how to go from simply getting by to becoming permanently profitable. This book is for every construction business owner who dreams of prosperity. Using Van Dyke's Profit First for Contractors system, readers will learn how to:- Break out of the "craftsman cycle" - the seemingly never-ending loop of urgent tasks and responsibilities that keep contractors from gaining traction toward their important goals.- Understand the financial statements of their construction businesses and how to use them to determine the markup and margin that lead to profits.- Develop solid rules of thumb for the operation of their construction businesses.- Implement an effective cash management plan that simplifies accounting and leverages normal human behavior - checking the bank balances.Using real-life stories from actual construction business owners, step-by-step advice, and his conversational twang, Van Dyke puts permanent profitability within reach of every construction business owner.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2018

Reviews

[Joe Crane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just Profit First with construction examples

I was really hoping this book would have more specific implementation than just using construction stories instead of general business stories. The book actually mentioned several problems I have but didn't actually give ideas on how to implement (the biggest one is how to manage cash when the payment cycle is 30 days of work following net 30 terms). If you've read Profit First, you can skip this book.

[Hunter Radecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Audiobook]
Categorize and organize your $$$, or it will severely hinder your financial progress.

Yeah, it’s that simple, and repetitive, but so many in the industry just want to do the work. They bid low and want to keep the fellas busy, but leaders should reconsider what they’re putting into their workflow. Too often it’s junk food.

This felt a lot like personal finances. If you don’t have a rigid categorization and dispersement of your direct deposit across different accounts checking/saving/brokerage etc, you tend to spend whatever is just sitting there. We can always live on less. Think about how you’d ration that summer job’s small paychecks throughout an entire school year. You drank plenty of booze, ate out a lot, and surely traveled, basically doing a lot of what you probably still do, so how has it gotten so much more expensive? It’s not inflation. It’s that you don’t have a rigid financial plan. I’m sure everyone can relate to and understand that. Those financial principals apply to the construction industry all the same.

Count your coins and hold that pocket, buddy🤓.

[Jonathan Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book
I loved the original one
This one was great because it took those same principals but spoke in a contractor verbiage the entire time
I recommend this to anyone self employed in the construction space to learn a simple step for being profitable

[Tasha O'Malley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes... Forced myself to finish this book, but the arrogance and condescending tone of the author made it almost impossible. Running a successful construction business isn't this complicated, but convincing people it is sells books.

[alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life changing

This book inspired me to keep going on my business when I was about to quit. I can't wait to start implementing the system on my business.

[Scott Carmichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every contractor should read this book. I have been doing Profit First for a couple years and this book helps take this to another level in my contracting business.

[Matt McLain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like prioritizing the profits and letting that guide your customers. Also a good reminder to consider owner draws in cash flow.

A little simplistic for companies not mom and pop size.

[Algirdas Purkenas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Work specific reading - took a few good ideas. Which means it was worth it.

[Gail Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every contractor should read this. Valuable in sight

[Collier Kennington]

Great book. However I do not think this book is needed if you read Profit First already. Its very repetitive and didn't really offer me any new insights that Profit First didn't already give me.

[Jenna Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love learning new strategies and frameworks to run a more successful business. Having a degree in business and being a business owner for nearly a decade, this book didn’t do much for me. I could see that it might be helpful for others who do not have as much of a business background. Some of the principles are a bit confusing when considering the accounting aspect of running a business.