Foreseeable Finance Concerns in the Future World of Small Business Contracting {0}
With the debris of the housing bubble burst still embedded into many an American contractor’s wounds, thoughts about the future and investments toward it today sound like optional perks and not practical business matters.
But there are a few issues that small business contractors need to be aware of and anticipate if they wish to consider themselves and their businesses competitive for decades to come.
1. Paper
You hear about “going green” all the time so this one’s a no-brainer. On any given job, whether weeks or months in the making, you will accumulate and or distribute enormous reams of paper. We’re talking about contracts, copies of contracts, insurance forms, finance documentation, et cetera. Making the move to paperless is an instant saver. Everybody is doing it, it just makes sense.
2. Bi-Lingual Consideration
Hispanics make up 15% of the American population with that number to rise dramatically over the next several decades. 24% of the Hispanic workforce in America is in contracting, indicating that contracting will become increasingly reliant on Spanish-speaking labor.
I know I just mentioned cutting costs by going paperless, but ensuring that your Spanish-speaking workforce has proper understanding of contracts and other documentation, paperless or otherwise, is essential. Consider medical insurance – seguro medico.
By simply having a bilingual worker assist you in drawing up a Spanish version of your health care plan, or at least a description of the benefits, you could ensure that your workers are aware of the means at their disposal in maintaining their health. This could decrease the chances of losing part of your workforce to injury or illness.
3. Water
Texas business tycoon T. Boone Pickens just spent the last 15 years of his life fighting the Canadian government over the ownership of massive water reserves. Similar battles are going on all over the world regarding water. This is because with the rising human population, fresh water is becoming more and more precious of a commodity. Domestically this hasn’t materialized as a serious issue yet.
Unless you think the world’s nations and wealthiest businessmen are crazy, don’t shrug off these early signs that water shortages can happen here, or that the price of water is going to skyrocket. Concrete mixing and other mainstays of construction that need water will turn into expensive endeavors quickly.
4. The Importance of Hard Assets
Unsecured credit is going away, fast. Contractors will be in a good position if they can hold onto their own machinery and tools to better ensure they can borrow when it becomes necessary. This won’t be a problem, but consider that much of your business investment in the future is going to be put towards things that are immaterial, like web design and online advertisement. Convincing a bank to provide you the start up cash to get contracts coming in will need enough capital to borrow against.
Many would agree that now’s a time to stay focused on making ends meet while we all wait for construction to get back to some form of pre-bubble levels. At the same time, do what you can to avoid future tough times for yourself.





