There is no way to predict what will happen in the economy, but we do know that the unexpected (COVID-19) happens and resulting downturns are inevitable.

I’ve started thinking of the deal components as separate “Value Buckets.” As a result, I have a much easier job identifying an equitable deal for everyone and easily selling it to my investors.

I hear this stuff all the time. I won’t go into the details, but I was reminded of a few often overlooked policies that may have helped prevent the sour outcome.

In that first or second meeting with clients, the topic usually comes up. If they don’t already have plans, they want to understand what you can generally build for. If they do have plans, they want to at least have a “ballpark” number.

When it’s time to tune up our net profits (always), there are plenty of ways to do it. Here is a mental model I use that works for my company. I call it the “Profit Levers Model.”

But then there’s the other part, the exclusions. The part where you need to tell the clients what they AREN’T getting. The exclusions are that slippery bar of soap that’s always trying to evade your grasp.

Sometimes you need to make a change or deviation from the plans or specs you signed at the contract. Over the course of a typical custom home, I’d venture to say it’s common that there may be dozens of these deviations after contract, ranging from the minuscule to the major.

Just as we have contingencies in our own budgets for the things that inevitably arise, why not also give clients a contingency for their selections?

It seems like almost every builder advertises some form of these things, doesn’t it? So, what sets you apart if everyone is also advertising their “quality?” How is a customer supposed to differentiate and ultimately choose you?

This is an article written by Ed Earl, the Zen Builder. Ed was our guest for one of our most popular episodes, “Secrets to Happier Clients.” So, we are thrilled that Ed is willing to share his article about collaborative construction, titled “A Better Way to Build,” with us.

You should be charging some amount up front either at contract signing or it can be at funding of the construction loan, if they have a lender. The amount varies.

If you are a prudent business owner, now might be a good time to start thinking about bulletproofing your business, or at least creating some lines of defense for when it does arrive.

It sucks to get squeezed on pricing, but there are always solutions to be found before throwing up your hands. We get paid to solve problems in this business, and this is no different.

Most of the upside in a project is written into the expectations. That means most of the upside is capped, yet the downside (things that could go wrong) are are almost unbounded.