Building Success: Financial Foundations for New Construction Entrepreneurs

Initiating and managing a new construction business requires dedication, planning, continuous learning, industry knowledge, experience, and determination. As an entrepreneur, you will need to meet difficult challenges head-on: competition, contracts, client expectations, project scheduling, job costing, cost forecasts, labor shortages, cash requirements, financial reporting, close-outs, and so much more.

From defining your business model, securing financing, building a skilled team, and delivering quality projects, every step will be crucial in ensuring your success. This guide provides you with those steps and prepares you with the knowledge and tools to initiate and grow a successful construction company.

This course is designed to equip entrepreneurs with the required knowledge and skills to work in partnership with owners, lenders, estimators, project managers, accountants, and production employees in contributing to enhanced project results.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Conducting thorough pre-bid research, avoiding under or overbidding, learning from past bidding errors, and refining bid strategies.
• Identifying factors causing productivity losses, implementing measures like training, technology upgrades, streamlined processes, and productivity metrics.
• Focusing on employee retention by offering competitive pay packages and providing growth and development opportunities.
• Implementing robust cost control measures, conducting regular project costs and performance reviews, and using historical data and trends for accurate cost forecasting.
• Ensuring financial reports accurately reflect contract terms, revenue recognition, cost accruals, and variance analyses.
• Calculating key financial ratios such as the current ratio, return on equity ratio, and AR turnover. Use these ratios to assess your company's financial strength and stability.
• Managing cash flow fluctuations by maximizing the use of surplus cash and assessing scenarios that could lead to cash shortfalls, such as delayed payments from clients, unexpected expenses, or economic downturns.
• Forecasting revenue to ensure your overheads are covered and profit is achieved.
• Reviewing these points systematically allows you to effectively enhance and strengthen your management of startup, operations, labour, and financials.

BENEFITS

Starting and managing a construction business can be a rewarding venture with these benefits:

• Flexibility and Control: the freedom to set your own schedules and make decisions about the direction of your business. With full control over operations, you can implement your vision and strategies.
• Opportunity for Growth: the construction industry is vast and continuously growing such that your business can be scaled to take on larger projects, enter new markets, and offer additional services.
• Financial Potential: Successful construction businesses can be highly profitable. As an entrepreneur, you have the potential to earn significant revenues from projects and contracts, especially if you establish a good reputation for quality workmanship and reliability. 

Welcome to the construction industry, its challenges, its risks, and its rewards!

Delivery Method: Virtual Session – Zoom Meetings  

Course Fee Includes: Access to the course, course materials, and a digital certificate upon completion. 

This course is delivered in partnership with local and provincial construction associations across Canada. You will be participating with a group of industry peers from multiple regions. 

Sharing a single registration between two or more individuals is not permitted. Please register each person that will be in attendance.

There are no prerequisites for this course. 

This course is designed for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter the construction industry. Whether you're starting from scratch or seeking to enhance your existing business, this guide provides comprehensive insights and practical strategies to navigate the challenges and opportunities in construction entrepreneurship. 

1. Computer or laptop

• • This course will involve on-screen interaction with your instructor and classmates, reading/viewing on-screen content (slides or videos), and interacting via typing with questions or responses. For this reason, cellphones may not be adequate. 

  • Windows 10 or Mac iOS. 

2. Webcam (Mandatory)– in order to engage and collaborate, participants will be expected to have their webcams on for the duration of the class

3. Microphone (Mandatory)

4. Internet connection- For best results, you will want to ensure you have an internet connection with an upload/download speed of 3-5 Mbps. You can test your internet speed here. The minimum recommended speed is 1.5 Mbps, but anything below 3 Mbps may result in loss of quality or buffering. Ideally hardwired connection versus wireless for stability - connect your computer directly to your router using an ethernet cable, rather than using your home wi-fi.

5. A quiet space with minimal distractions –The microphone will be engaged for interactive sessions. Please plan to be fully engaged in the class and clear your work schedule just as you would for the in-class program.

6. Comfortable chair