This is a bit off topic for construction accounting; however, it may be of value to you as a contractor to know that every contractor has challenges and the more successful you become the more challenges and "Character Building Moments" you will have.
This is a true story and it happened to me back in the late 1990's while owning and operating a small Plumbing Service and Repair company with 27 employees and 7 trucks....it is funny now....but not at the time...
When your construction company reaches a size where you cannot do everything yourself it is time to think about Key Person insurance. In the event of your death, it will give your heirs a fighting chance to continue the construction company you started or if they choose the time, money and resources to make it attractive to a buyer.
I had reached a point where I needed to increase my Key Person insurance policy because our construction firm was doing very well. This meant the insurance carrier sent a doctor to my office to perform a quick physical examination, check my vital signs and take some samples....you know what I mean...
The doctor apparently had never been inside the office / warehouse space of a construction company before so he got quite an education and not one he was prepared to receive that day. I instructed my office manager that I was not to be disturbed unless there was an earth-shaking emergency....which there always are!
Interruption #1 - Just as the doctor was ready to take my blood pressure one of the warehouse employees borrowed the keys to my pickup truck to move it out of the way and slammed into a semi-truck. The semi was unhurt; but my pickup and the warehouse guy sustained some damage. The warehouse guy's injuries were not life threatening so the doctor conducting my exam let one of the other employees take him to get medical treatment.
Interruption #2 - Ten minutes later one of the new technicians was bored and thought it would be a good idea to glue some green plastic AstroTurf on the top of a brand new $40,000 piece of equipment to help dress it up. He was roughly 200LBS and did not listen to anyone smaller than himself. The 150LB warehouse employee who was restocking the vans tried to stop him with no success and decided the office manager should help. She panicked and burst into my office. I was and still am roughly 275LB and I told the doctor I needed to deal with this issue.
Interruption #3 - Ten minutes later a former employee who had been discharged a few days before had just spent the morning getting good and liquored up and arrived at our office with a weapon intent on either getting his job back or committing an act of workplace violence. I was interrupted yet again, of course, and diffused that situation with a bit of rough persuasion and sent him down the road....very unhappy....but wiser!
After the third interruption, the doctor decided to check my blood pressure one more time and he remarked how my blood pressure did not rise during all of the chaos. I just told him "It's just another day at the office..."
I have hundreds of stories of "Character Building Moments" like these as you do too. Construction is a rough and tumble world and I love it! I hope that you do too! If you have, some "Character Building Moments" please leave a comment below and perhaps if you are interested I could interview you for our Construction Success Map Podcast.
For a great example of someone whom i deeply admire and respect please, listen to the two Podcasts where I interview Sean Kavanaugh. He was a plumbing contractor and his story will keep you on the edge of your seat!
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About The Author:
Our Co-Founder Randal DeHart - Is a Certified PMP (Project Management Professional) with several years of construction project management experience. His expertise is construction accounting systems engineering and process development. His exhaustive study of several leading experts including the work of Dr. W. Edward Deming, Michael Gerber, Walter A. Shewhart, James Lewis and dozens of others was the foundation upon which our Construction Bookkeeping System is based and continues to evolve and improve. Check out our Contractor Success Map Podcast on iTunes and Follow Randal on Google+