Being a younger general contractor who focuses on primarily Excavation and wet Utilities there's a lot of trades we sub out. We are currently running one crew bouncing between many projects. I thought it would be interesting to see everyone's opinion if during growth they find it better to branch out and begin self-performing other trades like the concrete, paving, framing, trucking etc. or stay in their lane and start putting together multiple crews and investing in similar equipment that we already have. Cheers - DSD
Can I pick both? Lol. I am 53, when I was in my 20's I went all out. Never hardly turned down a job or more land to farm. so I would have voted for conquer the world. Somewhere along the way I figured out it's better to perfect a hand full of skills then be spread to thin. Being more profitable and efficient. More employes and more jobs may not mean more money in your pocket. Not saying i wouldn't take on a big job or look into something new, It would just have to be the right thing. At the present time farming and excavating I focus on doing a better job at both. which in turn means more profit and things running smoother.
I would strive to do one or two things, really well, and stick with that. Become the go-to-guy, for those types of work. It is easy to get overloaded with work, try to do everything right, and end up doing everything half-a-- in the end. I tried doing a little bit of everything when I first started doing contracting work. I found that one thing always seemed to interfere with the other, good help was hard to find, and I worked about 24/7 trying to juggle all my projects. After a few years of the "Mr do it all" routine, I focused in on just a couple of areas to specialize in. Less conflicts, fewer troublesome employees, and a lot less stress overall.
@DirtySideDown , I am right there with you. I've been self employed for a couple years and still trying to figure it out. I'm talented, can do just about anything, but I'm starting to find that with more variety of work, I become less efficient. I really love the variety, but I certainly feel it becomes a hinderance at some point. I do tree service, residential and commercial construction, remodeling and renovations, handyman call outs, landscaping and light excavation. I did quit chasing roofing and concrete work this year. I have had a full schedule without that type of work and I dont have to chase down extra help for those types of work. I might weed out a few other types of work, but I'm not sure what yet.
It's why I only work on Trucks, no yellow stuff. The truck end of things has changed so much over the last 20 years it's hard to keep up with. You can't work on everything and be good at all of it.
I started out doing it all. We'd take on full residential builds, house lifting, etc. The past 3 years, we've started to become a lot more focused. No more concrete, no more managing large builds. If it doesn't keep the iron and trucks moving, I'm not interested. Although I miss the variety, we're definitely more efficient at the services we offer. We do jobs in half the time of the do-it-all competition.
The question is one only you can answer. Just how big of a horse do you want to ride? A big horse can take you a lot of places, quickly. But a big horse is not relaxing to ride, requires a lot of feed, and a strong hand on the reins all the time. And if you fall, its a long way down. If you want a wife and family, well, they need to be more important to you than the business. If you plan on staying a bachelor you can always rent.
I love variety but the last couple years I've stuck with focusing on a couple niche areas. You get pretty efficient doing what you know best.
When I say Trucks/Trailers--The trailers are on the right 590 through 703 plus 20 more owned by his dad. Tractors are on the left-414 through 513 plus 16 more owned by his dad, on another board. Each trailer has a refer/power unit so I have about 180 +/- engines to take care of. 648 trailer wheel ends, 520 tractor wheel ends. 1,300 trailer tires, 780 tractor tires. Parts inventory, all work orders, all FHWA inspections, and a tow truck to operate plus windshield time 24 hrs 7days a week. And only two of us in the shop. No time for other stuff-I come home dead some days looking like I was pulled through a knot whole backwards. It all depends on how much stress a person wants to deal with-It will be hard to come to a stop when I retire, been working like that for 30 years. Can't have any family working like that, but for me it's what I--I--I wanted to do, and I can tell everyone it takes one hell of a wife to put up with a spouse like that. In my book there was only one Carma on this planet and I was lucky enough to find her.
That chart reminds of the chart in Gone in 60 seconds... of all the cars they intended to steal. I'd bet the time frame to have them ready to go could be similar at times.
Some of the best advice I was given years ago when I worked dirt and had employees was given to me by a septic contractor that I would see/talk with often. "Find one thing to do and do it well. You will be more profitable and cut down on your stress levels." At that time, I had a grader, a pan, excavators, dump trucks, dozers, lowboy, etc. I did everything from clear lots, dig basements, driveways, demolition, road maintenance for subdivisions, hauling, etc. I found out that I liked the clearing work the best. I got rid of some inventory and all employees except for me, myself and I, and concentrated on mulching work only. That was over 25 years ago. I'm more profitable, have more freedom and enjoy my work more than ever. I also have built a good reputation with lots of repeat business and word of mouth advertising. It was good advice for me. Yes, I could make more money with employees but I like my life/business the way I have it set up. Find what works best for YOU. Niche markets and focused efforts should lead to the best returns and least amount of problems in most service industrial work. The better you and your team know your job skills, the more efficient you should become.
I have 3 crews. Two men who do new home STEP (septic) system installation. This is production work for lack of a better description. We have it down to a science. Work for 2 different national builders in 3 different subdivisions and adding a third builder and 2 more subdivisions. We do 3-5 lots a week. Another 3 man crew who works in Metro Nashville for one large GC. Occasionally a large bid civil job but mostly come in behind the big civil guy and finish all the outside detail finish work. One mini ex and a CTL and truck. I told the the GC that we would not be bidding any more jobs, just the T&M clean up stuff moving forward. Third 3 man crew does general excavation, land clearing ect. Moving forward I want to do another 2 man STEP crew and back off of the general excavation. Smaller and specialized is more profitable and much less stressful.