# How to become a better GC/Boss



## rotarex (Mar 31, 2008)

Hey guys its been 
5 years, 2 months, 11 days since i started my own business, which my intention was not to even get this far except to just make some money and move on to opening a gym.

That had never happen as i had accidentally stumbled upon business, the very thing i never wanted to get into. 
so for the last 5 years i learned construction trades which was a walk in park for me, but the learning never stops and still more to go.

The best part for me is meeting new clients as some really do motivate me and make me feel like the person im suppose to be and then there is those clients that can completely break me, so here i learned people. 

Then there is Hiring workers, i have been through over 125 guys 
25 est. trade specific (sub contract)
and 100 crew
only 1 walked off 
1 quit 
2 subs i still use 
and all the rest fired 
so here i learned how to be a boss, this is the hardest part for me, and i need the help here
i know the biggest mistake i make is befriending the workers and buying them water or giving them advances, so that i know dont work, so becoming an AHole is the other option  i hate being that guy because i am to extreme

I feel that i have put my hours in learning the trades so i know what a trades man is talking about and i know he knows what he is talking about and that's very important to me. so up on till this point i am a renovator.

now its hard enough to get guys to get along on CT, my goal is to put 2 or 3 renovators in the same crew and have them not kill each other, this is the reason why i prefer teach them from scratch but that aint gonna happen unless i have the time 

Crew
so my question is, how do i share the work load, and demand the respect before i get walked all over and have 2+ guys who learned differently at different speeds to work together ? and then cycle them with another renovator at different times


Subcontracting 
This is a problem for me as 95% of the time the guy i am subcontracting the job to is having worker problems also, so i only sub the license trades job electrical, plumbing, HVAC.

the whole point of sitting back and have the business work for me now is because i want to go back to school for some science courses some related to the business and some absolutely not even related


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## tcleve4911 (Mar 26, 2006)

rotarex said:


> the whole point of sitting back and have the business work for me now



Ain't gonna happen

You decided to get into the Service Industry..............:thumbsup:


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## katoman (Apr 26, 2009)

What else is new. Welcome to the world of mediocre people.

I'm like you, I sub the mechanicals and some specialty trades. 

So, now you need a lead carpenter, perhaps one or two other carpenters, and let's say one labourer.

The lead carpenter leads the site. The other two carpenters do as he directs, the labourer does as he's told.

Trick is to find that lead guy. Sounds like you are not qualifying the guys you have been hireing.

First, if the guy hasn't got his C of Q pass. I know I'll hear about that, but it shows to me the guy takes his trade seriously.

You can't just dump 3 or 4 guys on a site and say "work together" You, or your lead carpenter need to be there to lead and direct. 

What can I say? Keep looking. If you take a look at ads for carpenters, you can easily see who wants quality men and who will hire anyone.

There is a demand in Toronto for quality lead carpenters who can run a site/job. They are well paid and I'm sure the companies that have such guys strive to keep them.


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

I think you recognize a large part of your problem. Your employees are just that, your employees. They aren't your friends, they aren't your social welfare cases. 

Here's the deal, it's a trade. Every week they provide you with their (productive) time and every week you pay them. After paying them you're even, you owe them nothing, they owe you nothing. 

Providing water is a proper role for the boss. I even provided lunch so the guys wouldn't leave the job site, it saved me money. DON'T give a pay advance, don't get involved in their personal lives, don't do things with them after work. That is neither your role nor their role. 

The pay advance thing is a real problem, just say NO. You could even tell them that if they ask for an advance or early pay, you will accept that as their 3 minute notice that they are quitting. Don't give in on this, ever. Do it once and it never ends. This is not just about the PITA factor of doing the advances, it's about control and who has it. 

You've gone through a lot of guys, that's the nature of the business. At some point you may find some talented self starters (good luck with that) but you won't find them if you don't look. From day one, keep the roles clear. You are not their friend, you are not there to help them, you are there only as their boss.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Don't befriend your employees. Fair yet respected is what you might want to shoot for. You've got to set up boundaries and stick to them. Friendly but firm. Employees are constantly testing the boundaries. They watch and observe everything you do and how you interact with everybody on the crew, the customer your subs and they form little relationships in their heads associated with your interactions. Don't confide in your employees, keep business, business. If you have 3 guys and you let one slide because of some personal issues, as a boss you think, the other 2 see how you have compassion and looking out for the other guy. Most likely the other 2 are marking off those mental notes about how you're a softy and they will test those boundaries themselves with you.



rotarex said:


> now its hard enough to get guys to get along on CT, my goal is to put 2 or 3 renovators in the same crew and have them not kill each other, this is the reason why i prefer teach them from scratch but that aint gonna happen unless i have the time


With 2-3 guys on a crew you have to have a pecking order. Without it you'll never figure out what's wrong. You can't have 3 equals, you have to have somebody in charge. On a crew of 3 you might have the order 1-2-3 or it might be 1-2-2, but never have it 1-1-2 or 1-1-1. You need to cultivate 1 trusted person for each crew. 






rotarex said:


> Subcontracting
> This is a problem for me as 95% of the time the guy i am subcontracting the job to is having worker problems also, so i only sub the license trades job electrical, plumbing, HVAC.


That sounds about right. 



rotarex said:


> the whole point of sitting back and have the business work for me now is because i want to go back to school for some science courses some related to the business and some absolutely not even related


You'll need someone outside the crews, above them before you will be able to do what you are talking about. It's got to work like a miliatry formation.


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## rotarex (Mar 31, 2008)

katoman said:


> So, now you need a lead carpenter, perhaps one or two other carpenters, and let's say one labourer.
> 
> The lead carpenter leads the site. The other two carpenters do as he directs, the labourer does as he's told.


Hey Kato, that lead guy can be a problem also if he is not a pusher, and by pusher i mean if he don't got a scary appearance to him, i had one guy who had that scare look to him but unfortunatly he got a better job offer in Alaska, he even ask me if i wanted to come along and i wanted to, not for the money but for the adventure but at the same time to leave a business for a few months completely puts me to the back of the line 

i wish sometimes some of us can come together on this site and make stuff work unfortunately we all live so far away


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## Heritage (Mar 20, 2007)

*!*

125 guys in 5 years? = 25 guys/year = 2 guys a month.

Talk about turn over.

Most GC's happen to be TERRIBLE employers. One can make all the demands one wants and find oneself worthy of excellent employees, but if one is not himself an excellent employer, one can expect to find oneself forever with a revolving door of buffoons.

I'm not pointing at anyone and I don't anything about how any of you run your companies or sometimes so called companies. I just happen to know most so called GC's have a hard enough time distinguishing their own anus from their nose.

I know that great GC's have great employees. Mediocre GC's have mediocre employees and terrible GC's have terrible everything.

It's the law of attraction. You can't be a great GC unless you have great employees and subs. You can't get great employees and subs unless you are a great GC.


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## ShellBuilt (Dec 4, 2010)

Heritage said:


> 125 guys in 5 years? = 25 guys/year = 2 guys a month.
> 
> 
> It's the law of attraction. You can't be a great GC unless you have great employees and subs. You can't get great employees and subs unless you are a great GC.


Can't say I have ever heard of that kind of turnover, that would keep me up at night. 

The law of attraction or magnetism, this is very true. Try listening to successful contractors or read articals on the net by some and then step outside and look at your business. See if there are differences that stand out. Sometimes it stings a little bit, but it is what you have to do to get better. Go buy the book "The 21 irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John C. Maxwell. It may help to solve 21 of your problems, lol. I think leadership is the one skill that gets passed over in a lot of businesses. When you boil down struggling businesses I think you always find a common denominator, poor leadership. 

All this turnover is costing you a lot of money. Most don't realize how much this can affect the bottom line because you can't find it on a job report or finacial statement. It is hard to ever perfect any systems, which in turn makes you more efficient and profitable.

Good luck, you can do it!!


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## DecksEtc (Oct 27, 2004)

rotarex said:


> Hey guys its been
> 5 years, 2 months, 11 days since i started my own business, which my intention was not to even get this far except to just make some money and move on to opening a gym.
> 
> That had never happen as i had accidentally stumbled upon business, the very thing i never wanted to get into.
> ...


I'll offer a little first hand experience as I assume I am the "1 walked off" and I am in a good mood.

The reason I walked off and declined to work for you any further is because you offered me a job rate for that basement renovation. Of the 12 hours I was on site, you only had about 4 hours worth of work for me.

In summary, the first day and a half I was on the site, you had no organization whatsoever. You had no drawings or plans for the renovations - you were making things up as you went along.

You were still doing demo where you wanted new walls built, you had next to no materials on site and expected me to sit around waiting for you to run around and get materials, your tool boxes looked like a 2 year old organized them.

To top it off, you were doing the plumbing and electrical yourself AND you had no permits for ANY of the work.

I left because I didn't want my name associated with any of the work going on in that basement...

Also, I suspect that if you've fired 100 people that perhaps the problem might lie with you...


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

Dealing with people is not easy, especially when you're the boss.

First and foremost you cannot show your employers weakness and that you cannot survive without them. That is the biggest mistake in any business and it goes to theirs head. If you give them a hand make sure that they clearly understand, they will not have your arm. Make sure you make them understand not to take your kindness for weakness and if a sacrifice must be made for everyone to understand where you coming from, then you pick a bad seed on the crew and you make an example...in old days you explain with a 2by today you put it to them gently, here is your pay and this is the door. 

Now to the business part... They must understand that they have the job and they're there to represent your best interest and to make you the money...when you make money, they make money. If they don't need the money, they shouldn't be there wasting your time. If a HO is not satisfied and complains, that rubs off on your name and they must understand that whether it was a bad job, or a bad attitude, or anything else it will that will not be tolerated by you...Customer is always right,and if a customer is wrong, that is your job to make a decision how to handle that customer and only you can take action...not the people on your crew.

Same goes for the subcontractors...they're there to represent you and your best interest. They're not there to do you a favor, or they're there because they had nothing to do on that day. They're there for one reason and one reason only, to do the job for you and the way you need that job to be done...they are there to make you money and in return they will make money if they do a good job, for your and your customer's satisfaction and that is why they will continue to work and make money with you. You pick the best from the rest, you pick guys who bring experience to the job, who bring knowledge and good attitude, who're respectful and take pride in the work they do. If they're there just to be there, or they act like they doing you a favor, they're killing your business and you don't need that. You get rid of them as quick as you can... If they're your friends, that is fine, remain friends, but as the work goes, they cannot work for you, and if the friendship goes with it,so be it...I guess there wasn't one to begin with if thats the way it goes.

Small example. I was doing an addition a while back, I had a plumber I knew a long time, knowledgeable guy, did my own house and did few other projects,he was very good,no problems. I took him to do this addition, there where few problem, and he should have handled his business a little better, but I let it go, the customer did not... at the end of each job, I ask all clients to provide me with a small feedback about theirs experience working with me, subcontractors,etc. I get a letter saying, "Greg, the addition came out great, you a pleasure to work with, all you guys are great but your plumber sucks" ok...I knew there was a problem with him showing up when he should have showed up, but things do happen and I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I did another small job and it was the same feedback..."your plumber sucks" That was the last job he did for me. 
I cannot afford having anyone f^*king up My business, I been in it for almost 30 years and nobody is going to give me a bad rap.

I learned one thing over the years,and not only from my experiences, but from others as well... You treat everyone with respect and kindness, and you try to do the right thing by everybody, but if you don't get the same in return, you cut them off right there and then, because people like that, they don't care about you or your business, they try to take a free ride on your expense and they will ruin your business.

Good luck to you and everyone :thumbsup:


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## fast fred (Sep 26, 2008)

I thought I was going to have a ton of guys and have all this work and blah bah blah.

Well the truth showed up one day and five went to one and one went to none and I could be happier.

If I need help I know where to find it and it's all temp. Sure I'm not running four projects at once, I'm not rolling in the dough, but life is easier.

When I got a phone call from the hospital saying I needed to help get the guy who worked for me out and on his feet. I didn't know what to do. He got a paycheck on friday and drank himself into a stuppor all day saturday and the ambulance found him laying in the street sat. night.

His last day was that week.

Employees suck here is why:

1) you'll be a social worker no matter what
2) you're a banker and loan officer
3) you'll be a best friend for some reason


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## wncbuilder (Nov 10, 2010)

I think you are starting to go on the right direction. You have recognized your problem and you are seeking a solution. Follow through and you will succeed. 

My 2 bits:
1-Read, go to the library; it's free
2-Find a mentor; doesn't have to be a GC, someone with employees


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## Warren (Feb 19, 2005)

Doesn't sound that the OP is very committed to making his business work. That turnover rate is unacceptable by anyones standards. Here we have a person who needs to be on the job more, but by his own admission, and some from one other poster, we see a guy who has no idea where he will be in a few years. Off to Alaska? Back to school for science?? Opening another non related business?? Sorry if my assessment seems harsh, but the reality is you have greatly contributed to your own mess. The fact that your business remains is a good sign though.


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## pera (Mar 29, 2007)

Most of us do the same thing at some point in time. Which is, stumble into an industry which we have no educational or professional background on and act like we KNOW what we are talking about. Five years of semi-professional work on the field equals to maybe one year (at the most) of going to school to learn any one trade or construction management. I am just being honest. I know, because I didn't go to school for it, and paid dearly on the field to make up for it. (some might argue I still do.)


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## modterry (Nov 14, 2008)

What kind of systems have you developed ?
Seems like you are flying by the seat of your pants. From the read your weakness is the people part of the business. How about hiring a good construction manager and you do sales?

I became a much better manager by systemizing and writing down all our processes. We have task lists, specifications for each job. I print them out with our expectations for each sub and I have gotten some blow back at first but, now seems pretty smooth.

Hire slow, fire fast.

My lead foreman runs the job, Knows the labor budget, all others report to him. He reports to me. 
Yes, I have had all the stories about running out of money, etc. 
Use a policy manual and stick to it.

I have systemized interview questions, go through at least 2 interviews per hire.
Make the job applicant see our work, our processes, our policies. Usually 3 trips. 
I like to see how the applicant reacts and does he fit, want the job, etc

My foreman is involved in all hires- if he doesn't like em , we don't hire them.
Last 2 hires - I was not involved in. My foreman takes more care about who he works with.
I don't get in the way now. 

First day on job, I walk the new hire through all our policies, make them sign they have read, collect all personal information, show him around.

Go through our processes, specs and expectations.

This has really helped because the new hire has a good understanding of what we expect. Also makes them feel a new member of the team because we take the time.

Good Luck

Terry


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## rbsremodeling (Nov 12, 2007)

Send me 29.99 plus tax for my Contractor course and I will explain everything to you..


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## Darwin (Apr 7, 2009)

rotarex said:


> Hey guys its been
> 
> Crew
> so my question is, how do i share the work load, and demand the respect before i get walked all over and have 2+ guys who learned differently at different speeds to work together ? and then cycle them with another renovator at different times


Never demand respect. Especially the kind that you speak out loud to your crew, "You mofo's better stop fn with me and respect me!" becus all that will happen is like meat in a sharktank. Your meat.

From day one, show them that you aren't afraid to get in there, and do the work yourself. Be hands-on like one of them when needed(but not really!). Lead by example. Use every opportunity to be fair with the guys.

Set standards and follow them to a tee. One mess-up can be forgiven. Anything after that, well.. Don't expect less from the crew. 

Finally, break bread with your workers. This by far is the BIGGEST relationship builder! Share time with them -- other than at work. This will show you how they behave in a regular, non-working setting. You could also have a productivity goal/reward challenge. If they perform at a certain level, take 'em to Cedar Point! Or just maybe a restaurant trip, bar trip, etc. Wash, rinse, repeat.


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## JustaFramer (Jan 21, 2005)

rbsremodeling said:


> Send me 29.99 plus tax for my Contractor course and I will explain everything to you..



How about 3.50?


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## inmo (Feb 27, 2010)

Finding good competant help has always been a huge problem for me. Its the one thing that has hampered business growth. If I'm not there holding hands and watching for mistakes I get hung everytime. I'd like to find some real craftsmen but most of them are running their own ships already.


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## BamBamm5144 (Jul 12, 2008)

I have to disagree with Greg24k post. In my mind, the only person my company needs in order to operate is ME. That isn't being narcissistic but rather just honest. Employees come and go and without you there to hold everything together, there would be no company.

Finding good employees is really hard. The great ones already have their own company. The good ones are usually committed to that company and want to advance within the same company. I am lucky to have a few really good employees. These guys all get paid over average for this area and are treated fairly. When I used to work for other guys, I would hate jobs that the boss would take if he wouldn't do them himself. I don't do that. Although I may not be on every job, the guys know that I would work on it with them if I could.

I have worked for a guy who demanded respect and never got it. He didn't deserve it.

Bottom line, *respect is earned.*


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## Calla UK (Nov 22, 2010)

ShellBuilt said:


> Can't say I have ever heard of that kind of turnover, that would keep me up at night.
> 
> The law of attraction or magnetism, this is very true. Try listening to successful contractors or read articals on the net by some and then step outside and look at your business. See if there are differences that stand out. Sometimes it stings a little bit, but it is what you have to do to get better. Go buy the book "The 21 irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John C. Maxwell. It may help to solve 21 of your problems, lol. I think leadership is the one skill that gets passed over in a lot of businesses. When you boil down struggling businesses I think you always find a common denominator, poor leadership.
> 
> ...


I second the John C Maxwell material, he's a legend when it comes to leadership. "21 irrefutable laws" is excellent as is "failing forward". 

I've been part of a team with terrible leadership that has been literally transformed by a true leader stepping in and taking the reigns.


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