Contractors, What’s Keeping You Up at Night? (and How To Sleep)

Cash flow -- Cutting Costs -- Controlling Costs and Cash Flow -- Increase RevenueObtain More Capital – Employees -- Recruiting and Retaining Skilled Talent

Growing the Customer Base -- Ineffective Marketing and SalesKeeping Up with the Competition -- Excessive Workload -- Complying with Healthcare Reform -- Lack of Skills to Run a Business -- The Bank Account -- An Audit or Family?

Let PBI Help You Sleep Better Tonight!

There are more than 28 million small businesses in America that employ about one-third of the workforce. Trends indicate the number of small businesses has increased about 50 percent since 1982, and are responsible for adding about eight million jobs to the U.S. economy. Manta has 2,721,835 companies under Construction in the United States. The construction industry creates millions of jobs annually absent recessions and depressions.

According to the various surveys, there are about 18 things that keep construction business owners up at night. If you’re not sleeping read this now. The latest research shows that most business owners stay up at night because they keep thinking about such things as:

1. The death or disability of a key employee 2. Failure to spend enough time up-front to create a well-structured business plan3. Doing the ‘same old things,” expecting a different result4. Cash flow in the event of a disability 5. Pricing your services properly6. Suffering from the “I-can-do-it-all” syndrome7. Business continuation planning 8. Recruit, retain and reward key employees 9. Executive benefits for select employees 10. Employee benefit programs

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11. Long-term care needs for you and your employees 12. Funding personal financial goals (retirement, college, etc.) 13. Investment strategy for retirement plans 14. Asset preservation for the next generation 15. Credit for business expansion 16. Protect personally guaranteed corporate loans 17. Legal actions against you or the business18. Collections

LinkedIn A Possible Solution to Some of theThings that Keep Construction Business Owners Awake At Night.

1. The replacement of a key employee because of death or disability2. Increase cash flow through new relationships in the event of a disability 3. Recruit, retain and reward key employees 4. Finding and funding business and financial goals5. Finding legal help to reduce or eliminate actions against you or the business6. And many more.

What is LinkedIn: LinkedIn has been called Facebook for professionals, the virtual rolodex, and the headhunter’s haven to name a few. Regardless of what you call this online network, LinkedIn can be important for business development and helping business owners sleep at night.

Before delving into LinkedIn business development advice, let’s look at why LinkedIn is beneficial for the construction industry.

Why LinkedIn beneficial for the construction industry: Everyone’s On It. With more than 300 million members, LinkedIn is the largest business network in the world. In 2013, the Master Builders’ Association (MBA) released the results of a social media survey of western Pennsylvania commercial construction professionals. This survey indicated that 89% of the professionals in the region’s construction industry use social media and the majority use social media for both professional and personal use. LinkedIn is by far the one used most for professional networking.

The usage of LinkedIn by the construction industry remains strong. If you’re not convinced or don’t think it can be helpful, take a step back and think about the last ten people you have communicated with in your day-to-day work activities (phone, email, meeting, etc.).

Without a LinkedIn presence you may be missing valuable opportunities to help you get to sleep at night.

The LinkedIn Profile: A good first step for using LinkedIn to help you get to sleep at night

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is your profile. Your profile is crucial as it is the site where potential clients can learn more about you and your role in the industry.

An unfinished profile is a bad first impression to make, especially for prospective clients. A profile picture is a great way to bring your page to life and let people know you are real.

According to LinkedIn, users with a profile picture are more likely to be accepted for connection than others without a photo and users with a profile picture receive more profile views as the result of a LinkedIn search opposed to users without a picture.

After the appropriate profile picture is selected, you should take some time to make sure your profile tells your story. Make sure your headline is current and customize your experiences so inquirers can learn about key positions you have held, work achievements, education and certifications, and volunteer involvements.

Plus the summary section of your profile allows you to share your expertise and vision, so do not forget about this item.

Join & Be a Thought Leader: Now that you have an effective profile, you are ready to expand your network and spread your brand. Company pages and LinkedIn groups are excellent locations to get noticed and make new connections to help you get to sleep at night.

What companies do you enjoy working with?

Check to see if they have a company page and join. Take a second and think of business groups and associations that you belong to and then see if these organizations have a LinkedIn group and join.

Once you join spend a little time to actively participate with the groups to share your knowledge. Be mindful of the number of groups you join. It is better to join a few and be active, then join many, become overwhelmed with content overload and then do nothing.

Posting insightful comments or thought-provoking questions will be welcome by your connections (and future connections) and most importantly you’ll demonstrate that you are interested in your community and making your mark in the industry to help you get to sleep at night.

By demonstrating your thought leadership, it will result in more connections and all the LinkedIn activity opens the door for new business opportunities. LinkedIn can be a powerful tool. It does not guarantee you will succeed in obtaining all sorts of work, but it can help find prospective clients and demonstrate firsthand your connection to them.

If you stay up at night asking yourself…

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[A]: Can I retire in 10 years? Can this business fund my retirement? What if my partner dies? Do I want to do business with his son? Now I’ve personally guaranteed a loan for this business. I could lose everything. If I get hurt and can’t work, what happens to my business? To my family?

[B]: Expanding the business makes sense. Can I get the credit I need? This business is a key part of my life and my family’s life. How do I make sure my family gets to enjoy the value of all my hard work? Why are there so many questions? Where are the answers?

[C]: I can’t keep doing it all myself. How do I attract the best and brightest to help me grow this business? My biggest competitor provides top notch benefits. Do I need to provide better benefits? I can’t believe I missed another school event working late. The kids are disappointed, and so am I.

PBI can help you get to sleep at night if you or your business is needs help. Contact us now.

Michael KissingerPhone 415-678-9965Email: mjkkissinger@yahoo.com URL: www.prosperitybreakthroughs4u.com

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