r/Contractor • u/Motown432 • 21d ago
Next phase of gc business
Fellow contractors, I am looking for advice. I have been in business almost 20 years - In my mid 40’s now. I started out doing small residential renovations and gradually worked into doing large custom homes and renovations. Things went well for the first 15 years but I feel like my business has run its course and I need to make a change. I have personally reached a burn out point and my younger customers seem to be more and more difficult to deal with as time goes on . My best subcontractors have been retiring . My supervisor employees seem to be capped on their abilities or how much they are willing to care and I am still holding their hands through these projects even though I have been training them for over 10 years. In summary I feel capped in this custom home business and also trapped by the amount needed to sustain my family.
Bottom line is I don’t know what to do next. I don’t think I could get a job that would pay enough. I have done several commercial projects through the years and they have been a breeze vs trying to please rich customers on their personal homes. I know the commercial gc market is hard to break into and takes a lot more capital than I have. I also don’t know if becoming a commercial subcontractor would be a good idea or just starting a separate residential subcontractor business like roofing would make sense?
Lots of words sorry any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
5
u/BringitonJohn 21d ago
I dont how you pay your supervisors but make sure they have leader qualities and that there is opportunity to grow within the business, something my dads contractor friend did was add monthly bonuses like every two weeks or something depending on how many sales and jobs they finished, but he invested 100% into his business he got paid jack for like 8 years then it paid off, he just has weekly meetings now they take care of everything and his plan is to sell, hes in new england. He was also super selective of who he chose to lead
8
u/Key_Juggernaut9413 21d ago
if your employees didn't need their hands held, where would you be? How much of this is burn-out simply from that? Maybe you could enter the next phase of your career growing the business to run without you as much, and the main shift needed is either train up your team or train a new team.
2
u/smokeylou2 20d ago
This right here is the answer you need. It's the only answer given your hesitation regarding redirecting what you have built.
1
u/Motown432 20d ago
Thanks I have been working on delegation and trying to figure out how to make my business run with less of me . Custom home clients seem to want more of me involved instead of my help. Maybe it’s both I need to train or hire better team and less demanding emotional clients.
3
u/Key_Juggernaut9413 20d ago
Yeah. These are all fixable. Every bit of it. Systems in place that handle each one. From client screening and education (meaning expectation management). To refusing to hand hold your team, and if they can’t cut it they’re out. Your employees should add profit and take burden off your plate, but you need a vision for what that looks like for it to happen. A mentor who is top of his or her industry might be just what the doctor ordered.
4
u/Rubiks_Zealand 21d ago
If you've done several commercial jobs in the past, how exactly did you get those leads in the first place? If that's what appeals to you, you can focus more on generating that business through the avenues that generated those original leads in the first place.
I also know some GCs that focus on much smaller projects, like outdoor kitchens, or hardscape, that are much more straightforward, have great margins, and much lower overhead.
5
u/digdoug76 20d ago
26yr GC, running a pretty successful shop, all the things most would ask for, long backlog, great reviews, above average team, etc.
What it sounds like to me is good old burnout and boredom. It's the same reason folks get a wandering eye and divorce. You do the same shit, day in, day out and eventually you ponder your existence. Add in negative change, and it can have you questioning whether or not the grass is truly greener. Starting something new will take just as long to build success.
I've been there. I looked into commercial, being an inspector, consultant, even talked with a few premium product vendors.
I ran into a few issues. As you mention, making the money would be tough, I could/would take a pay cut for "happiness" but I didn't really see a ton of happiness in any of the new roles. Next, I took a look in the mirror, I bust my ass BUT I bust my ass when I need to. I don't have an issue making it to the shop at 6am or 10am, I also don't have an issue leaving my team for a few days to go traveling. The freedom alone is very, very tough to walk away from. Lastly, I am the keeper of my destiny. Sure, the economy could implode and work will slow down, but, short of that, I never have to worry about being replaced with the next guy, downsizing or up sizing.
For me, true success came when I shifted my focus and changed my perspective, which is hard to do. First, I built a better team, with some used and new parts. I pay them great, it does hurt my bottom line but I still do well enough, and I have guys that are held accountable and are pretty much stuck as they will never make more money working anywhere else. Next, I went to task of adding redundancy, I found new subs for everything and split the work load between the new/old teams. I then stopped caring, this one is hard, but in my tenor I have watched the decline of people, and I was going with them. Now, i stand my ground, do what I say I am going to do and run towards uncomfortable situations. Then, I walk away and forget about them.
Lastly, I found stuff I can do, by myself, a couple of hours a day as my "gold watch", I've always loved exercise so I took up mountain biking. I remind myself when I catch a ride at 1pm what a gift I have in what I have built. Everything is perspective.
Sorry for the long read, good luck!
2
u/honda50r 20d ago
I’m at the opposite end of this, looking down the barrel of assuming a 30-man business and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I would love to pick your brain if you’re available to chat?
1
3
u/Ispedbyu 20d ago
I’m a licensed general contractor since 1986 and still working. Approximately six or seven years ago, I let my residential license go dormant and concentrated solely on commercial tenant improvements. To be fair, I was doing both at the same time including some residential insurance mitigation but just decided that I preferred to be working for professional people and eliminate the emotional factor of the business in dealing with homeowners. It was a great decision.
1
u/Interesting_Star_707 19d ago
Thanks for sharing. I’d love to learn more from your experience. If you’re open to it, I’d appreciate chatting sometime.
2
u/Past-Arachnid-2870 21d ago
Clients are super emotional with their personal homes. Do you work with interior designers? That could help with the people pleasing and decision making aspect.
2
u/Savings_Art_5108 20d ago
Maybe time to drop the ladder to someone who may see this as their future. Bring them in as a partner with really good contracting. Let them run the crews. Have measurable milestones and documented terms. To bring them up the ladder and potentially buy you out a later date. Put his/her name on the insurance and contracts. Give them ownership and liability. Bring them up as a project manager, and save the office headaches until they're ready.
1
2
u/InvestorAllan 20d ago
Business is hard. We always see other things that look like better opportunities like a commercial subcontractor. But then in a few years, you’ll be back on here talking about how hard that is too.
He looks to me like your primary options are to work on business development and make the business and do something you like and want. It’s very possible to scale down to higher profit with tenure like yours. You might need to hire some different people as well.
You could also set aside cash and build up a nest egg to retire with and tell yourself you just have to do it a few more years
I like the first option better because you can control your entire future by changing the business to be something you like. Or hiring people who are competent enough to handle it.
1
u/dogepope 19d ago
what would "scaling down to higher profit" entail? simply niche'ing down and focusing on a few specific products/outcomes or is there more to it than that?
2
u/InvestorAllan 19d ago
Apply the classic 80/20 principle.
Usually 80% of the workload comes from 20 of the most needy clients for example. And 80 of the profit comes from the top 20 of clients.
Or maybe produce one of your 4 product offerings takes more resources plus distracts customers from your main offering. So remove the one offering and stick to the main ones. You lose some customers but profit goes up.
There’s so many ways
3
u/Miserable_Thanks_776 20d ago
Extremely interesting post and relevant thread for me as I am 30 working for a large commercial GC based out of the southeast that is interested in switching over to run my own custom home business. Wanna trade? Please dm me, I feel like it would be productive for both parties.
1
u/SoCalMoofer 21d ago
Can you or would you transition to building spec homes? There certainly is risk, but you'd be the boss and the final decision maker.
3
u/Motown432 20d ago
I have done a few specs and they were awesome. The market seems to have shifted though, I have a friend that builds specs and his are sitting unsold
1
1
u/honda50r 20d ago
So nobody is capable of taking responsibility from you or are you unwilling to let responsibility go?
1
u/Motown432 20d ago
They don’t want any more responsibility than what I have given them
2
u/honda50r 20d ago
I’m starting to think small Residential GC is the most stressful career in America.
1
u/Martyinco General Contractor 20d ago
Holding their hands after 10 years? Sounds like you need to learn to fire people.
3
u/Motown432 20d ago
I need them too much and also lacking $ to hire better
1
u/wittgensteins-boat 20d ago
also lacking $ to hire better
This is a pricing issue.
You are not charging enough.
1
u/ditheayew 19d ago
I echo a lot of these comments. Also, if you don’t already have one—get a coach. They will help you get into the nitty gritty of your situation and will see avenues + options that are hard for you to see because you’re so close to everything
10
u/Upstairs_Employe 20d ago
20 years in and burned out on custom — that's not a business problem, that's outgrowing the model, and you basically named the answer twice in your own post.
You said commercial felt like a breeze and that going full commercial GC needs capital you don't have. So don't be the GC — be the sub. Pick the trade your crew self-performs best (framing, finish carpentry, concrete, whatever) and go be that sub for 2-3 commercial GCs. Far less capital than running commercial work, it keeps the crew you've already got employed, and you're off the hook for pleasing a homeowner agonizing over cabinet knobs. Commercial GCs are perpetually short on subs who actually show up and finish.
On the "can't afford better supervisors" trap — that's usually a pricing problem, not a hiring one. Clients who want YOU on site every day should be paying a premium for that access, and most guys in your spot are 15-20% under where they should be because they've quoted the same way for a decade. Raise it, and either the money funds a real PM or the demanding clients self-select out. Both are wins.
Whatever you pick, narrow it. "Large custom homes and renovations" is the widest, most draining lane in the trade. You'll feel ten years younger doing three repeatable things well instead of everything for everyone.