Stop! Don’t hire a contractor yet!

Well hello there! If you have been following my social media for the last week or so, you have noticed that we are putting on a one hour class to teach the public how to get a proper contract and good financing for their renovations. Why? You ask, would we do this?

I guess the truth is, that both Jonathan (handsome guy in photo above), and I are very nice people. Hah! It’s true. And these two very nice people are very very tired of seeing other very nice people get into financial trouble with shady businesses.

When I started my business 17 years ago, I set up accounts with all my suppliers, and they asked me what terms I would like for paymet. 30 days? 60 days? (this means, how long after they deliver the goods do i need to pay for it)

My answer was actually this: I will give you a deposit for the goods as is required, and the balance will be on delivery and inspection of the goods. So a day.

Why would I do that??? Well, because if you are using a client’s money to pay for goods, then you better use the client’s money to pay for the goods as soon as you can. Don’t use that money to fund a vacation. Don’t use it to pay for the last renovation you did because you don’t manage your accounts properly. Just take your client’s money and buy the goods for their project only. That’s why we have a contract.

The second thing I learned, is that it is my responsibility to have a contract that protects my business, and protects my client. And in that contract, the costing for their project had better be accurate. If I forget to price something into the project, going back to the client and saying “oops, I forgot to charge you for your drywall” isn’t really their problem. If I mess up, it costs a lot. When contractors don’t make money, they don’t finish projects. They simply can’t afford to.

I see this happen all the time. Calls come in monthly, from heartbroken people who just lost thousands of dollars because they trusted the wrong person.

Here is my rant from last week about it.

Jonathan is an awesome Mortgage Broker. He knows the tools for every individual client’s needs. He can help people figure out what they can truly afford and go to his plethora of connections to make sure they get the best deal possible. And now he has a whole new product for home improvements. I don’t know about you, but I went to my bank like a blind cat, and got skinned. It’s a graphic visual, but it’s true.

This isn’t a huge sales pitch. It’s not a way for Jonathan and I to get rich in one night. We just want to teach people a little about the system, what questions to ask and how to make sure that whomever they use for their construction and financing, that they are armed with the right tools.

Hope you can join us!

Here is the video from the event!

Have a terrific day!
XR