Business : Testing, Certification & Business Tools News

How To Land Jobs As a Commercial Contractor Company

Having a contractor business is a great way to make a living. You can flex your creative muscles and your physical muscles and get to see your projects become a reality. You can experience all of that while bringing in big money. However, it’s also a business that comes with

Read More »

3 Factors To Focus On When Starting A Construction Business

Construction is a booming industry, and it’s an area that’ll always be in demand. That’s led to more and more people considering starting a construction business. No matter how skilled you may be in the industry, running a company takes a lot more work than you’d think. You’ll need to

Read More »

8 Reasons To Use Bid Management Software In Your Business

If you’re still manually handling your company’s bidding process, you might miss out on the perks of using automation tools or software. With complex documents and tight deadlines, keeping track of various bids can be a real challenge, and using the right tools can make a huge difference between losing

Read More »

A Quick Guide To Construction Accounting

Accounting is a complicated subject, let alone construction accounting. There are challenges in the construction industry that others don’t have to face. Just imagine what a headache it can be to account for changing construction materials prices, or differences in labor computations according to location. That’s only two of what

Read More »

How Property Developers Can Save Money on Construction Projects

Property development is a lucrative field with huge potential profits, but that’s only true when you can manage each projectproperly. This is no easy task as it requires knowledge, understanding, experience, connections,and business acumen relevant and specific to the construction business. This post will help if you are looking to

Read More »

5 Simple Tips for New Landlords in 2022

One of the most fulfilling jobs in the world is being a landlord. However, that isn’t to say that the job is a walk in the park, quite the contrary. If you are a new landlord then you probably have more questions than answers, and you probably need a little

Read More »

Steps To Ensure Your Construction Company Stands Out From The Competition

The latest Insolvency Service report reveals that about 266 construction businesses collapsed every month within three months into October last year since the pandemic began, according to the Financial Times. Shortage of skilled workers and rising costs of running business are the key factors contributing to the collapse of hundreds of

Read More »

TOP 3 REAL ESTATE MARKETING IDEAS THAT WORK

Selling a house, empty land, or commercial building is not a cakewalk. It requires vast amounts of planning, targeted advertising, finance, efforts, and patience, and only when all these boxes are ticked can realtors enjoy the fruits of their labor. Marketing plays a pivotal role in cinching successful deals and

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Latest Issue
Issue 323 : Dec 2024

Business : Testing, Certification & Business Tools News

How To Land Jobs As a Commercial Contractor Company

Having a contractor business is a great way to make a living. You can flex your creative muscles and your physical muscles and get to see your projects become a reality. You can experience all of that while bringing in big money. However, it’s also a business that comes with a lot of stress in many ways. You have to worry about deadlines, client demands, staffing, and anything else that comes with owning and running a business.  Beyond that, there is getting clients in the first place. Without clients, there is no business, so you must keep bringing them in. For a commercial contracting company, that means bidding on jobs and getting your brand out in the community.  If you never win bids, you will never bring in revenue. However, winning bids is not just about having the lowest one. Here are some tips on landing jobs at a commercial contracting company.  Market Your Business Effectively You will need to invest in marketing and promotion. When potential commercial clients decide to undertake a project, you want your brand to be one of the first to come to mind. You can certainly invest in broadcast media advertising, such as television and radio. However, social media and digital advertising might get you more bang for your buck. Since contracting businesses tend to work in a local area, you can target advertising to people and companies near you.  You should also put yourself on a platform such as LinkedIn to create a network in the business and contracting communities so that more people know who you are and your brand values. They will be more trusting of your business if they see the face and person behind it. Post regularly about industry updates and what your company has been doing.  You can also use search engine optimization (SEO) as a strategy. This means that you are setting up your website to appear on the first page of search engine rankings for certain search parameters. For example, when someone googles “contractor” and your city, you want your brand to show up there. You will get more organic traffic from people already looking for the services you offer.  Networking When commercial clients want a project done, they need to know that their contractor will do it professionally, competently, safely, and with an attention to detail. They also want it to come in on budget and within an appropriate timeline. The best way for potential clients to trust you is through personal connections. As the owner of a contracting company, you need to get yourself out there. Attend Chamber of Commerce functions, show up at charity events and make yourself seen in the community. Even if you don’t meet a single person who is a decision-maker at a company, those you meet will have friends, family, and other connections.  Knowing people in person will give them a better sense of your personality and how you run your business. If they can trust you as a person, they will be more likely to go to bat for you with the people who make final decisions on bids and service providers.  Get All Your Ducks in a Row The other way you can get prospective clients to trust your business is by making sure that you have protected it properly. As a commercial contractor, you can join professional organizations, get certifications and licenses, and present a squeaky clean image to the world. You should also have insurance in place that protects your business, your clients, and the general public. When choosing a contractor, businesses and commercial clients will check to make sure that your employees are bonded and that you have all of the requisite certifications. Don’t try to get away from these. Invest in making your business look strong and reputable, and clients will be more likely to sign with you.  Be Organized A red flag for a prospective client is a contractor that misses deadlines or meetings or doesn’t have information when requested. You must always be organized and on the ball, or else you might miss opportunities. If you bid too late, you will most likely be automatically taken out of the running. If organization is not your skill, hire someone to do it for you. Not only will it help with getting new jobs, but it will also help with your employees. A disorganized company will miss pay dates and make mistakes. This will annoy your staff and potentially cause issues keeping people.  Have a Bidding Strategy When you bid, you need to have a strategy. Some contractors like to quote everything down to the last penny, and some like to use round numbers, like $10,000. However, while rounding numbers makes it simpler, a client may question that. Are you rounding $80,000 up to $100,000? They don’t know, so you will need to be very close if you are rounding. Your strategy will have to balance the desire to get everything into your bid that the client wants but at the lowest price possible. But even then, you will need to be mindful of how much profit you are taking in. In general, if you do good work for a decent price, even if it’s not the lowest, you should be able to convince clients to sign with you.  Now that you have these tips, you are ready to start bringing in clients. Remember, if you provide great workmanship and build a great network, you can bring in revenue and build the commercial contracting business you’ve dreamed of. 

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3 Important Payroll Tasks That Your Construction Business Needs to Carry Out Effectively

A very important part of managing a construction business is processing the payroll.  While payroll processing may seem simple, it requires a lot of attention – because making mistakes when performing it can be very costly, in the sense that it can attract both state and federal fines or penalties.  In fact, these fines are much heavier during the tax season. For this reason, you need to ensure your payroll procedure is precise and efficient.  Some businesses turn to account professionals to better simplify the process – however, not all businesses can afford this luxury.  So in an effort to make this easier for such businesses, here are some very key areas and aspects of the process that you need to focus or improve on. Issuing Pay Stubs To Employees The FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) doesn’t require companies to furnish workers’ pay stubs; rather, it governs matters like business payroll documentation. The federal legislation has stringent standards for documentation, but companies are not required to furnish a printed record. Pay reports aren’t mandated by federal legislation, but the majority of states have chosen to establish state legislation requiring companies to give employees frequent reports concerning their salary and deductions. Broadly speaking, the reports must include these relevant data: worker name, SSN, taxes, payment cycle, and rate of pay. See the State Labor Office Information website to discover if your jurisdiction has pay report regulations or whether pay stubs can be delivered digitally to workers. Finding companies who provide Pay Stubs generator services is important and you should work with those that have good services. If your state requires the issuance of pay stubs, you need to be very meticulous about the process. Also, you need to be very vigilant to avoid the issuance of a fake pay stub – you will be surprised at how easy it is for scammers to fake this vital document. Ensure that any digitized platform you use is absolutely safe and almost unhackable. Conducting Audits You avoid any problems throughout tax season with frequent audits. You should audit if you see a surge in the number of workers who are worried about their paychecks. In fact, it doesn’t matter if your process is automated or still uses paper timecards; periodic audits minimize mistakes. For a fact, when automated or computerized payrolls are employed, mistakes are frequently considerably more significant. And such an error might affect your employee’s salary if a calculation or variable input is wrong. Regular changing fields, like tax positions or increases, need to receive audits frequently. Conducting audits will save you energy and cost by preventing future fines. A comprehensive audit entails starting at the payroll process’s outset. Always check to confirm that all time and numeric values are accurate. Observing Tax Regulations Penalties may be imposed for any miscalculations. And sadly, these miscalculations are widespread because many aren’t aware of new IRS regulations. Due to these errors, businesses are forced to pay penalties and remedy their problems. So, to avoid these issues, you must accurately register your payroll. For this reason, understanding the federal and state regulations governing payroll is crucial. Every year, there may be possible modifications to the tax code, so you must keep informed. Just because you don’t know much about tax legislation doesn’t guarantee your staff will either. You might be subject to legal action if you don’t follow the correct payroll procedures. Workers who don’t receive the required overtime or are paid for the wrong hours will be able to sue.

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3 Factors To Focus On When Starting A Construction Business

Construction is a booming industry, and it’s an area that’ll always be in demand. That’s led to more and more people considering starting a construction business. No matter how skilled you may be in the industry, running a company takes a lot more work than you’d think. You’ll need to know what to focus on when starting a construction business. With the wealth of factors you’ll have to take care of, doing this can seem difficult. Far from it. By making sure you have a few particular areas taken care of, the rest should fall into place. What To Focus On When Starting A Construction Business: 3 Vital Factors 1. Tools & Equipment You’ll need more than a few tools and equipment to run your construction business. These range from important freight shipping tools for small and mid-sized businesses to the jackhammers, drills, and similar equipment you’ll use. Make sure you get these as soon as possible. Spending a bit of time comparing options can help you get the right ones for you. Budget could be a significant factor in this, but it’s worth making sure you get the right value for your money when deciding. Once that’s done, you can be confident your workers have everything they need to do a high-quality job. 2. Licenses & Permits When you’re starting a construction business, you’ll need to obtain all of the necessary licenses and permits. These don’t solely focus on the individual projects you’ll work on, though these can be an important part of running your company. You’ll need these to legally start operating your business. These can vary from place to place, so you’ll need to spend a bit of time researching your local regulations. They also have various requirements, so be prepared to spend a bit of time on these. Once you have them addressed, however, you can rest assured you’re operating legally. 3. Office Location Your construction company needs an office, just like any other company. While you don’t need to go with something large for this, it should convey professionalism to your potential clients. Think of this as a base of operations, and make sure to pick the right one for you. You’ll not only meet many of your clients there to walk them through projects, but you’ll plan all of your operations from there. Make sure it’s an appealing and functional place to work. Refurbishing the office is an essential part of this. Potential clients may judge your work based on how your office looks, regardless of whether or not you built it. May sure it represents you positively. What To Focus On When Starting A Construction Business: Wrapping Up Once you know what to focus on when starting a construction business, the process seems much simpler than you’d expect. While there are multiple factors to take care of, some are more important than others. Each of the above are some of the more essential parts of starting and growing your construction company. They’ll lay the foundation for further growth and success. In time – and with a bit of effort – you’ll see more and more revenue coming in.

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8 Reasons To Use Bid Management Software In Your Business

If you’re still manually handling your company’s bidding process, you might miss out on the perks of using automation tools or software. With complex documents and tight deadlines, keeping track of various bids can be a real challenge, and using the right tools can make a huge difference between losing and gaining business deals. Fortunately, there are various tools you can use to simplify your company’s bidding process and gain more business opportunities. One of these tools is called bid management software, which is designed to simplify bid management. However, you can only make the most out of bid management software if you use quality platforms like Bidhive and others that make the bidding process manageable and hassle-free. If you’re unsure about using bid management software in your business, here are the reasons to consider it today: Better Security A primary reason to use bid management software is that it helps ensure the security of your information. This tool typically allows control over what users can do and see. It protects your business while providing the right access to staff and several contributors. The sign of secured bid management systems is accreditations. These accreditations cover information security management systems. They also include technical, legal, and physical controls involved in a company’s information risk management process. Gain Better Control Over Documents Unlike the traditional bidding process, using a reliable bid management solution enables you to control your company’s documents better. For instance, placing a bid for a big construction project may need input from third parties when creating bid proposals. Traditionally, bid proposals are done via email and other document-sharing platforms, making it hard to document all stages of the process. With the best bid management software, each contribution of third parties is entered directly into the system, enabling your sales team to see every step of the process in a single dashboard. As a result, it saves your precious time because you don’t need to switch from every system. Streamline The Bidding Process Creating and sending an Invitation to Bid (ITB) document can be time-consuming. After identifying the required trades, you must determine which subcontractors can work in the project area. To avoid wasting time, consider using bid management software for your business. Once you use the software, fax machines and plan rooms are no longer necessary because plans can be retrieved or sent via email instead of post or fax. The ability to identify who to invite for bidding, create ITBs, and share specs and plans all at once can be a huge time-saver for every business. Improve Reporting Methods Typically, bid management software offers comprehensive features that allow you to create reports for essential meetings. Staff may decide when reports must be generated, who they must be sent to, and what details to include. Bid management software also keeps a comprehensive audit trail of the employee responsible for the process. This way, keeping on top of compliance monitoring is made easy. Make Your Business More Professional Most bid management tools come with built-in templates, making it much easier for the bidding team to craft professional-looking documents without spending more money and time on designers. Having such professional-looking and high-quality bid documents make your bids set apart from others and may increase the odds of winning business. Bid Coverage Guarantee Bid management tools allow businesses to monitor which vendors have responded quickly and the bids they’ve received for every trade. Such tools also enable access to a wider network of vendors, enabling you to invite more potential interested companies to bid on your projects. With this, you can also increase your network for future projects and ensure that every bid covers all aspects of your projects.  Improve Communication Projects that communicate effectively are more likely to succeed. As budgets and schedules become tighter and most projects become more complicated; collaboration is crucial to ensure the project’s success. By using bid management tools, businesses can easily share addenda and information with their bidders. It’s also possible to track the files or documents that have been viewed and accessed, which makes communication easy. With good communication, you can guarantee that all parties involved will better understand the project. Save More Time Generating estimates might take up a certain amount of time when bidding for contracts. Since your company isn’t the only one bidding, you must use bid management software to speed up the bidding process and automate quotes. So, if you want to save time and improve your company’s bottom line, never hesitate to take advantage of the software to automate the bid management system of your company.  Conclusion In today’s modern business world, your company should keep up with the changes and adapt to the latest technological advances to stay ahead of the competition. The best quality management software will help streamline the process of managing your projects, submitting bids, and receiving bids. It won’t only make your life easier, but you can be assured of a smooth project that’ll benefit your business over time.

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A Quick Guide To Construction Accounting

Accounting is a complicated subject, let alone construction accounting. There are challenges in the construction industry that others don’t have to face. Just imagine what a headache it can be to account for changing construction materials prices, or differences in labor computations according to location. That’s only two of what it covers. If you don’t know some industry secrets to staying organized with your accounting, you may just be setting up your construction business to doom. This statement may sound overly dramatic, but there’s so much truth in it. Big and small businesses depend on a steady and robust financial situation. An efficient accounting system can then run the possibility of having erroneous financial reports, hurting your construction business’ operations. There’s much more to learn about construction accounting, and this article walks you through a quick guide. Hire Professional Tax Preparers To Help You Nobody ever said, ‘Accounting is simple.’ Even the most seasoned entrepreneurs recognize they need the help of those who have spent years studying accounting and tax-related matters. And, in between the busy day-to-day operations of your construction site and the time-consuming demands of taxation and accounting, your construction site’s smooth flow of operations may suffer. This is why you need to leave those highly technical job functions to the experts in the industry, like accountants and tax preparers. The latter are professionals who have to register with the IRS to submit returns using professional tax software. This page gives you more information about this matter. Open A Separate Bank Account For Construction Business Finances This tip goes without saying if you’ve been in business for so long and you’ve grown your construction business quite extensively. However, for newcomers, it’s worth remembering to open a separate bank account for construction-related inflow and outflow and a separate one for your finances. Ideally, never mix the two. No matter how small your business may be at the moment, it’s never worth mixing business and personal funds. Doing so will only make the job of your accountant even more cumbersome. Even seasoned accountants can make mistakes, and you’re simply increasing the likelihood of this happening. It’s easier to track the inflow and outflow of money when you know for sure which belongs to your construction business and which belongs to your funds. Moreover, this practice is what you need for long-term business stability, so you don’t wind up spending business funds for personal purposes. Open Multiple Bank Accounts Now you’ll have a separate account for business and personal purposes. Don’t stop there. You can go even deeper and more specifically by opening multiple bank accounts for your business. This strategy is one of the easiest ways to track revenue and expenses, both of which are the core focus of accounting. For example, you may want to have a separate account for payroll purposes, construction materials’ procurement, and for receiving payments. The account you use to accept payments from clients can also be where you’ll transfer money to the other accounts as needed. Practice The Job Costing Method The job costing method means the cash inflow and outflow are properly attributed to each construction site or job. Even if all income from those construction sites technically still goes to your company’s earnings, it can streamline the accounting process when you know what belongs to this site and what doesn’t. This system is critical, so you can monitor the income earned for each site. Otherwise, if you mix different job projects, you may use the funds from one location site to pay for the labor expenses on another. This considerably misleads your books, as you may have a higher income on another site than it generates.  Practice The Cash Basis Method There are generally two accounting methods that businesses can choose from cash basis or accrual basis of accounting. The most straightforward approach is cash basis, so this is what you should use for your construction business. You’re already operating a complicated business as it is. If there’s any system or process you can use to help simplify those complexities, that would be the better choice. With the cash basis of accounting, you record the income and expenses as you receive and pay cash for them.  Conclusion The construction industry is, by itself, a very complex business. Unlike other types of businesses, there are many variables to account for in construction. And those variables can be regularly changed as to values as well. With that, it’s almost unsurprising to note that construction accounting may not be that straightforward. It’s difficult, but there’s no excuse not to learn it, as every penny counts. Hopefully, the guide above has shed more light on you about construction accounting, so moving forward, you’ll be less confused about how to go about it.

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How Property Developers Can Save Money on Construction Projects

Property development is a lucrative field with huge potential profits, but that’s only true when you can manage each projectproperly. This is no easy task as it requires knowledge, understanding, experience, connections,and business acumen relevant and specific to the construction business. This post will help if you are looking to reduce unnecessary expenses. Read on to find out how. Hire Expensive Equipment To decide whether you are better off hiring or buying, go through the following steps: Estimate how often you are likely to need the equipment for future projects. Estimate how many days/hours the equipment will be needed throughout the project’s duration. Estimate how much it would cost you in total to hire the equipment for the estimated duration. Estimate how much it would cost you to buy said equipment. If the construction equipment is not something that you expect to use regularly in other projects, the total cost of rent only needs to be slightly lower than the cost of purchase for you to consider trailer hire or cherry picker hire as the best option. If the construction equipment can be considered instrumental tomost projects that the property developer usually undertakes, then the cost of rent must be significantly lower than the cost of purchase for the developer to prefer hiring over buying. Any expensive, construction equipment that qualifies in accordance with the aboveshould be hired. Although it can be tempting to buy items outright, it will land you in unnecessary debt. Given that most construction businesses are founded on giant loans to begin with, the additional repayment plus interest will continue to eat into your profits for a long time to come. Use Automated Inventory and Supply-Chain Management Software to Minimize Costs Imagine how much time and energy could be diverted towards other facets of the business if you, your business partner, or someone on your payroll did not have to spend so many hours on inventory and supply chain management every year. Also, software does have the advantage of negating human error, finishing calculations, and presenting estimations much, much faster than the smartest man. Work with Contractual Employees It is better to have a crew that you know and trust, rather than hiring one separately for each project. In addition, it is most certainly cheaper. Most contractors usually start out with a permanent skeleton crew and only hire additional employees on a strictly per project/per hour basis. It’s a good strategy to save money when you are still small. If you are only just starting out as a property developer, keep the number of permanent employees to a minimum. At the same time, do maintain business connections with skilled workers and business owners related to the construction business. For example, you can hire roofers externally for only as long as it takes for them to install the roof on that particular building. Nonetheless, you have now made a professional contact. If they were professional and good at their job, you can call them for future roofing contracts as well.

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Three Key Considerations When Sourcing the Materials You Need for an Urgent Construction Project

Do you need to source materials for an urgent construction project? If so, you need to consider the following three things. 1.     Can You Get Same Day Delivery? When working on an urgent construction project, you will need to ensure that you can source materials quickly. You may need to be able to get same-day delivery. If the supplier cannot deliver on the same day, you could always use a courier to deliver the materials instead. For instance, if you are located in or near Las Vegas, you could use a courier service Las Vegas that provides easy scheduling and reliable same-day delivery. However, it is worth determining which materials you need ahead of time so that you do not have any last-minute rushes and stresses. The time it takes to get materials from suppliers can also depend on the specific materials you are purchasing for your construction project. For instance, if you are ordering fabricated materials or special materials sourced from certain geographic regions, it can potentially take weeks, or even months, for the supplier to receive them in the first place. With such materials, same-day delivery is not possible. So, seeing as your construction project is urgent, you will want to ensure you only use materials that you can get hold of quickly. You may need to sacrifice using one material for another. But if you have time to plan ahead, being prepared beforehand is the best way of ensuring you can get the materials you need when you need them. 2.     Are the Materials Affordable? Preparing ahead of time can also enable you to get quality materials at a lower cost. If you leave material procurement until the last minute, you may end up paying over the odds for the materials you need. For instance, you may only be able to source them from one supplier, and therefore have to pay whatever the supplier charges, rather than being able to shop around and compare prices with different suppliers. Also, you not only need to bear the cost of the materials in mind. You also need to consider the expense for things like transportation and storage. You should find several reliable suppliers that have a wide variety of materials always available before you even plan to complete a construction project. You will then not be left with last-minute challenges and face potential high costs for your construction materials. 3.     Are the Materials High Quality? When you understand the specifications of your construction project, you can better understand what quality of materials you need. While it is always best to go with high-quality materials, depending on the precise nature of your construction project, lower-quality materials could suffice in some cases. For instance, if the materials you are getting are to be used in visible places, you will want the materials’ aesthetic quality to be high. On the other hand, if you are purchasing wooden beams for interior instruction and the wood will not be visible in the finished project, the quality of the wood’s strength will matter, but the aesthetic quality will not. By knowing the qualities that you need out of your building materials, you can more quickly find the right materials you need and not waste time obtaining materials that are no good. So, even though your construction project is urgent, you should think ahead as much as possible with regard to delivery, price, and quality.

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5 Simple Tips for New Landlords in 2022

One of the most fulfilling jobs in the world is being a landlord. However, that isn’t to say that the job is a walk in the park, quite the contrary. If you are a new landlord then you probably have more questions than answers, and you probably need a little help getting your bearings. Whether you are thinking of becoming a landlord shortly, or you have just become a new landlord, then there are a few things you should be aware of, such as the vetting process, hiring the help of a property management company, or even what to consider when setting the rental price. Below you can find a few tips for new landlords in 2022. Try a Property Management Company If you are completely new to being a landlord, then one of the best things that you can do is to consider hiring a property management company. Many people become landlords because they think that it is an easy way to make money without really taking it considering how much work it is. As a result, as a new landlord, it can be very easy to become overwhelmed. Of the biggest benefits of hiring a property management company is the fact that you won’t need to deal with the tenants on a day-to-day basis, or deal with any problems that come with renting out a property. More than this, you can rest assured that your rent will be collected on time, every time. Properly Vet Tenants One of the most important things that you have to do as a new landlord is to properly vet tenants. In the beginning, you might find that you are either too relaxed about the tenants that you allow to rent your property, or too strict. One of the most important considerations when vetting a tenant would be their credit rating since this will be an indication of how reliably they’ll be paying rent. Another important consideration when vetting tenants would be their criminal history, and it would be best if they don’t have one. While being very strict with your vetting process isn’t inherently bad, it could reduce the number of tenants that you find for your properties and make the experience a lot more stressful. Set the Best Price Another incredibly important consideration that you have to make as a new landlord would be the price that you are setting for your properties. After all, the money you receive from renting your properties is most likely the main source of your income, so you need to ensure that you can find tenants that can afford to pay the rent. One way to determine the rent price for your properties would be to take a look at the price of the rent of other properties in the area and charge something similar to a property that is like yours. Remember, if the rent price is too low then just about anyone will try to move in, and if it is too high you will struggle to find tenants. Do a Rigorous Inspection If you are a new landlord, then you probably haven’t had to deal with tenant complaints before. One of the biggest complaints that many landlords face is when something is broken on the property and the tenants claim that it was always broken. The best way to avoid this from happening would be to do a rigorous inspection with the tenants before renting out the property. This means going through the entire property with the tenants to ensure that everything isn’t working and nothing is broken. An even better idea than this would be to take photographic evidence, so you have tangible proof that you held up your end of the bargain. List Your Property Online Finally, the last thing that you should do as a new landlord would be to try and list your property online. Times have changed quite drastically and put your property in the newspaper is one of the least effective ways to get tenants. One of the biggest benefits of listing your property online would be the fact that potential tenants will be able to see photos of each room. Bold at this you’ll be able to list all of the features of the property as well as the requirements for living there, such as having no pets or no smoking.

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Steps To Ensure Your Construction Company Stands Out From The Competition

The latest Insolvency Service report reveals that about 266 construction businesses collapsed every month within three months into October last year since the pandemic began, according to the Financial Times. Shortage of skilled workers and rising costs of running business are the key factors contributing to the collapse of hundreds of construction companies. Nonetheless, the construction industry is a competitive field, meaning chances of survival are always limited.  Today, your company’s ability to stand out from the crowd is the key to receiving invitations to bid for projects and survive in the market for extended periods. To achieve the best outcomes, you can choose to invest in direct marketing or take an all-round approach to construction marketing. However, you must avoid phrases overused by marketers and the rush to simplify the marketing process. Below are a few steps to ensure your construction company stands out from the competition.  Redesign Your Products and Services The first step to setting your construction company apart from the rest of the competitors is redesigning your products and services. Invest a considerable amount of time researching what your target clients want. Find out which home designs property buyers are more likely to invest in, the construction materials they prefer, and how much they will spend.  Understanding the needs of potential homeowners helps you create unique products and services that set you apart from the crowd. For example, let’s say your target demographic is more concerned about their carbon footprint. Consider using eco-friendly building materials like reclaimed wood, metal, recycled plastic, and bamboo to meet consumer demand.  Implement The Right Branding Tactics Branding is vital to the success of any construction company as it is for businesses in other industries. So, whether you’re a remodeler, construction product manufacturer, or home builder, you need to create a brand people can recognize easily. Make sure your target consumers understand what you do and improve brand visibility across all marketing channels. Branding for homebuilders is a straightforward process as it entails designing a unique logo that defines your brand and establishes customer trust.  Another important aspect of branding is the tagline. When writing your company’s tagline, avoid using business jargon or overused phrases like top notch or second to none. Instead, create a tagline that’s easy to understand and recognizable even without graphics. You’ll also want to choose a memorable name for your company, provide a physical address, pick corporate colors, design and optimize your website, and leverage content marketing. Invest In The Right Technologies Besides branding your business and redesigning products, consider leveraging advanced technologies in the construction industry. Modern technologies aim to boost productivity, efficiency, reduce operational costs, and improve safety. Technology also helps you improve the quality of products and services to meet the unique needs of your clients. Investing in wearable technology, like smart boots and power gloves, artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, 3D printing, and virtual reality convince your clients that your company is reliable and dedicated to providing quality products.  Establishing a profitable business in the construction industry can be challenging because of competition. However, it’s possible to succeed if you set your company apart from the rest of the crowd. To achieve the best outcomes, follow the right branding techniques, redesign your product offerings, and leverage modern technologies. 

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TOP 3 REAL ESTATE MARKETING IDEAS THAT WORK

Selling a house, empty land, or commercial building is not a cakewalk. It requires vast amounts of planning, targeted advertising, finance, efforts, and patience, and only when all these boxes are ticked can realtors enjoy the fruits of their labor. Marketing plays a pivotal role in cinching successful deals and helping professionals stay top of the competition. Fortunately, several methods like direct mailing, digital ads, or door knocking real estate can help inexperienced realtors draw the right crowd. These strategies can help professionals maintain creativity in an ever-changing market, effectively propelling their business toward success. Here are some quick marketing ideas that work fantastically to ensure you reach your fullest potential as a real estate agent. Open houses Typically planned for the weekends or Sundays, open houses are an excellent way to attract the attention of potential property buyers. It is the most trending global housing market tactic, wherein realtors enable people in and around the community to carefully scout the home on sale.  Sellers keep the houses about to go on display immaculately clean, repairing every broken window, patching up cracks in the wall, and correcting other damage effectively. Realtors can put up some stylish furniture to give prospective buyers an idea of what the place would look like when furnished, like a cozy home. Several of them also set snacks to make visitors more comfortable while checking every nook and corner of the house. Door knocking Knocking on one door and then countless others to market a property might seem redundant at first to many real estate agents since most ordinary folks may not entertain the idea of a property salesperson at the door. However, this tactic can get you immense benefits due to its direct approach and targeted script when done correctly. Before you venture out into the neighborhood, do some research on the residents to determine which ones are most likely to respond positively. Then use a specific, concise script to sell your property, detailing all the highlights (pool, jacuzzi, backyard, modern kitchen, closets, etc.) and providing pictures as proof. Furthermore, you can point out why your rates are more reasonable and affordable than your competitors and what benefit the potential customer would have by investing in the property. Here, you can include pivotal neighborhood details like top schools, medical facilities, recreational areas, and safety to draw the attention of families with children. Invariably, door-knocking in real estate can be a significant plus for professionals who are yet to tap into the benefits of this pivotal strategy. Direct mail Sending informative and colorful postcards to prospective buyers and current clientele can help you stay ahead in the real estate race. People cannot delete physical emails they receive like the virtual ones, forcing them to peruse the content out of curiosity or interest. Eventually, as they learn more about the kind of properties you sell, your success rate, affordable rates, and other crucial details, they will begin to trust you and approach you when they find one of your listings interesting. Undoubtedly, this is a cost-effective and proven marketing technique that can get realtors lasting results. Final thoughts The idea behind all the above techniques is to use each one in conjunction with the other, depending on market trends, timing, buyer tastes, and other vital factors. For instance, use door-knocking with an open house as it can draw a lot of interested buyers to the property, which can essentially speak for itself when they visit. Also, partnering with a reputable and reliable marketing agency can help amateur and experienced realtors avail of the most eye-catching templates for their direct marketing strategy. Moreover, many of these agencies provide sophisticated tracking systems that enable agents to track their mail en route and be notified when their targeted customers receive it.

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