4 Courses Every Subcontractor Needs to Better Manage and Finance Contracts
Posted June 13th, 2017
Continuing education is often a requirement for unions or to retain a state contractor’s license. Rather than sitting through the boring tutorial you always drag yourself to, why not mix it up a little and get more value out of your time and money?
At Mobilization Funding, we’re always looking for ways to help our clients improve cash flow and grow their businesses. Here are four online subcontractor courses we found to help you do just that.
Business Reality Check: Pitfalls on the Path to Prosperity
This interactive course helps business owners in all industries consider shortfalls in their operations through instructive, real-world examples. The class runs the gamut—a walk-through of founder successes and failures, management team growth strategies, and insight into dealing with cash flow cycles. While not specific to the construction industry, this course provides valuable lessons in company management and can help you identify ways you can improve and allow for more growth.
2 hours; $29.90
A Better Construction Contract
A flawed contract can cost you thousands of dollars in extra work or change order and even lawsuits. Do yourself a favor and dive into this 2-hour course that will help to ensure you are going to have a successful project and walk away with the profit you deserve. Highly rated by nearly 3,000 people, this class walks through the differences between Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) and Stimulated Sum contracts. The instructor goes through not only the relationships between contractors and property owners, but the dynamic that those parties have with the architect or designer.
2 hours; $29.90
Pricing as a Professional
Break out your calculators! This hands-on intermediate class is all about how to accurately estimate job costs so you can confidently turn a healthy profit on your next job. The class goes beyond adding the cost of labor, materials and equipment. It considers more subjective aspects like how to factor in overhead and how to adjust your pricing models to different types of customers beyond your typical accounting methods. But don’t worry, the course is presented in a common-sense fashion and features practical instruction and methods.
2 hours; $79.90
BIM Use and Risk Management
BIM, short for Building Information Model, is a technology used by more than 70 percent of building owners, engineers, architects and contractors to better manage and plan out construction projects. “To not adopt BIM and all its capabilities is like continuing to use a flip phone instead of a smartphone,” one property owner told researchers at McGraw-Hill Construction. There is even some discussion over whether insurance providers will eventually give reduced premiums for those that use the technology.
This course digs into the technology and talks about its implications for the construction industry. For those always looking to stay ahead of the curve, this is a great course to pursue.
2 hours; $79.90
Continuing education is an important tool for your business, whether you are learning for fun or to fulfill a professional requirement. These courses will maximize your time and money by helping you run your business more efficiently, manage cash flow more effectively and open up more opportunities for growth.
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