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Mastering the Construction Startup
A Business Infrastructure Guide

Nick B. Ganaway (Author)

9781394292325, Wiley

Hardback, published 12 June 2025

240 pages
23.9 x 19.3 x 2 cm, 0.703 kg

EQUIPS STARTUP CONTRACTORS WITH THE TOOLS TO BUILD RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

For construction professionals starting their businesses, success depends on more than just skill and dedication. Mastering the Construction Startup provides an essential master plan for creating the foundational infrastructure every contractor needs to achieve sustainable growth and upon which every strategic decision will be made. Written by industry expert Nick B. Ganaway, this real-world guide details how to strategically align people, systems, and processes with business goals to proactively address risks, reduce errors, and build lasting operational resilience.

Grounded in decades of general contracting experience and research, each concise and accessible chapter breaks down the key components of sustainable success, such as identifying elements of a solid legal and financial base, establishing relationships with essential professionals, and creating a culture that attracts and retains the best talent. Throughout the book, Ganaway, often engaging directly with the reader, offers expert insights on everything from the role of the contractor to elements of leadership to advantages of niche contracting.

Mastering the Construction Startup empowers contractors to set up their companies for success during the challenging early years and beyond. Here is a small sample of the principles discussed:

  • Why your company’s culture is critical to your success and how to ensure it will be what you want
  • Billing procedures to follow to ensure that you get paid for your work
  • Your essential need to hire the right lawyer and the right accountant for your business before your Day 1
  • Your personal guarantee, its extreme risk for you, and what to do when it is required
  • The legal and financial consequences of improper business registration and professional licensing
  • How to choose the form of business structure best suited to your company
  • An essential checklist for startups, and forms you can use
  • The risks inherent in the Sole Proprietorship form of business
  • The problems with partnerships and how to address them in advance

Mastering the Construction Startup: A Business Infrastructure Guide is perfect for trade school and college courses in construction management and entrepreneurship, and a must-have resource for contractors, project managers, and subcontractors at all levels.

Preface xxi

Introduction xxvii

Part 1 The Contractor 1

1 Entrepreneurial Characteristics 3

2 Company Culture 9

3 Elements of Leadership 11

Part 2 Regulatory Matters 15

4 Business and Government Regulations 17

Part 3 Getting It Done 27

5 The General Contractor 29

6 Subcontractor Management 47

7 Construction Disputes 61

8 Project Delay 67

9 Contracts and Agreements 71

Part 4 Resources 83

10 Lawyers 85

11 Accounting and Taxes 91

12 Hiring the Right People 97

13 Banking 109

14 Construction Insurance 113

15 Business Plan 123

Part 5 Ideas 127

16 Niche Contracting 129

17 Outside Board of Advisors 137

18 Case Study of an Existential Business Crisis – A Personal Account 141

19 Investing in Real Estate as a Parallel Business 147

20 Summary Checklist for Startup Businesses 159

21 Useful Reading 161

Appendix Contents 165

A Partnership Agreement Example 167

B Non-compete Agreement Example 171

C Business Loan Proposal Form Example 173

D Business Plan Example 1 175

E Board of Advisors Agreement Example 181

F Employee Handbook Example 185

G Independent Contractor Agreement Form Example 191

H Business Plan Example 2 197

I ACORD Certificate of Insurance Form Example 201

Index 203

Subject Areas: Civil engineering, surveying & building [TN]
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