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Taking Charge of Your Own Destiny

posted by Frank Stevens 1:38 PM
Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Taking Charge of Your Own Destiny

After many years of working to senior positions in the construction industry, many workers are finding themselves either out of work, either laid off or let go as construction companies fold up shop. For some, that means a desperate scramble to find a new job, either starting over at the bottom of the seniority ladder or working in a different industry altogether. Others use the lay-off as an opportunity to take charge of their own destiny.

After working for someone else for years in the construction industry, most construction professionals would say they have learned quite a bit about the industry. They’ve seen the mistakes that others make in their contracting businesses and they’ve learned from others’ best practices. Being out of work can be the opportunity to set up your own shop as an independent contractor.

In this economy, there’s an advantage to being a small, flexible operation that can turn a profit on the small jobs as well as the big ones. The larger companies are hurting for work, but their overhead and the size of their organization prevents them from being as competitive as a smaller contractor on many small to mid-sized construction jobs.

With the current unemployment rates, hiring a crew is not that hard either. Many experienced hands are looking for whatever work they can get whether it is full time, part-time, temporary or permanent. Temporary workers can give your company the flexibility to scale up and down as needed as the jobs come in. Don’t give in to requests for under the table payments. Not only can this land you in severe legal trouble, but it prevents you from deducting your salary expenses on your own income tax costing you more in the long run.

In most states, a license is required to go into business as an independent contractor. The license exam is designed to make sure that both your customers and you are protected. Many states test for basic knowledge of contracts, dispute resolution, book-keeping, and other basic business skills in addition to knowledge of proper safety and construction practices.

Even those with many years of experience should take some time to study for the state license exam before they take it. In California, for example, nearly 60% of those who attempt to take the California State Contractor’s License Exam fail on their first attempt. Some of them give up, some of them just keep trying until they pass, and the smart ones do what they should have done in the first place: find a good exam preparation course and study before taking the exam.

There are online classes and CD-ROM based study guides that can be purchased form reputable companies such as Peerless Institute. Many even offer live instructor support for customers who have questions about the study guides. A good study program will have practice exams that help you judge when you are ready to take the state exam or show you where you need more work.

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