Category: Expert Columns
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How to Navigate the Challenges of Cost and Client Loyalty
Over the past five years, small and midsize construction businesses have been hit hard by supply chain disruptions, inflation, and geopolitical pressures that have driven up material costs and intensified labor shortages. While some market conditions have stabilized since the initial upheaval, many contractors still face persistent challenges, affecting their cash flow and bottom line. …
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How Admixtures Improve Decorative Concrete Performance in the Field
Concrete is the canvas of the modern jobsite, especially when aesthetics matter just as much as performance. From stamped patios and colored walkways to polished floors and intricate overlays, decorative concrete continues to grow in popularity. But with beauty comes the demand for precision—and that’s where admixture technology makes all the difference. Understanding how to…
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Eye On Rental: Equipment and Tool Rental Industry 2025 – Strength and Growth
In my opinion, the American equipment rental industry is strong and is on the brink of phenomenal growth. I believe the combination of relatively low inflation, increased infrastructure and construction spending and a more business-friendly administration all point to considerable potential for rental companies. Technology and social media continue to have a dramatic effect on…
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Combat Bad Weather With Better Planning
Developing relationships with potential customers requires patience. ACI Asphalt & Concrete, LLC sales associate Mike Picott nurtured a two-year relationship with new client Tashitaa Tufaa of MTN in Fridley, Minnesota. He saw that come to fruition this season after lengthy negotiations. The customer’s goal was to create a new 157,995 square foot asphalt parking lot…
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How Job-Costing Helps Construction Companies Improve Their Bottom Line
Business ownership is hard. Grueling hours, financial risk, and constant unknowns are the life of most entrepreneurs. And for what? Most business owners are working harder and harder to grow their revenue, yet making meager profits, if any profit at all. Consider this. Would you rather run an $11 million business that generates $350,000 in…
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How to Decommission Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
As renewable energy generation continues to grow, the use of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in solar farms has become increasingly important for stabilizing the grid and enabling the integration of intermittent solar and wind power. The permitting process to build a BESS facility often requires a formal plan for site decommissioning and disposal, even…
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How Smart Construction Can Improve Worker Efficiency
In our rapidly evolving world, it’s hard to imagine life without artificial intelligence or robotics. From self-driving cars to automated home systems, the rise of intelligent technologies is quickly reshaping how we live and work. Yet, despite advancements in automation, one industry remains firmly rooted in traditional methods: construction. While we move through 2025, pen…
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Thrive Rather Than Survive in Construction
Many of my construction coaching clients are experiencing a tightening and reduction of new projects to bid on or build. Many projects have been delayed or put on hold due to financing, budgets, or market demand. The headlines say that housing has slowed, homes aren’t selling as lenders have tightened the borrowing requirements, consumers are…
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A Blueprint for Repackaging Power in Construction: Electrify the Whole Jobsite
The construction industry can work smarter while playing a leading role in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The transition to zero-emissions (ZE) construction machinery has been slow, hampered by high costs, technological challenges, and resistance to change. Especially regarding that last point, many operators would ask why their construction companies should invest…
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How Subcontractors can Avoid Financial Distress
A combination of macroeconomic factors and a desire to drive top-line revenue continues to lead many subcontractors to underbid projects, sometimes unintentionally, ultimately contributing to financial distress. As more subcontractors succumb to the pressures of the environment, we may see a bubble form. Savvy general contractors are already taking steps to protect themselves from the…