Most installers prefer to have successful and qualified installers to compete against, rather than fly-by-night contractors who get the good jobs, then ultimately fail in business due to poor management.  This pattern often starts with poor bidding practices followed by creative profit building, working magic with low or non existent cash flow, constructing low quality walls, and playing the creative float game by stringing out payments to suppliers, and employees.  In the end the contractors typically fails in business, leading to ill will, unpaid bills, incomplete work, and harming the industry niche that has become important profitable for many. 

In evaluating this pattern it often begins with an individual who starts into the business of building walls because they are good at it enjoy it. This then leads to an increased work flow and their need to manage people, and paper work.  As their business grows and becomes increasingly complex, the skills that initially allowed this contractor to become successful are no longer relevant to the skills required to sustain that success.  They now find themselves spending most of their time in the office, dealing with contracts, finances, paper work, trying to keep people organized, more paper work, and then thinking to themselves wouldn’t it be easier to just DO-IT-MYSELF! 

To help promote stability and professionalism within the contractor ranks the NCMA and ICPI are teaming up to develop an SRW Business/Marketing Skills training course.  The combined Task Groups have been working together during the past year to develop Module 2 of the installer certification course.  Module 2, will include training for estimating, contracts, job costing, management, labor issues, sales, marketing, payroll, a/r, a/p, and financial statements, to name just a few of the major areas.

Currently the task groups are searching for a company to write the content based upon an outline developed jointly by the NCMA and ICPI.  This is where you come in: We would like your comments and input regarding the Module 2 areas of focus.  Specifically we would like to know what type of training could best serve contactors such as yourself become better at running the business side of your company. Also we would like to tap into your wisdom regarding changes, routines, and structures you have put into place in your own business which have helped make a positive contribution.     So If you have any tips or documents you would like to share, please forward them to (info@westblocksystems.com)