📨 Contractor’s Digest – Daily Rundown
📅 Friday, May 2, 2025
🛠 Helping Contractors Win More Jobs, Increase Profits & Avoid Costly Mistakes
🚧 Today’s Rundown
🔹 Feature Story: The Most Dangerous Phrase in Construction – “We’ll Figure It Out Later”
🔹 Business Tip: The Power of Pre-Construction Checklists
🔹 Tool Spotlight: Best Project Management Apps for Small Crews
🏗️ Feature Story: The Most Dangerous Phrase in Construction – “We’ll Figure It Out Later”
😬 Why It’s a Problem:
It sounds innocent. Maybe even helpful. You’re under pressure, the client’s indecisive, materials are delayed, and someone says:
“Let’s just keep moving—we’ll figure it out later.”
🚨 That phrase has blown more budgets, busted more timelines, and killed more profits than almost anything else in construction.
Because “later” always becomes more expensive.
What feels like momentum at the moment turns into chaos down the road.
📉 Here’s What Happens When You Delay Decisions:
✔️ Scope Becomes a Moving Target
That “we’ll circle back” detail? Now, your crew framed something that wasn’t approved—or missed a key feature altogether.
➡️ You’re doing rework for free or arguing over who’s to blame.
✔️ You Lose Leverage with Subs and Vendors
You needed the plumber today. But since you punted the layout decision, you call next week—and he’s booked.
➡️ Now you’re paying rush rates—or delaying the whole job.
✔️ Clients Forget What Was Said
Verbal approvals evaporate. Suddenly, your “yes” from the client becomes:
“I never agreed to that.”
➡️ And guess who can’t enforce the change order?
✔️ It Destroys Momentum
Construction runs on rhythm. One delay cascades: framing delays drywall, which delays paint, which delays everything.
➡️ Crews sit. Morale drops. Your schedule goes off the rails.
📌 The Fix: Make “Later” a Forbidden Word on Your Jobsites
✅ Use Written Clarifications
Even a quick text or email can save thousands.
If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen.
✅ Create a “Hold for Decision” Log
Track open items with: • A short description
• Owner of the decision
• Deadline to resolve
• Consequences of delay
Review this weekly with the team.
✅ Train Your Team to Push for Clarity
Empower your foremen to say:
“Let’s clarify this now before it costs us later.”
🚀 Pro Tip:
Every profitable job is intentional.
If you don’t know—don’t go.
Pause. Clarify. Document. Then, move forward.
🔐 Bottom Line:
Ambiguity doesn’t just cause confusion—it kills margins.
Clarity isn’t just professional. It’s profitable.
📩 Want our plug-and-play “Hold for Decision Log” template?
Reply to this email, and we’ll send it over.
📌 Business Tip: The Power of Pre-Construction Checklists
Before the first shovel hits dirt or a dumpster gets delivered, you need a pre-construction checklist—not as a nice-to-have, but as a non-negotiable system.
Because in construction, forgotten details = rework, delays, and angry clients.
🛠️ Here’s what a rock-solid pre-construction checklist does:
✔️ 1. Confirms All Selections Are Finalized
✅ Cabinets
✅ Countertops
✅ Flooring
✅ Paint colors
✅ Light fixtures
✅ Hardware
✅ Appliances
✅ Grout colors (yes, even grout)
Everything should be signed off in writing with product codes, photos, or links.
📉 Skipping this = expensive reorders + frustration.
✔️ 2. Verifies Permits, Approvals & Inspections Are in Place
✅ Permit status
✅ Inspection requirements
✅ HOA approvals
✅ Zoning conditions
You do not want to realize halfway through framing:
“We never pulled the electrical permit.”
✔️ 3. Sets Clear Expectations with Clients
Walk them through:
✅ Site access, pets, gates
✅ Change order process
✅ Cleanup expectations
✅ Communication & point of contact
✅ Payment schedule
✅ What happens during delays
Pro Tip: Have them sign off during your Pre-Construction Meeting.
✔️ 4. Preps Your Team & Subs for Success
✅ Do a full kickoff meeting: • Review plans
• Walk the site
• Assign responsibilities
• Identify critical decisions
• Walk through the schedule
Alignment = fewer mistakes, better efficiency.
✅ Bonus: Clients LOVE It.
When you show up with a checklist in hand, you look:
✔️ Organized
✔️ Prepared
✔️ Professional
Not “Chuck in a Truck.” You look like a builder they can trust.
🚀 Pro Tip:
Checklists aren’t just for new hires.
They’re for every team that wants consistent profits, smoother jobs, and fewer fires.
📩 Want our Pre-Construction Checklist Template?
Reply to this email, and we’ll send it your way.
⚙️ Tool Spotlight: Best Project Management Apps for Small Crews
📱 Top Picks:
🔹 Jobber – Manage jobs, scheduling, and invoicing in one place
🔹 Trello – Simple, visual, and great for small-team collaboration
🔹 Buildertrend – Best for full-scope management with CRM + client portal
📦 Want our side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and best use cases?
Reply, and we’ll send you our Project Management App Guide.
😂 Contractor Humor:
Why did the crew refuse to work in the haunted house?
Because it already had too many “ghost contractors.”
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👷♂️ Stay sharp, don’t wing it,
— Benjamin Patton