Are you a builder that the trades want to work with?

The trade shortage has plagued the housing industry for years and is seen as one of the bigger challenges builders face. Given the limited supply, how do you become the builder that all trades want to work with? The challenge is making sure that those who are available are ready to work for you.

In this webinar, “Becoming the 'Builder of Choice': What Really Makes a Difference to Your Trades?” Scott Sedam with TrueNorth Development shares some of the fundamental things you need to do in order to become a builder trades want to work with (even in a shortage).

1) Pay fairly and on time. If you don’t, someone else will. Make sure you’re paying a minimum of twice a month, but you need to be aware if your competitor is paying more frequently. This is the bare minimum you need.

2) Have a complete bid package. No one likes a moving target, so your trades are going to add a little slack to bids. Get it right up front, you’ll save more money in the long run.

3) Provide construction drawings. Getting a site-specific plan set is critical, saving you hours in the field—avoiding mistakes and extra rework. The cost of not doing this is 10x to 100x more than the cost of doing it.

4) Have a complete build package. The greater the variance between your bid package and build package, the more problems you’re going to experience. Make sure that you have all the POs and specifications in one package—every minute upfront saves an hour in the field.

5) Schedule and communicate in advance. The best builders are the best schedulers, and the best schedulers are the best builders. You’re leaving money on the table if you’re not doing this right—the impact on the trades massive and the profits is horrendous.

Doing what you can to control the chaos of building means both you and trades can make more money, and you can become the builder that they want to work with.

Learn more key ways that you can become the builder that all the trades want to work with. Watch the webinar on demand.