Henry Goudreau Coaches Top-level Construction Executives, Here Are His Top 7 Tips for Leveling Up

Posted On Wednesday, 05 October 2022 20:10

Henry Goudreau is a construction expert that grew his own construction firm to a multi-million-dollar business before selling it to become a construction coach assisting top-level contractors to become their most profitable and successful.

His Golden Hard Hat Mentoring Program has helped over 100 clients increase their business tenfold via weekly mentoring calls. While many of his clients were already making six figures when they approached him, they report, on average, upping their net profits by 21% after completing his program. 

Here, he shares some of the exclusive construction growth tips he teaches in his courses.

Business Plans Are Everything

“In the same way that you would never start a project without a set of plans, why would you run your business without a blueprint of what you are creating for the future?” asked Goundreau. 

He notes that knowing your goals and how to reach them is impossible if you don’t have plans and aren’t looking toward the future. 

The Founder is always surprised when he meets a contractor trying to scale without a business plan. And he’s talking about more than a rough outline in your head, which he calls an idea more than a plan. 

“A business plan forces you to evaluate everything. It tells you if you are where you’re supposed to be at any given time. It optimizes and integrates your value proposition, marketing assumptions, operations, financial and staffing plans,” he said. 

Fix Any Money ‘Leaks’ 

Even if you think you’re not spending unnecessarily, you probably are. Goundreau believes that almost all contractors are spending more than they would if they stuck to a strict operating budget. 

“An operating budget is a practical tool geared towards the financial management of day-to-day operations and the money needed to support the goals outlined by your strategic planning, which articulate a company’s long-term goals to provide a focus for day-to-day operations,” he said. 

Goundreau believes that if you fix these two items, you’ll save lots of money that can be reinvested in leveling up your business. 

Charge The Right Rates

The construction marketplace is very competitive. Some contractors are foolish enough — or competitive enough — to take a job for almost nothing. Taking a job just to get it negatively impacts your business. 

Be sure to devise — and stick to — a pricing model that considers your overall business strategy from your strategic business plan. The final price is what your customer should pay to maximize the return and cover your costs, plus generate a feasible profit. 

When setting these rates, don’t forget to factor in: the costs to do the work, overhead and administrative expenses, your salary, and a feasible profit.

Don’t Forget Marketing

Marketing has a straightforward job: attracting targeted customers to your business and generating leads. Of course, that means it is also part of your strategic business plan. Marketing involves planning and implementation and should be laid out 12 to 18 months in advance. It requires that you know who your targeted customer is, what they are looking for, and more. 

If you believe you don’t need marketing because you get all your business from referrals, Goundreau thinks that the principle still applies. To increase referrals, you need marketing. 

Ask the Right Questions

Goundreau believes in planning and says that so much can be achieved by asking your clients the right questions. These include: When would you like this completed? When do you want to get started? When is the decision going to be made? 

These questions will help you to get the information you need to complete important planning and keep you in control of the process. For example, if they want their storefront ready in 10 months, and you know that the construction will take seven months and the permitting usually takes three months, you can immediately begin planning and let your client know that they need to get started immediately to hit their goal.

Delegate Anything You Can

“Somewhere along the path from starting your business to where you are now, you likely fell into the trap. The trap is believing the business revolves around you. You have to do everything yourself to get things done or to have them done correctly. That you are the business,” he said. 

As you start your business, you do most of the work. You know how to do it and how to do it correctly. But you need to notice when it’s time to develop a training system and hire a person — or several people — to perform some of this work to free you from burnout and free you up to continue scaling the business. 

Embrace Change 

Everything changes and that includes the construction industry. From building materials to HR best practices and safety procedures, the sure thing is that everything eventually evolves. 

You’ll embrace the future and your business’s place in it by embracing change. Resisting will only lose you valuable time in the race to level up. 

With this array of valuable tips, we’re sure your construction business will grow quickly. 


About Henry Goudreau

Henry GoudreauHenry Goudreau is the Founder of HG Associates and Golden Hard Hat Mentoring Program. Goudreau has mentored over 100 clients to 10x their businesses. To find out more about his weekly mentoring calls, please visit  https://contractorcoaching.com

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Agent Resource

Limited time offer - 50% off - click here

Realty Times

From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.