Why the Subcontractor Hub has been created and the plan to help as many Construction Subcontractors as possible and I plan to do
Hi, my name is Owen and I’m the founder of Subcontractor Hub. I wanted to introduce myself and provide a little information on my story and how I came to the idea of the Subcontractor Hub.
In my previous post I highlighted the 10 key issues to ensure your construction project is successful and more profitable, this post gives you the background of how I gained the experience.
A Little bit about me
It feels awkward to discuss myself and my story of why I’m doing this but I hope it’s worthwhile to explain.
After working in construction for 20 years to date, including working for both subcontractors and main contractors, I’ve seen it from both sides, the fight to get fair contracts, payments and programmes and learnt how to negotiate it from the other side.
As a subcontractor I really struggled with all the hurdles you have to over come as a subcontractor, through learning the ropes as you go, gaining experience from the errors you make and generally wearing a large number of hats. Moving to working for a number of Tier 1 Main Contractors and other large companies I now understand the problems caused by subcontractors struggling to manage their cash flows, contracts, programme & the affects that poorly performing projects have on their business.
There is always a struggle to balance a relationship with a Main Contractor, one day your project is running smoothly, it’s on time, your pricing lots of work for them and on the edge of landing multiple projects and the next they have placed the project with another “cheaper” subcontractor, they are paying you late, reducing the amount being paid and the project starts to be delayed.
Through the years of working in construction you learn what makes projects excel and also the key elements to help construction businesses achieve peak performance. These pieces all fit together nicely if you can solve the puzzle and that is what the Subcontractor Hub and our movement plans to do.
My passion for following this movement and helping subcontractors achieve great things happened after a pivotal moment in the last 18 months or so…
I have seen too many construction companies on the losing end of their relationship with the main contractor and after witnessing 3 subcontractors go into administration on one project in the space of approximately 9 months it was time to do something about it.
The errors they were making could be reduced and controlled through getting the right team in place, knowing how the end result is achieved and by having a framework to work to consistently. Many construction business owners are masters of their craft but haven’t formally taken the training to become project managers, quantity surveyors or construction business owners.
If the Subcontractor Hub could provide the guidelines, the playbook, the frameworks needed it could provide massive results for subcontractors.
It’s about doing the right and proper thing to help those subcontractors that don’t have the support of a full team with decades of experience. It’s about helping them on the path to gaining control over their money, time and business.
My plan is to help as many construction subcontractors as possible and I plan to do this with a team of great professionals and create the Subcontractor Hub movement.
It’s been my privilege to tell you a little about myself and the Subcontractor Hub. I hope that we can work together in some capacity, so please get in touch if you would like more information on how your business could benefit from being part of our movement!
We are currently building up to our launch, if you’d like to know more please click on the link below. Our next blog covers 4 Mistakes to Avoid on Construction Projects
For more articles like this, please sign up to our newsletter.
