Where Have All The Good Contractors Gone?
I'm still here, but plenty of them have left construction
and aren't coming back. Every time we go into a recession, we seem to
lose a lot of the bad contractors, along with some of the good ones.
Let's take a look and see if we can find out where all of the good
contractors have gone to.
I've been through three really bad recessions and seemed to miss the
last one, because I had large jobs that lasted more than a year. The
building recession in 1981 and 1991, lost a lot of good contractors who
really weren't interested in fighting for scraps in a highly
competitive, dog eat dog construction economy.
If you can find a contractor who's been in business more than 20 years,
you've probably found a pretty competent contractor. If you can find a
contractor who's been in business for 30 to 40 years, you’re going to be
dealing with someone who understands almost everything about the
construction industry.
These are the guys who have stuck it through the tough times and usually
save all of the money they can during the good ones, to help them make
it through the bad ones. Anyone who's been in business for over 30
years, deserves a pat on the back, it really doesn't matter what kind of
business you're in. That's a long time for anyone to still be in
business and should tell you something about them.
I know plenty of good contractors who are now working in sales jobs,
real estate, project management, general managers for hotels and some of
them just retired early. Low-priced competition usually drives out the
good contractors who really aren't willing to work for low wages, with
inferior building materials, or working with customers that are only
looking for the best deal, without any value.
You know what they say, here today gone tomorrow. It's sad to see the
good contractors leave, but I can understand why they do. Best of wishes
to every good contractor who's seeking to have a higher quality of life.