Contractor and Building

[Owen Thornton]

I am a huge fan of the business of building. I have been interested in becoming a general contractor, as I am 18 and looking for experience and to continue my love of real estate.

My grandfather was a licensed contractor, and he had a few different businesses over his time.

He is teaching me the basics, though of course, he is getting older now, and there is only so much he can do in the end of the day. He always “wishes I was born earlier!” Haha.

I’d love to hear from contractors out there and learn where you started.

How did you figure out what you wanted to specialize in? Where did you start? Who got you into it?

I love business, and I love real estate. The close relationship I had with my grandpa leads me to wanting to jump into a world of construction.

Would love to hear your thoughts and recommendations on how to gain experience and learn more - how to get to a point you have the education to apply to your own licsense.

Merry Christmas,

Owen.

[Bruce Woodruff]

Originally posted by @Don Gouge:

Knowing the building process is vital but using a hammer isnt.

The most successful contractor might be the one that has never picked up a hammer. He will be a great organizer, planner, people manager, negotiator and money manager. He can not only build a hands on work team but build an organization and business. Learn to think like a businessman and not a carpenter.

True words here! The 3 best GCs I ever knew..... that built the best houses and made the most $$..... did not ever swing a hammer. They dressed real nice and drove around in fancy trucks all day. I scoffed at them as I loaded plywood on the roof with my crew, working side-by-side with my bags on. I was so much cooler than those other GCs....

Until one day I woke up and realized they were absolutely killing me in terms of Gross and Net profit... :-)