The Jack Miller Group was a former industry network for General Contractors across the United States. In 1988, Mr. Miller had published a paper called, “Rules You Should Know before You Build Your Important Project”. He started by stating that there are a few basic questions that business owners should ask themselves as they start to plan a construction project1:
Posts about Good for Business (5)
Four Things You Should Know When Planning a Groundbreaking Ceremony
When building a new business or relocating, it pays to start your publicity early. An inexpensive way to create buzz is to host a groundbreaking or a “kickoff” ceremony at the beginning of your project. I’ve had clients who’ve broke ground both before starting a project or soon after a project has started, with construction being the backdrop during the ceremony. We call it a project “kickoff” instead of “groundbreaking” when we renovate an existing building.
Repurpose Your Commercial Office to Be More Modern
What Ideas Will Work for You?
Appearance is one of the triggers that leads to remodeling, but isn’t the only good reason to remodel. Other reasons like efficiency, reorganizing unused space, right-sizing, and new technology can make a big difference in attracting or retaining talent, saving money and improving productivity. Furthermore, modern designs that are created with goals of safety, appearance, efficiency, and increased focus or productivity can help you to make your space more useful for staff and enticing to clients.
How to Promote Your Business Move
Businesses move for many reasons - for example to accommodate growth, save money, get closer to consumers, or possibly secure a better value of a new building. Additional perks can also happen when relocating including improving your service and also advancing new growth. It’s all about using the move as a promotional opportunity. Encouraging your existing clients to move with you is a must, but you also want to attract new ones, so here are a few tips that will help anyone take advantage of their new business location:
Knowing Long Lead Items Early Speeds up Construction Schedules
Certain building materials or products that have to be ordered, imported, and/or manufactured specifically for a building can take longer than the natural progression of a construction schedule. These are considered Long Lead Items (LLIs). They commonly occur with pre-engineered buildings, elevators, generators, mechanical equipment that is heavy enough to need a helicopter lift, electrical switch gear, fancy finishes, or imported products to name a few.
A Guide to Relocating Your Business When the Time Is Right
In “Five of the Best Reasons for a Commercial Renovation”, I discussed why you should remodel now if you plan to stay at your current location. In this blog, we offer tips on relocating your business/practice because your current location or building is no longer feasible to use. Note: if you own your existing space, it’s best to consult with your real estate agent to discuss the options regarding selling/renting your building.
Top Reasons to Relocate Your Business:
- Traffic patterns change over time. Perhaps you’re no longer in an active area and therefore, you aren’t readily drawing traffic to your business/practice. Seeking space in an area that’s busier could help your bottom line; however you likely will pay higher rent than you're paying now.
- Your building needs a major update either to the structure/ infrastructure/energy efficiencies that exceed the cost of building a new building.
- You need to expand your building to accommodate new equipment or additional staff, but you’ve run out of room or can't meet parking and zoning requirements.
- You originally started your business in a house and now the maintenance costs have become too much and/or you can’t alter the space for efficient use.
4 Reasons Why the Preconstruction Phase Is Key to Project Success
For both Design-Build and Construction Management delivery methods, the start of Preconstruction Phase is Architectural Design and it’s a very exciting time for most building owners. They love the ideas, options, and decorating aspects for their building. And then, when drawings are done, the owner is eager to get to the other main event of Construction Phase. But there is so much more happening during Design than they know and a lot more to be done before this Preconstruction Phase, “Pre-Con”, is complete. This is also when the contractor gets organized to save the most time and money during construction.
Building Maintenance Strategies for Small Business Owners
When you’re a small business owner who is responsible for your building, you likely don’t have a budget for a facility manager and building maintenance likely doesn't hit your to-do list until a problem presents itself. However, maintenance is very important to the longevity and cost of building operation. Having a building maintenance strategy can help you proactively catch repairs, leaks, and heating deficiencies early with way less expense out of pocket.
The Benefit of Design Build Phase I Drawings
Preliminary plans, such as those provided in a Phase I of the Design-Build process, are the most efficient and economical means to determine the budget for your construction project.
While there has been a shift in the numbers1, there are still many business owners out there who are skeptical of the Design-Build method of construction. They are more familiar with the traditional Design-Bid/Build method where they hire an architect, then have general contractors competitively bid the project, and the contractor with the best price/value builds the project.
Flexible Finish Substitutions Can Improve Construction Time & Budget
Architects and engineers are smart people who are dedicated to taking the information their clients provide them and designing an aesthetically pleasing and functional building to meet their client’s goals. In their design specifications, they include specific products for building finishes, which they’ve researched or have experienced, to match the desired outcome expressed by their client. Typically, these materials or products have also been discussed with and accepted by the client.