How to maximize your investment income
This article continues my quest to lead the education parade for my readers regarding taxes. Today's subject matter, a little-known strategy, goes to the head of the class not only as a star income tax saver, but also as an estate tax destroyer and a superior asset protection device. ...
Selling a job when there's buyer's remorse
We've all been there, and more of us are getting there in this day and age than ever before. Our boss tells us to go out and get work at all costs! So,...
Hydronicahh everything in modulation
As we head into the chilly portions of our Colorado fall season, and eventually winter, I look forward to performing operating tests on the hydronic and...
Sprinkler advocates beat builders again
I was going to write about how little I miss the ISH-North America Show, but then we received some exciting news. I'll get back to this at the end of...
A necessary balancing act: bookkeeping
Let's talk about your average subcontractor in business today. He starts a business, goes to a bank, opens a checking account, starts writing checks and...
Keep customers out of the Yellow Pages
Whatever your opinion is on the Yellow Pages as a way to get new customers, you probably want to keep existing customers away from the Yellow Pages and all of your competitors' ads. Here's eight simple ways to keep them out of the Yellow Pages. ...
CSE: contractors are always responsible
So, you want to get serious about safety where Confined Space Entry is concerned? Get out your wallet to purchase the following additional items (last...
Project managers' creed: learn it, live it
The health and safety of those I'm in charge of takes precedence above all else, including my own personal health and safety if need be. I will be aware...
How to maximize your investment income
This article continues my quest to lead the education parade for my readers regarding taxes. Today's subject matter, a little-known strategy, goes to...
What's good faith got to do with contracts?
The world of construction is governed by rules. Lots of rules. Rules imposed by law through statutes, ordinances, codes and rules imposed by parties through contracts. Through these rules, we set up the parameters for what we can expect in the course of our dealings, and we all operate under them every day, but they are all susceptible to misuse by people bent on taking advantage ...
Adventures at Hydronicahh Part 6
Near the end of last month's column, I mentioned one of the means of providing hydronic heat to the dwelling a five-stage ground source heat pump. This...
Two field service management solutions
Not yet taking advantage of computerized scheduling, dispatching and other daily business tasks? Here are two Web-based solutions, which could get you to erase the whiteboard for good. ...
How to improve your mobile marketing
In cities across the nation, companies are putting trucks on the road to advertise. Mobile advertising, a new form of advertising, is actually a tried...
Will home buyers pay for green features?
An interesting little controversy has sprung up over green building and, once again, it leaves me with nothing good to say about homebuilders. It seems that the National Association of Home Builders commissioned a survey that said homeowners are interested in green, as long as they don't have to pay much for it. ...
Trade craft: take pride in your trade, demand excellence
We've discussed manpower problems in the trades, the need for proper education, basic and specific business issues, strategies on how to survive the current...
Broken promises: a franchise almost broke us
THIS IS IN REGARDS to the franchising article in the recent CONTRACTOR magazine (August, p. 44). It was promoting reasons why people should spend thousands...
My guys can do sprinkler fitting with the best of them
NORFOLK, VA. Mr. Wilson protests too much (August Letters, p. 42). Residential fire sprinkler systems connected directly to the domestic potable water...
Be safe: CSE requires a series of steps
Toss the dice and take your chances. Some gambles in life hold greater risk than others. Confined Space Entry (CSE) claims an average of 91 lives each...
Adventures at Hydronicahh Part 5
I promised to cover the hardware details of the numerous heat sources that will be incorporated into Hydronicahh in this series of articles. I will start...
Get online quick in the office or in the field
Contractors without a business Web site can remedy that in a jiffy with 1+1 MyBusiness Site, www.1and1.com. Contractors can set up a Web site in just...
Are EO programs right for your business?
Many public agencies federal, state and local have programs to assist various target groups to gain greater participation in construction contracting....
Solutions to family business problems
Almost all readers of this column who contact me are owners or part owners of a family business. Each one has a unique family business story that would...
Networking Web sites: a two-edge sword
Years ago, in 1998, before the Internet became what it is today, I made the decision to learn HTML and take some previously existing published works,...
The business end of staying in business
With the failure rate of new contracting businesses approaching 90%, looking into some of the reasons for that high attrition rate seems to be in order....
Estate tax problems may soon disappear
It is almost certain that before 2009 ends, the tax law will be changed to make the unified credit, the amount of your wealth that can be left to your heirs free of the estate tax, $3.5 million or more per person. ...
Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | Next
Reader Comments