Bob Dylan told us “The Times They Are A-Changing” nearly 40 years ago. That expression is probably one that Socrates could have used, and it certainly applies to the field of insurance restoration today.
Remember your mother telling you to look people in the eye when you talk with them? That advice has been a mainstay of communication in our society for so long that when a person does not look us in the eye...
All restoration contractors have had this nightmare: you just landed a huge job with the chance to make big bucks, only to realize halfway through that you underestimated the problems or overestimated your ability to manage them.
NIR’s Executive Leadership Conference always includes a variety of topics highlighting the latest trends and techniques in the business. But if one thing is apparent from these gatherings, it is that we all share common problems.
Restoration contractors beware: the cash machine is more sluggish than ever. In all my years in insurance restoration, I’ve never seen such a prolonged period of slow payments, late payments and dickering from property owners, insurers and mortgage companies who want to hold on to the cash.
Insurance restoration has a high burnout rate. Contractors already stressed about costs, subcontractors and schedules often find themselves unable to cope with the special needs of distressed property owners.
Everywhere you turn in the construction industry you hear it: the economy is terrible; this is the deepest recession since the Great Depression; the construction industry has tanked; the level of competition is insane.
Say the word “OSHA” and the burliest contractor will start shaking in his Timberlands. There is a good reason for that, as I found out last year during an early venture into commercial restoration.
Economic stimulus package…credit crunch…bailouts…reductions in force. The terms we hear every evening on the nightly news hit us like bullets. The wounds they leave are psychological, not real.