A light-hearted post from the “Art of Manliness” blog discusses 12 essential tools for a toolbox. Pretty basic stuff here, but something everyone–man, woman, or college-aged child–should have access to in their home.
Read it and see if you agree, and let me know what (other than duct tape, which is a given) should be added to the list………….
Tomorrow, back to the law part of the blog when we’ll be discussing, by popular demand, the Statute of Repose.
DeAnna Radaj
Last Tuesday I posted about the importance of properly handling the business of your construction business through having written contracts.
For today’s tip, I’ve opened up the floor to DeAnna Radaj, owner of Bante Design LLC. DeAnna has a division of workshops & programs that help design and construction professionals with their businesses. She is the author of “Designing the Life of Your Dreams from the Outside In” and “Feng Shui for Teens.”
Here are DeAnna’s tips for clients and workshop participants to market themselves better:
Do you have a good idea for finding and keeping your construction clients in today’s economy? If so, drop me a line or comment below and tell me about it!
Love your work but hate the “job” portion of it? You know, quoting scope of work, dealing with fees, and getting paid? “Put it in writing” is key, as I’ve discussed earlier here.
Moreover, for fee issues, a written agreement is the gold standard. In a written agreement you can even account for collection costs, higher interest charges, and “reasonable” attorney fees if you later (heaven forbid) have to sue a (former) client for payment of services. Without a written agreement, you are stuck with statutory limits on what you can recover.
As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
____________________________
Photo “Gold1oz” by Olegvolk via Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license.
The construction industry, like most these days, is still very sluggish. Is there a way to get your message out to customers without it costing the proverbial “arm and a leg” ?
Do you have a site you like for marketing ideas? Let me know! I’m always on the look out for well-written sites with valuable information. You can email me at mbrumback@rl-law.com or comment below.
________________
Photo “It’s not worth an arm and a leg” by Right About Me via Flickr and made available via an Attribution-Noncomercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Interested in green building but skeptical about how it will increase your costs? Before ruling out the concept, don’t forget to consider the tax incentives for green building. Between the Business Energy Investment Tax Credit, federal cash grants for energy projects, North Carolina incentives for renewable energy property, and NC’s Green Building Incentive, there are ample opportunities to make “going green” a more appealing choice on your next building project.
For a look at some of the tax incentives available, check out Getting Green for Going Green- Tax incentives for energy-efficient projects. [Update- link no longer working as of 11/22/2010]
You can also explore the national database for tax incentives for going green.
If you are a homeowner interested in energy efficiency, you too may be able to get in on the green movement. The Home Star legislation being considered by Congress, if it passes, will provide tax credits for making energy improvements to your house.
_______________________
Photo “the green ascent” by vsz via Flickr via Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License.