Making Better Use of Your Smart Phone

2011-12-01T21:00:00.001-08:00

There you are, heading to the job site in your pick up– unread mail bunched up on the dashboard obscuring your vision, the open briefcasefull of contract documents and emails sprawled on the passenger seat next toyou and the mobile smart phone, which you have not yet hooked up to the Bluetoothhead set, sitting in the spare coffee cup holder together with the loose change. Sound familiar? Of course it does. We’ve all been there.

Like many contractors today, you travel with your office. The economic downturn in the constructionindustry has forced many to lay off non-essential administrative staff and assumethe mundane day to day tasks of finding jobs, doing the books, estimating, invoicingand keeping the correspondence up to date. Of course, you have a new PC back at the office with high a speed internetconnection but the only chance you get to use it is when you get back at nightafter a hard day visiting job sites, attending meetings and deliveringbids. Let’s face it, starting a secondshift at 5 PM is no fun and there is an alternative solution. OK, so noteveryone is in this situation, but for those of you who are, read on. You others should read on as well. There is something for you too.
Remember that mobile smart phone that you still haven’thooked up to Bluetooth? Well it containsall the necessary tools you need to enable you to conduct your business away fromthe office – easily and efficiently.

You probably have an email account on your phone andyou probably use it but if not, take the time to set up all your email accountsfor both send and receive. Most PublicWorks agencies require online registration when you request a bid package. This is so that they can email you addendums andupdates in a timely manner. Many Ownersand Construction Managers insist on distributing meeting notes and RFI’s viaemail now, so having access to that information before you get back to theoffice just makes things that much easier.

The big bonus for your mobile phone, however, is itsability to surf the web. Many companiesnow make their web sites mobile friendly or they have a special app you candownload to access their information. Most banks have a downloadable app so that youcan check your account balances. Even theCalifornia DMV has its own little downloadable app. Sadly, however, there are not too many mobileweb sites or apps focused on construction. So, we at Construction Bid Source decided to change that.

Earlier this month we launched our mobile friendly website, which is an easy to navigate, slimmed down version of the main website. We have provided all the basictools you will need to make you more productive away from the office. With a simple touch of your finger, you canaccess our database of projects out to bid, view the complete list of advertisements requesting DBE participation,post a project for listing in our database, request assistance for help withyour Good Faith Effort, view Public Notices and more. To access our new mobile site, simply typeour URL www.constructionbidsource.com in your smart phone’s browser and youwill be automatically redirected to the mobile site. If you are a Construction Bid Source Member,you will be able to log in with your user name and password so that you can evenmore features.

Our mobile website is still a work in progress andmany new features will be added in the coming months, such as the ability toplace DBE advertisements and further enhancements to the member’s side.

So next time you take a lunch break or have somedowntime, why not take five minutes to check out the Construction Bid Sourcemobile website and browse through the latest projects we added to thedatabase. It’s so easy and best of all, you’llbe making the best use of that remarkable tool – the smart phone.

Follow The Money - It's Still There For You

2011-03-11T21:50:00.000-08:00

In 2007, things were trucking right along. Construction was thriving. Every one wanted to be a part of the boom. After all, property prices just kept on rising - as did construction costs. Financing was easy, just sign on the dotted line and suddenly you were the owner that larger than life fixer upper or mini mansion you always dreamed of. Nobody wanted to think it would end and even if they did, they shrugged it off as "impossible in this economy". In hindsight, there were plenty of signs. When you buy six sheets of drywall and a half a dozen studs and don't get any change from a $100 bill - you know something is wrong. A huge case of the proverbial "head in the sand". We were all guilty.

Now, three years later, with the economy still struggling, we are all in survival mode. Private sector construction is probably at the lowest level in living memory - no more remodels - no more spec homes. The reality is, if you want to survive this current construction recession, you'll probably need to get back in to the public works sector. Not the ideal solution but one worth considering.

Most contractors don't want to deal with the excessive paperwork, the seemingly endless regulatory requirements and the bonding and financing issues related to public works. After all, it is very hard for a small construction company to survive the 90 days, which is often the case on a public works projects, before receiving that first invoice payment.

We at Construction Bid Source hear from contractors every day about problems associated with bidding on public works projects. There are many issues (we will deal with some of them in subsequent posts) but the number one problem always seems to be project funding. So, we decided to see if that issue can be overcome, bearing in mind that most people these days have less than excellent credit and no or little cash on hand.

Our research surprised us. GOOD NEWS! There are companies out there that will work with you to get pre-approved for construction related financing, based not so much on your credit worthiness but more on the credit worthiness of the project owner. If, for example, you wanted to bid on a Federal project, the chances are very good that you could get pre-approved for the funding necessary to carry you through the initial invoicing period. This funding option is only available for public works projects and is issued on a job by job basis but it is a solution that could work for you.

So, why not look at public works again. The bidding for the new financial year is well under way. There is work out there. Are you prepared to give it a try?

Construction Bid Source Blog

Making Better Use of Your Smart Phone

Follow The Money - It's Still There For You