Re: general contractors
i have been in business for over twenty five years--soon to retire. mainly i started in the commercial office buildout type work in top of the line buildings working under g.c.'s! large g.c.'s like turner construction--morris diesel--etc.. plus some smaller contractors competing against them. the more i saw of the operation and the way they expected you to provide them phoney pricing to control job bids etc. the more i wanted to get away from them. i was doing good and growing, but didn't like the b.s. and the kissing a$$ for money that was overdue! i had 23 men working for me. i read in a trade magazine that in the future, general contractors would be a thing of the past because they were getting less professional and less needed to provide the owner the job that he was paying for. that eventually, owners would group sub contractors together and let them do the job! sounded good to me! then, about the same time i had just completed a two floor tenant space, and was owed $130,000. final payment and it was turner. i was complete with a c.o (90 days) and not one item on the punch list that was about one inch thick! i went to their office and asked a lady who handled sub contractor's payments when we could expect to get paid? i knew the building owner and knew they had been paid for the job! she looked up over her glasses and said "you'll get paid when the punch list is complete and when "f-in" feel like it!" i explained to her "i had no items on the punch list". she then said "it doesn't make any difference, the punch list must be completed before any sub is paid a final draw". guess what, that light bulb went off in my head! trade magazine was correct! i made my mind up right there and then--no more gc's period!!! they came to me asking for my bids--told them "i don't work for gc's"! they asked me "well who are you gonna work for? i told them i will only work for the building owner and only directly for the owner! they said "you'll never make it!" --that was twelve years ago! and i did a few favors for gc's here and there and each time was worse than the last! i have never regreted my decision! i have had to get nasty with less than ten bills over that period of time, and it's nice to work for people who appreciate your work and pay their bills! i sleep better, have less bills, have better work, and control my own destiny!!