While some construction companies manage to endure by specializing in a niche, others benefit from having more diversity. Adding more variety to your construction projects can help you keep up with changing demands and reach a larger construction customer base.
There’s a Nationwide Labor Shortage
The construction industry is experiencing a continued labor shortage of skilled workers. Finding talent is going to be harder if your construction company focuses too tightly on a specific niche. More people have generalized skills than niche-specific skills. The bright side is that construction work is needed in all areas, so there are plenty of different ways you can diversify your projects.
Do You Need More Flexibility
The riskiest part about focusing only on two or three sectors is that it does not give you much flexibility. If one area of your business starts to struggle, you have nowhere to turn to try to offset changes in demand. If your construct projects are more varied, you will have more streams of revenue, and, thus, more flexibility. If the demand for new restaurants declines in your area, it won’t make or break your business if you have ten other building categories you are capable of constructing. The Administration’s Infrastructure Package
The infrastructure plan proposed by Trump has struggled in Congress, but with the midterm elections over, we might finally start to see some progress on this front. The focus of the infrastructure package is to improve streets, bridges, airports, and other transportation-related infrastructure across the United States. If this plan is put into action there will be a significant increase in the demand for skilled labor, which of course is a problem if there is a labor shortage. Even if your expertise isn’t in infrastructure-related construction, you are going to have a harder time finding talent for your own projects because a lot of the talent out there will be busy working on government contracts.
Come Up with a Specific Goal
The most obvious goal of diversification is to create more avenues for revenue. However, this is too broad a goal to be useful. Set a goal that includes what areas of construction you want to branch out into, as well as strategies to train and recruit talent. You will also need to tweak marketing strategies to accommodate the diversification.
Even if your business is flourishing right now, it might still be the perfect time to start diversifying your construction projects. You might not see the impact of the labor shortage yet. But five years from now, you will. Diversification will give you a better chance of adopting to the changing employment market and weathering the ongoing storm.
How can we help you?
Searching for an opportunity in the construction industry? Contact The Birmingham Group today to discuss your career path or browse our open positions.
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