Let's Hear It For the Little Guy

There is no doubt it can be tough to stay competitive against large volume construction firms. They have advantages like market visibility, favorable relationships with subcontractors, and easy access to capital. Those things are definitely hard to come by when you're a small-volume business. However, according to Daniel Levitan, owner of Levitan & Associates in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who recently spoke at the NAHB International Builders’ Show, said there are numerous ways to push back and stay profitable.

Levitan alluded to the fact that there are things many large-volume builders simply can't or won't do that mean prime opportunities for the little guy. These include the ability to respond quickly to new or unique opportunities, creating new housing projects, or taking on smaller or atypical projects. “And as most of you know, some of the small projects are more profitable than the large ones,” Levitan said.

Here are 8 tips Levitan suggested doing to push back and stay competitive:

1. Develop a significant Web presence to make yourself stand out.
2. At a minimum, do some limited customization.
3. Build in a sub-market. Go where the big builders won’t go.
4. Directly target their weakness. For example, if they build quality, build to price or vice versa.
5. Fill in the holes they leave behind. “If they’re doing all brick, you do stucco. If they’re doing one-story houses, you do two-story houses,” Levitan said.
6. Partner with other small-volume builders.
7. Find private investors.
8. Pursue urban infill housing opportunities.

It's not necessarily easy, but there are always ways to make these things happen. In today's market, especially, there is more work than workers available to do the jobs - which means prime opportunity for anyone looking to build their business.