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Show Notes
Profit First for Contractors (Shawn Van Dyke)
- Amazon USA Store: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N151BD6?tag=9natree-20
- Amazon Worldwide Store: https://global.buys.trade/Profit-First-for-Contractors-Shawn-Van-Dyke.html
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-real-estate-rehab-investing-bible-a-proven/id1643304587?itsct=books_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1&at=1001l3bAw&ct=9natree
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Profit+First+for+Contractors+Shawn+Van+Dyke+&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5339060787&customid=9natree&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
- Read more: https://mybook.top/read/B07N151BD6/
#constructioncashflow #ProfitFirst #contractorprofitability #jobcosting #constructionbusinessmanagement #ProfitFirstforContractors
These are takeaways from this book.
Firstly, Why contractors stay busy yet stay broke, The book frames a common construction paradox: sales can rise while cash and profitability get worse. Contractors often operate with thin margins, unpredictable schedules, and payment timing that does not match when bills are due. Add retainage, change orders that lag behind field work, seasonal slowdowns, and emergency purchases, and the business can feel like it is always catching up. Van Dyke positions this as less of a math problem and more of a behavior problem. When a single operating account holds all incoming money, it creates the illusion that funds are available for anything. That encourages spending based on what is in the bank today rather than what the business must cover tomorrow. The result can be rushed decisions, underpricing to win work, and reliance on loans or credit lines as a normal operating tool. The book highlights that growth can hide weakness for a while because new deposits temporarily mask old obligations. But as volume increases, mistakes scale too. The first step is acknowledging that cash flow is not the same as profit and that job volume does not guarantee owner compensation, reserves, or stability. This diagnosis sets up the need for a system that forces discipline before costs expand to consume every dollar.
Secondly, The Profit First system tailored for construction cash flow, At the center of the book is a practical money-routing system designed to work with construction deposits and uneven receivables. Instead of one main account, the method uses multiple accounts with clear purposes, commonly including income, profit, owner pay, tax, and operating expenses. When money comes in, the contractor allocates it into these accounts using pre-set percentages. This creates instant clarity: the operating expenses account is what the business is allowed to spend to run the company, while profit and tax funds are protected from being accidentally consumed. Van Dyke adapts the framework to contractor realities by emphasizing cadence and consistency. Allocation events happen on a schedule, which makes it easier to manage the highs and lows of project cash flow. The structure also encourages contractors to plan for taxes and reduce the panic of quarterly or annual surprises. Another key element is gradual implementation. The book encourages starting with realistic target percentages and adjusting over time so the business does not starve itself overnight. Because the system is simple and bank-account based, it helps owners who do not want complex financial tools. The intended outcome is behavioral change: the company learns to operate within constraints and to make deliberate choices when the operating bucket is limited.
Thirdly, Job profitability discipline and the true cost of work, A major theme is that cash management alone cannot fix underpriced work. The book stresses that contractors must understand the real cost of delivering a project, including labor burden, supervision, equipment, insurance, warranty exposure, and the unbillable time that accumulates around jobs. If estimating is based on hopeful assumptions or outdated production rates, the business will continuously chase revenue just to stay afloat. Van Dyke links Profit First behaviors to estimating discipline: when profit and owner pay are allocated first, the business cannot pretend that razor-thin bids are acceptable. This creates a forcing function to improve pricing, control waste, and choose better projects. The book also highlights the importance of tracking job performance consistently so the team can see variance early rather than at the end of the job. That may include reviewing gross margin, change order status, and labor efficiency as leading indicators. The objective is not perfection, but a repeatable process that reveals whether the company is making money on purpose. Over time, this approach supports better project selection, clearer client expectations, and stronger negotiating posture. It also reduces the common trap of believing that the next job will fix the current job, replacing that mindset with measurable job-level accountability.
Fourthly, Overhead, capacity, and scaling without collapsing, The book addresses why many contractors experience painful scaling: overhead grows faster than gross profit, and the company becomes more complex before it becomes more profitable. Hiring ahead of stable demand, adding vehicles and equipment, expanding office staff, or taking on bigger projects can all increase fixed costs that must be fed every month. When project timing slips or collections slow, the business is forced into emergency mode. Van Dyke uses the Profit First constraint to encourage smarter growth. By limiting what is available for operating expenses, the owner must decide which costs truly drive production and which are comfort spending. This often leads to process improvements, tighter purchasing, and more intentional use of subcontractors or crews. The book also connects capacity to leadership: if the owner is the bottleneck for estimating, project management, or client decisions, growth increases stress and reduces quality. A healthier path is to standardize how work is won, executed, and closed out so that results are not dependent on heroic effort. The goal is to build a business that can scale in a controlled way, where profitability strengthens before expansion. In that sense, Profit First is positioned as both a financial method and a strategic filter for overhead and staffing decisions.
Lastly, Leadership habits that make profits repeatable, Beyond accounts and percentages, the book focuses on owner habits that keep the system working under real-world pressure. Construction businesses often run on urgency, and urgent environments reward short-term fixes like robbing tax money to cover payroll or taking any job to keep crews busy. Van Dyke emphasizes routines that counteract this reflex. Regular allocation events, periodic reviews of percentages, and scheduled profit distributions create a rhythm that reinforces good decisions. The book also encourages owners to communicate financial standards to the team so that field leaders and project managers understand the importance of waste reduction, change order discipline, and timely billing. Another leadership element is defining what profit means in the company: not just a number on a report, but the fuel for stability, equipment replacement, training, and the owners long-term security. By treating profit as a priority, the business can build reserves for surprises that are common in construction, from weather delays to material spikes. The book also ties financial clarity to personal clarity. When the owner knows what the business can truly afford, decisions become calmer and more consistent. The end result is a culture where profitability is not accidental and the company operates with intention rather than constant reaction.
- Amazon USA Store: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N151BD6?tag=9natree-20
- Amazon Worldwide Store: https://global.buys.trade/Profit-First-for-Contractors-Shawn-Van-Dyke.html
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-real-estate-rehab-investing-bible-a-proven/id1643304587?itsct=books_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1&at=1001l3bAw&ct=9natree
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Profit+First+for+Contractors+Shawn+Van+Dyke+&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5339060787&customid=9natree&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
- Read more: https://mybook.top/read/B07N151BD6/
#constructioncashflow #ProfitFirst #contractorprofitability #jobcosting #constructionbusinessmanagement #ProfitFirstforContractors
These are takeaways from this book.
Firstly, Why contractors stay busy yet stay broke, The book frames a common construction paradox: sales can rise while cash and profitability get worse. Contractors often operate with thin margins, unpredictable schedules, and payment timing that does not match when bills are due. Add retainage, change orders that lag behind field work, seasonal slowdowns, and emergency purchases, and the business can feel like it is always catching up. Van Dyke positions this as less of a math problem and more of a behavior problem. When a single operating account holds all incoming money, it creates the illusion that funds are available for anything. That encourages spending based on what is in the bank today rather than what the business must cover tomorrow. The result can be rushed decisions, underpricing to win work, and reliance on loans or credit lines as a normal operating tool. The book highlights that growth can hide weakness for a while because new deposits temporarily mask old obligations. But as volume increases, mistakes scale too. The first step is acknowledging that cash flow is not the same as profit and that job volume does not guarantee owner compensation, reserves, or stability. This diagnosis sets up the need for a system that forces discipline before costs expand to consume every dollar.
Secondly, The Profit First system tailored for construction cash flow, At the center of the book is a practical money-routing system designed to work with construction deposits and uneven receivables. Instead of one main account, the method uses multiple accounts with clear purposes, commonly including income, profit, owner pay, tax, and operating expenses. When money comes in, the contractor allocates it into these accounts using pre-set percentages. This creates instant clarity: the operating expenses account is what the business is allowed to spend to run the company, while profit and tax funds are protected from being accidentally consumed. Van Dyke adapts the framework to contractor realities by emphasizing cadence and consistency. Allocation events happen on a schedule, which makes it easier to manage the highs and lows of project cash flow. The structure also encourages contractors to plan for taxes and reduce the panic of quarterly or annual surprises. Another key element is gradual implementation. The book encourages starting with realistic target percentages and adjusting over time so the business does not starve itself overnight. Because the system is simple and bank-account based, it helps owners who do not want complex financial tools. The intended outcome is behavioral change: the company learns to operate within constraints and to make deliberate choices when the operating bucket is limited.
Thirdly, Job profitability discipline and the true cost of work, A major theme is that cash management alone cannot fix underpriced work. The book stresses that contractors must understand the real cost of delivering a project, including labor burden, supervision, equipment, insurance, warranty exposure, and the unbillable time that accumulates around jobs. If estimating is based on hopeful assumptions or outdated production rates, the business will continuously chase revenue just to stay afloat. Van Dyke links Profit First behaviors to estimating discipline: when profit and owner pay are allocated first, the business cannot pretend that razor-thin bids are acceptable. This creates a forcing function to improve pricing, control waste, and choose better projects. The book also highlights the importance of tracking job performance consistently so the team can see variance early rather than at the end of the job. That may include reviewing gross margin, change order status, and labor efficiency as leading indicators. The objective is not perfection, but a repeatable process that reveals whether the company is making money on purpose. Over time, this approach supports better project selection, clearer client expectations, and stronger negotiating posture. It also reduces the common trap of believing that the next job will fix the current job, replacing that mindset with measurable job-level accountability.
Fourthly, Overhead, capacity, and scaling without collapsing, The book addresses why many contractors experience painful scaling: overhead grows faster than gross profit, and the company becomes more complex before it becomes more profitable. Hiring ahead of stable demand, adding vehicles and equipment, expanding office staff, or taking on bigger projects can all increase fixed costs that must be fed every month. When project timing slips or collections slow, the business is forced into emergency mode. Van Dyke uses the Profit First constraint to encourage smarter growth. By limiting what is available for operating expenses, the owner must decide which costs truly drive production and which are comfort spending. This often leads to process improvements, tighter purchasing, and more intentional use of subcontractors or crews. The book also connects capacity to leadership: if the owner is the bottleneck for estimating, project management, or client decisions, growth increases stress and reduces quality. A healthier path is to standardize how work is won, executed, and closed out so that results are not dependent on heroic effort. The goal is to build a business that can scale in a controlled way, where profitability strengthens before expansion. In that sense, Profit First is positioned as both a financial method and a strategic filter for overhead and staffing decisions.
Lastly, Leadership habits that make profits repeatable, Beyond accounts and percentages, the book focuses on owner habits that keep the system working under real-world pressure. Construction businesses often run on urgency, and urgent environments reward short-term fixes like robbing tax money to cover payroll or taking any job to keep crews busy. Van Dyke emphasizes routines that counteract this reflex. Regular allocation events, periodic reviews of percentages, and scheduled profit distributions create a rhythm that reinforces good decisions. The book also encourages owners to communicate financial standards to the team so that field leaders and project managers understand the importance of waste reduction, change order discipline, and timely billing. Another leadership element is defining what profit means in the company: not just a number on a report, but the fuel for stability, equipment replacement, training, and the owners long-term security. By treating profit as a priority, the business can build reserves for surprises that are common in construction, from weather delays to material spikes. The book also ties financial clarity to personal clarity. When the owner knows what the business can truly afford, decisions become calmer and more consistent. The end result is a culture where profitability is not accidental and the company operates with intention rather than constant reaction.
