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Writer's pictureYvonne Root

Profit is Not a Dirty Word




Some tend to think of “profit” as a dirty word. We disagree!


Dictionary Examples

Dictionaries provide a basic understanding of the not-so-dirty word, “profit.”


One dictionary says,

Profit: a financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something.


Another says,

Profit: the compensation accruing to entrepreneurs for the assumption of risk in business enterprise as distinguished from wages or rent.


Profit Tells a Story

Here is my explanation of profit; profit is what you gain from your investment of time, talent, managerial skills, and (I hasten to add) guts.


So, it makes sense that profit is NOT what you pay yourself. The amount you pay yourself is what you get paid for doing a job.


You can also look at it this way, the column used to record your construction company’s profit is the testimony that yours is more than a job.


Doug Tatum, a professor of entrepreneurship at Florida State University, defines profit as the applause your customers give you when they choose you over your competitors.


Profit Allows Growth

There are many ways a subcontracting company can maintain a pattern of growth using profit.

  • Expansion – enlarging the number of customers being served (and the number of people being employed)

  • Acquisitions – buying another business

  • Improvement – getting better at what is already being done

  • Diversification – developing other specialties or offerings, finding new channels

  • Germination – helping others improve


Profit is More

When profit is seen in the light of what it can provide, the darkness of naysayers is necessarily pushed back. Listed below are a few of the primary ways profit can be used.


  • Savings – create a cash buffer – grow working capital

  • Business Improvement – asset purchases, research and development, increasing inventory, streamlining business processes, finding ways to improve the customer experience

  • Pay Down Debt

  • Invest in your team – employee benefits and employee growth through training


The above list is well and good, but there is more to it. While some of the above elements touch the human factor in one way or another, it is important to focus on what the profitability of your subcontracting business means to other people. And the people affected by your construction company are many!

  • Your family

  • Employees

  • Subcontractors

  • General contractors or other customers and clients

  • Suppliers

  • Service providers

  • People affected by the charities you and the above people support

  • The families of all the above

  • The community in which you and the above people shop, seek medical help, dine, play, and in general live


Profit is Indeed a Good Word

One of the standards we hold at The Profit Constructors is helping our clients get to and maintain profitability because profit is indeed a very good word!




Construction Contractors look to The Profit Constructors to provide advocacy in dealing with:


  • Clients and customers

  • Employees and subcontractors

  • Vendors and service providers

  • Governmental entities


Working with The Profit Constructors gives Construction Contractors the means to organize their operations in ways that help them:


  • Remain informed

  • Avoid hassles

  • Reduce risks

  • Be future-ready


Ready for action? Or want to know more? Get in touch today to schedule a complimentary discovery call. 866-629-7735

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