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Mastering the Art of Construction Finance
In the dynamic world of construction, where projects are the lifeblood of the industry, financial management plays a crucial role in separating the champions from the rest. Alicia Jha, a finance professional with experience in the construction sector, shares her insights on what sets the true construction champions apart.
The Delicate Balance of Discipline and Flexibility
According to Alicia, the hallmark of a construction champion is the ability to strike a balance between discipline and flexibility. "In my experience, the construction clients I would classify as champions are the ones who are the most disciplined and have the most balance between flexibility and rigidity," she explains.
Discipline is essential in the construction industry, where cash flow and financial tracking can easily become a tangled web. "If you're not disciplined, it can very, very easily get away from you," Alicia warns. "You get your receivables early and then maybe you're paying your vendors 30 days after that. And it's kind of easy to get those mixed up."
However, Alicia emphasizes that champions don't sacrifice flexibility at the cost of progress. "You don't have to be super rigid about it at the cost of holding something up. This is where the flexibility comes in, where you know what you want to achieve, but just being a little bit flexible about how you achieve that outcome while keeping this trade-off in mind is something that really sets apart a successful construction champion."
Embracing Technology and Automation
One of the key challenges Alicia has observed in the construction industry is the reliance on manual processes when it comes to financial reporting and tracking. "Even if you hire analysts to do these tasks for you, they'll take hours and days to give you something that in other industries you get in seconds," she notes.
Alicia encourages construction companies to take a proactive approach in automating their financial processes. "Think about what's important for your business, for your projects, define it, and then go out and find people who can deliver that for you," she advises.
By leveraging technology and automation, construction champions can gain real-time visibility into their financial health, enabling them to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the curve.
Changing the Mindset: Construction as a Business
One of the key insights Alicia shares is the need for construction companies to shift their mindset from "just doing construction" to embracing the reality that they are running a business.
"We're here to create thriving entities that can provide for ourselves, our employees, our families, everybody around us, our community," she emphasizes. "Most of us, I mean, we work where we live. We're the people that build or renovate or keep the pride in our neighborhoods, but we're business."
Alicia encourages construction professionals to approach their operations with the same rigor and attention to detail as any other business, focusing on financial management, reporting, and automation.
By adopting this mindset and leveraging the power of technology, construction champions can unlock new levels of efficiency, profitability, and long-term sustainability.
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Conclusion: Embracing the Future of Construction
The construction industry is at a crossroads, where the champions are those who are willing to embrace change, technology, and a business-centric approach. As Alicia eloquently states, "It is a business like any other, and it's subject to the same pitfalls and, well, chances for things to go right if everything's in place."
By striking a balance between discipline and flexibility and leveraging the power of automation and data-driven decision-making, construction companies can position themselves for long-term success and become the true champions of the industry.
Unlocking the Secrets of Construction Champions: Discipline, Flexibility, and Automation
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