Cash Flow and the 5Cs of Credit - Overview

Contractors need strong financial partners, including banking, surety, and insurance to grow sustainably.

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They are putting their capital at risk, making a calculated bet on the business generating consistent financial returns at the lowest risk possible.  

Cash Flow: 5C's of Credit. Character, Capital. Capacity, Collateral, and Conditions.

Whether you are an equity owner in a contracting business, plan to be or are choosing to invest your professional “career equity” into the business, you should look at the same factors an outside financial partner does. This will truly align everyone’s interests and make the business run more successfully.  

Greg Martin does a great job of describing the 5 C’s of Credit in a series of articles below.  

Effectively managing cash flow is about balancing what you can do internally while building and maintaining strong external financial partner relationships.  

  • What are your internal capital management policies? 
  • Are they in alignment with your outside financial partners?  
  • How does this look over the next 5 years or during succession if that is on the horizon for you?

Cash Flow
Great cash flow is a key driver of valuation and successful successions. Running out of cash is is the #1 reason contractors fail. Improving cash flow improves your Return on Equity. Protect yourself and never let cash flow be the limitation to your profitable growth....

Cash Flow
Great cash flow is a key driver of valuation and successful successions. Running out of cash is is the #1 reason contractors fail. Improving cash flow improves your Return on Equity. Protect yourself and never let cash flow be the limitation to your profitable growth....

Leading Growth through Building People
Southwest disrupted the airline industry by a relentless focus on building their people around a culture of fun, hard work, and hands-on leadership. Contractors with that same level of focus on their people and culture will dominate the industry tomorrow.
Incentive Compensation for Contractors - Behaviors
This is the fun part where you see actual behavioral change across your team and with your customers. The benefits accumulate slowly but build exponentially as objectives are achieved.
Shifting Locus of Control
Technical skills stand on a foundation of behaviors that ultimately determine how effectively those skills are applied. Accelerating behaviors include: