Blog

6 Contracting and Continuing Competency Tips From the Godfather of Builder’s Licensing, Sid Woryn In case you may have missed it, our very own lead instructor, and what we like to refer to as “The Godfather” of the building and licensing industry, Sid Woryn, recently sat down with podcaster and former...

A New Year gives the opportunity to adapt to changing circumstances. With work being slower right now, it’s the perfect time to build up other areas of the business. Here are 3 things you can do right now to set your business up for success in 2021. Build The Process To increase overall profitability, improve...

Hunting season means something a little different to each hunter and for many Michiganders fall is a very special time of the year. Hundreds of thousands of hunters will take to the Michigan woods later this week at the start of Michigan's regular firearm deer season. Hunting contributes $2.3 billion to the Michigan...

In order to protect Michigan’s workforce and workplaces, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) has been working with businesses across the state on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Following several inspections, MIOSHA issued the first round of COVID-19 “general duty”...

October is the last month of fair weather in Michigan. By this time, gone are the long warm summer days of August and September boating on the Great Lakes. The leaves have already changed and fall steadily progresses. As building constructors, building projects naturally stall during this time when fewer clients...

In September, the Bureau of Construction Codes (BCC) posted an important update that you need to be aware of… From the BCC: “Effective October 1, 2020, a BCC team member may issue a citation to a person that is licensed under 1980 PA 299, or 2016 PA 407, or required to hold a license or certificate under these...

  3 Steps to Winning Jobs Over Your Competitors We asked our Lead Instructor Sid what it takes to win a job over competitors and here’s what he had to say. The most important thing is to be professional. As a contractor, our industry is known for being unprofessional, not answering the phone, not getting back...

We asked our instructor Jason (a former MIOSHA Inspector) this question and here was his response:  One of the questions that I commonly get as a former MIOSHA construction safety consultant is, "What can I as a builder do to prepare for a MIOSHA inspection?" Over the course of the next few minutes, we're going to...

We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response: How do you not let change orders eat away at your profit? Well, there should be ... If there were the 10 commandments of what to do to run a business that would probably be in the top 3, change orders. The very first thing you can do by not...

  We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response: When we're hiring an employee again, you know there's companies or sources we can go to that we're looking for. Ideally, I hate to admit this, ideally what I prefer to do is steal a good employee from another company and offer more money....

  How To Beat MIOSHA Without Having To Pay A Fine? We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response: That is an interesting question because we have to sometimes consider the source of who's asking that. That's like asking, "After I get stopped for speeding, how can I beat a speeding...

We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response: STEP 1 – Ask them in Let's start from scratch. You need to hire, let's use, for example, you need to hire a framing crew. You've been informed that ABC Framing is a good crew. Okay? So we call them in and ask them, we'd like to interview...

We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response: Sid, what is the best way to resolve construction disputes? All right. We first have to make sure it's an actual construction dispute. A lot of times it may not really be related to construction. It may be an entirely emotional situation...

At Michigan Builders License we are always looking for topics that may interest you. Having a home survival kit at the ready would be a great idea these days. Check out this article from Survival Life that will go through all the items you may need in a survival situtation and how you can build your emergency...

We asked our lead instructor Sid, about what are some common mistakers to avoid and this is what he had to say... A couple of common mistakes that we're seeing out there. As some of you know, I get involved in a lot of lawsuits and similar cases dealing with homeowners, contractors and MIOSHA. Common mistakes that...

We asked out lead instructor Sid, about ways we could limit MIOSHA fines and this is what he had to say...   MIOSHA finds this has been going back and forth. The State of Michigan MIOSHA by law is required to meet the same penalties as federal MIOSHA and this was not done. In fact, it's created us some problems...

    We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response:   The next question that I've been asked is about building growth, and I comment on this in my 60 hour as well as in my other classes. One of the things that has been tremendously successful, I hear pros and cons about it, but we...

We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response: I'm in the field nearly every day like you guys are. In fact, I had to take a moment to take care of this for you before I go out to a job site. One of the things I want you to be aware of is be prepared for spring. And last year you guys...

We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response: Well, let's look at continuing education as a way to reduce your liability. And those that have taken my classes, in fact, know I really stress about constantly being aware to reduce your liability. One of the things that continuing comp does...

We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response: “Well, putting off your continued comp is dangerous in the respect that you're taking a chance on your license expiring if you forget to do your continuing comp. If your license expires, you've got a grace period of 60 days, where all you...

Continuing Competency Requirements & Steps For Completion  With its long winters and relatively short construction season, Michigan's residential building industry is highly competitive, and Michigan builders are often asked to schedule an entire year's worth of work into just a few short months.  Because of...

We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response: All right. Again, in order to renew your license, in order to do it legally, you're going to have to take a three hour, continuing comp class. Going to have to have the code book, but more importantly, you're going to have to do your license...

We asked our lead instructor Sid this question and here was his response: All right. First and foremost, in renewing their license, they need to know that they're going to have to have at least a three-hour minimum competency requirement, a certificate that indicates that they've taken the continuing comp. The...

Just like Kevin Costner in the “Field of Dreams” we too have been hearing whispers ever so quietly saying “If you build it, they will come.”  However, our whispers haven’t been coming from a remote corn field in Iowa, they have been coming from you. Here lately they have turned more into loud requests...

Working on a new project is a challenge for the entire team. Since you will have a deadline and want to exceed the expectations of your client, you need to find ways to improve your team's efficiency while maintaining a high standard. Fortunately, you can balance quality with efficiency by using the right...