No matter your age, you have most likely heard this adage uttered time and time again. Whether it was from your days back in school or your first job with a large corporation:
“Act Local, Think Global.”
Simple, yet provocative in thought, these four words have been applied to countless personal and business scenarios where its underlying message permeates even the most niche of industries.
But, when it comes to your next commercial project, is it worth it to stay local and expect your contractor to have your global business interests in mind? Will a National contractor disregard your unique clientele and their specific needs in separate locations?
Let’s take a look at some of the key differences between hiring a local contractor vs a nationally established network of professionals and why the choice isn’t as simple as you think.
National VS Local
Imagine a world where your commercial project could be done exactly to specification every single time.
Wouldn’t that be great?
Well, as many of you already know, this isn’t the case when it comes to delegating important tasks to others. Nevertheless, we don’t expect someone to be able to run a full business by themselves, from the construction of their store to selling the final product – that would be inefficient.
We cede responsibility and entrust others that are qualified in their field to accomplish what we ourselves cannot.
This is where the dilemma of hiring a commercial contractor starts.
First, you must be sure of their experience, looking into their portfolios and assessing whether their work would suit your business’s construction needs.
Second, would then be evaluating your general contractor’s understanding of YOUR market.
One might make the assumption that local contractors would always reign supreme in their personal knowledge of an area, but that isn’t always the case, and often times, isn’t even the variable you should be concerned about.
Brand consistency is just as important as brand identity and is possibly the main reason why so many owners end up choosing a national partnership over multiple local agreements.
Team Building and Relationships
Whenever working with others there is an adjustment period that can be expected where partners will learn to work with one another. Expectations, timelines, and trust will be established in this phase and is often the period where business relationships will flourish or sour.
When it comes to working locally, we have often heard of owners sharing initial confidence in their contractors, only to quickly fall through when the project starts. This is often because a patchwork of local contractors isn’t tailored to be partners with each other; they are independent and can be difficult to coordinate. From location to location, you’ll find misaligned experts without a common goal for your commercial project.
Instead, with a national contractor provider, you can expect to find a well-vetted team of engineers, architects, and logistics, as well as a wide and diverse network of trusted subcontractors with experience pertaining to a variety of industry objectives.
It is this conglomeration of experts under one name that encourages for spill-over of invaluable skills between organizational departments, effectively allowing for national contractor teams to deliver end-to-end solutions while remaining flexible to your unique needs.
Cooperation and Conceptualization
If you are building one location and plan to stay there – and only there – then a local contractor might be perfect for your objectives. However, when it comes to expansion and outgrowing your single storefront, scattered local contractors will quickly become a pain to coordinate and manage.
After all, you are hiring contractors to avoid difficulties in the first place. But without a common goal, your wants and needs will have to be addressed to every contractor that you meet with.
A nationally driven team of general contractors, on the other hand, will be coordinated internally, only relying on you to communicate with a manager/group specifically devoted to your project.
Speak once and be heard – it’s as simple as that with a national constructed partnership.
But let’s get back to one of the first requirements we stated, as it is pertinent for a successful relationship – and that is that a contractor should have experience applicable to your end goals.
Whether you uncover this during your discovery conversations or by perusing your contractor’s portfolio, your businesses will have to mesh.
You would not want to hire a team only specialized in restaurants to construct your athletic goods store. They won’t understand your merchandise, your customers, or your product.
You get to avoid these trials and tribulations by checking off this one prerequisite. In fact, with a national team of leaders, your role in the relationship can often evolve from being the sole decision-maker to a business owner pampered by experts with insights into how to improve your project.
If you’re being honest with yourself, you already know it isn’t enough to just have a contractor that will be on the same page as you. You’ll require a team that can even be two steps ahead. Therefore, you should search for the experts that can add strengths to your weaknesses, and a national contractor group will be the easiest place to find those strengths.
Getting to Know Your National Contractor
While we can sit here explaining all the benefits one might find when aligning their business with a national contractor, there is no single predictor for success that can outperform old school communication.
As humans, it is only natural for us to build relationships through social interaction. This is why The Reset Team wants to hear from you!
With a history of long-standing relationships, we have learned there is no replacement for a detailed conversation. It is this personal touch that has made us a favourite in the retail and commercial industries.
So, reach out today and find out how our national team can make your next project a success!