If you're a building professional with the technical skills and desire to work on your own business, the Third Edition of R. Dodge Woodson's - Be a Successful Building Contractor will give you the business savvy you need to set up and manage a profit-making enterprise! Packed with dozens of handy business forms, the book will help you define your business requirements-find desirable building lots-build on speculation-computerize your operations-track financial transactions-hire top-notch employees-and much more. You get everything you need to: choose the best business structure for your company-corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship; avoid 15 common business mistakes-from incurring heavy overhead to selecting poor subcontractors; deal with subcontractors, suppliers and code officers; work with bankers and real estate brokers; purchase trucks, tools, equipment and inventory; develop job-winning bidding methods; manage jobs efficiently for maximum profits; and much more. New material added on insurance, financial issues and energy requirements. While the main strength of the book will be to update and strengthen the business tools and techniques, new material will be added on quick calculations for estimating purposes, Fast-Track building codes facts, tip boxes added throughout, land development issues. Less words and more quick reference facts and figures for ease of use.