Ryan McCowan

Individually, Chris and Ryan both knew they wanted to work for themselves one day. Ryan had left commercial construction to get into residential, wanting to start his own business someday. Chris was a carpenter and had also dreamed of going out on his own. While working at the same company, they had an opportunity for some residential work and things grew from there. Chris left the company to jump in full time with support from Ryan. Shortly thereafter, Ryan left too, making the dream happen! When they showed up for their first job after the demo of a house, it really hit them; ‘what are we doing?’

Bringing their skills together, Ryan focused on the project management responsibilities while Chris headed up the field work. Custom residential work can be highly stressful, for the families as well as the construction company. They’ve built a strong team that their clients really enjoy working with, ultimately turning over quality work which, in the end, speaks for itself. Over and over again, this has led to referrals that have fueled their success.

One of the biggest challenges has been managing cash flow. When cash slows, operations tend to slow down, creating a vicious cycle. One of the lessons Ryan shared was to invest in operations as the needs present themselves, even if it’s before you think you can afford it. They are so glad they invested in bringing Krystal on as their Controller, and moving to Sage 100 Contractor, as an example.

One of the biggest differences between commercial and residential construction is the personal nature of the work. In commercial work, it’s not emotional, but for residential, you’re dealing with people’s homes, life-long dreams, and life disruptions. The projects take a great deal more handholding to get the job done. Even though their company is fairly new, both Chris and Ryan keep this focus in mind throughout the project.

When it comes to working with Syscon, Ryan has been very happy with the reports he can now get from Sage 100 Contractor. The information is right there whenever they need it, looks professional, and they now see fully burdened labor on their jobs. They’re just getting started with the FIT System, and that’s looking good. With this kind of data, the whole business feels more ‘legit’! The addition of Krystal, construction-specific software, and electronic field time has been a game changer. – CMW