Webinar Series for Small Business Contractors, A/E/P Firms, Material Suppliers

New Webinar Series: Small Business Best Practices

Managing The Profitable Business For DBE-Small Business Contractors,  A/E/P Firms and Material Suppliers

Get hands-on experience, hear from industry experts, and meet your peers in the industry during this virtual learning experience. 

Facilitators:  Victor C. Tyler, P.E.,  Tyler Construction Engineers, P.C.

                        Marshall Tabb, Financial Consultant

                        Curtis Webb, Strategic Marketing Consultant

                        Teresa C. Daniel, PHR, SHRM-CP, Human Resource Consultant 

                        Sandra Webb, QuickBooks Pro Advisor

                        Jay B Mercer, EA, QuickBooks Pro-Advisor 

                        Tanisha J. Hall, AICP, TDM-CP, Fairpointe Planning, LLC

No Cost to Attend.    Must Register in Advance.

Ten weeks. One and half hours per week.

Start Date: Wednesday, October 11th, 2023 @ 10:00 am CT (11:00 am ET)

Learn from industry experts as they guide you through the construction industry's business management fundamentals.

This 20-week course will cover the best practices of managing a small business. Perfect for owners and managers of small design or engineering firms, contracting businesses, material suppliers, and business consultants. And, of course, anyone interested in more exposure to the basics of managing a business related to construction. We recommend these courses if you are brand new to construction or have ten years in the industry. 

Attendance for the entire session and active participation for the whole course is essential to success in learning about the business of doing business. 

AGENDA (Subject to change)

Session 1: The 5-Bs of Project-based Business

Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Victor Tyler, P.E.

Our “5-B’s” Class is an overview of how companies should be able to run their business with clearer visibility and control.  We will review five critical functional business areas; business development, bidding, building, billing, and banking.  We call this process, The 5’Bs of Project-Based Business. 

Session  2: Human Resource Compliance – PART I

Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Teresa C. Daniel, PHR, SHRM-CP 

Are you ready to set your business in compliance mode? If the answer is yes, please plan to join us to learn how to build the HR Compliance Pillars needed to support your business.

Session  3:  Human Resource Compliance - PART II

Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Teresa C. Daniel, PHR, SHRM-CP 

This class is continuation of Week #1. Enhance your tool box with techniques, tips, and checklist on how to document policies/ procedures, effectively communicate and proactively engage your employees to ensure compliance with appropriate employment practices. 

Session  4: How To Do Business With TDOT

Wednesday, November 1, 2023, 10 am (CT)

Moderator: Victor C. Tyler, P.E.

The discussion will be a deep dive into the TDOT Webpages related to Highway Construction Opportunities and Engineering Consultant Announcements.

Session  5: Are You Bidding On The Right Projects? 

Wednesday, November 8, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Victor C. Tyler, P.E.

Performing a Bid / No-Bid checklist can provide owners an accurate measurement of project risk-based and how well the project matches your firm's experience.

Session  6:  Know Your Financial Pulse: It Could Save Your Company’s Life

Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 10 am (CT)

Facilitators: Marshall Tabb 

This workshop is a must for the non-financial person. Participants will learn to identify basic financial statements, the purpose of each component, and understanding the importance of maintaining complete and accurate financial records. The end objective is to start using financial statements as a MANAGEMENT TOOL to promote strategic planning, profitability, and sustainability.

Session  7: How to Effectively Communicate, Coach And Counsel Company Policies With Difficult Employees

Wednesday, November 22, 2023, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Teresa C. Daniel, PHR, SHRM-CP 

On any given day business owners and managers can spend up to approximately 80% of their time managing and dealing with difficult situations. This workshop will review what business owners and leaders need to know to effectively communicate and create the culture you want for your workplace; including best practice, tools, and techniques. 

Session  8  Financial Analysis & Capacity Building

Wednesday, November 29, 2023, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Jay Mercer, E.A., Marshall Tabb

To run a profitable business, you must understand the basics of accounting and setting up your financial system. Find out how understanding your accounting system and conducting a few simple financial ratios can increase profitability. 

Session  9: Introduction to Job Cost Accounting Part I

Wednesday, December 6, 2023, 10 am (CT)

Facilitators: Marshall Tabb and Sandra Webb

Job Cost Accounting allows you to track financial details to see what's going on within your jobs! If you can track and measure what's happening, you can better control the profitability of every project.

Session  10: Introduction to Job Cost Accounting Part II

Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 10 am (CT)

Facilitators: Marshall Tabb and Sandra Webb

This class is continuation of previous Session 9.

Session  11: Ask the Experts Roundtable

Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 10 am (CT)

All Previous Course Facilitators

Moderator: Tanisha J. Hall, AICP, TDM-CP, Fairpointe Planning, LLC

No agenda; this is an opportunity to say Hello to all the DBE-SS   Subject Mater Experts and talk about whatever you want. We'd love it if you sent questions ahead of time, but we can also handle inquiries on-the-fly. If you don't have any questions, the   Subject Matter Experts will come up with something to discuss.

                                                2024

Session  12: Markup, Overhead & Profit (Bidding)

Wednesday, January 10, 2024, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Victor C. Tyler, P.E.

You need to calculate your markup from your company numbers. There is no industry standard for markup or an industry standard for overhead. Every business has different overhead and profit needs, so each business will have its own markup. Learn how your markup is based on the financial numbers of your company.

Session  13: Introduction to Developing Your Indirect Cost Rates for Consultants 

Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 10 am (CT)

Facilitators: Victor Tyler, P.E. , Jay Mercer, E.A.

This class is an introduction to developing and measuring indirect rates for your consultant practice. Indirect rates provides critical insight into a company’s financial operations, especially when doing business with the government. Knowledge and application of indirect rates provides opportunities for growth and insight into job profitability.

Session  14: Have You Completed Your Planning for the New Year

Wednesday, Wednesday, January 24, 2024, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Curtis Webb

A brief overview of planning for business and how it begins with you evaluating your prior year marketing effectiveness.
 

Session  15: Developing A Strategic Business Action Plan  

Wednesday, January 31, 2024, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Curtis Webb

As businesses face challenges in the construction industry, owners must be mindful of what keeps their business profitable. It is the project type, customers, location, project size, or key employees?  Join us to learn why the answer is;  all of the above and learn how to create a plan around what works.

Session  16: Dump Truck & Equipment Pricing (Bidding)

Wednesday, February 7, 2024, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Victor C. Tyler, P.E.

Too often, business owners worry about making payroll. One reason this happens is that they don't fully account for the cost of those employees. This same holds true for equipment. To Be profitable All labor and equipment required to build a  job must be included in the estimate before the price is prepared and presented to a client.

Session  17: Pre & Post Award and Contract Close-out Preparation

Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: Victor Tyler / TBD

Post award contract management is a critical process in the contract management cycle that takes place after a contract has been awarded. It involves the optimization and monitoring of contract performance to ensure that contractual obligations are met by both parties within the agreed timeframe and budget.

Session  18:  Small Business Insurance: What Do I Need for My Company?

Wednesday, February 21, 2024, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator:  TBD

Owning a small business can be rewarding both professionally and personal. However, operating a company of any size involves risk.  Natural disasters, accidents, professional errors, and employee injuries are just some of the events that can occur at any time, threaten your livelihood, and that of your employees. Small business insurance helps protect your company from financial loss when problems arise. Find out what coverage you need for your company.

Session  19:   Surety Bonds: What Do I Need for My Company?

Wednesday, February 28, 2023, 10 am (CT)

Facilitator: TBD

Facilitator(s) will discuss the various types of Surety Insurance and what small contractors should know about the Pre-Qualification Process.

Session  20: Wrap Up: Ask the Experts Roundtable

Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 10 am (CT)

All Previous Course Facilitators

Moderator: Tanisha J. Hall, AICP, TDM-CP, Fairpointe Planning, LLC

No agenda; this is an opportunity to connect and say Hello to all our DBE-SS/Subject Matter Experts and talk about whatever you want. We'd love it if you sent questions ahead of time, but we can also handle inquiries on-the-fly. If you don't have any questions, the   Subject Matter Experts will come up with something to discuss.

About TDOT DBE Supportive Services

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Civil Rights Division contracted with Tyler Construction Engineers, P.C. (TYLER) to operate the Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Supportive Services (DBE-SS) and the Business Development Programs.

Under this contract, TYLER provides management and technical assistance to support DBE firm capacity, business growth, and profitability. This assistance is provided at no cost to certified TDOT DBE firms. The benefit of DBEs participating in the activities of this program can help facilitate their development into viable, self-sufficient organizations capable of competing for and performing on Federally-assisted highway projects.

All seminars, workshops, and meetings are open to certified TDOT DBEs, small business firms, and prime contractor employees interested in doing business with TDOT.​ If you are interested in additional information on the services offered by the Supportive Services Program or if you are a Prime Contractor seeking quotes from certified DBE firms, please get in touch with supportive services toll-free at 1.888.385.9022 or email at dbe_supportive_services@tyler-engineers.com.