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July 2025 The Contractor’s Advantage
HarrisonLawGroup.com (410) 832-0000 jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com
My clients tell me that growing a construction business is exciting. Bigger projects, new markets, and more team members feel like signs of success, and they are. But when growth happens fast, legal risks tend to pile up just as quickly. I’ve seen contractors hit that growth spurt without stopping to check whether their legal foundation is solid. They figure if they’ve successfully handled smaller projects, they’re ready for the next level. However, the legal challenges aren’t the same, and the problems get bigger as you scale. GROWING PAINS What Contractors Miss When Scaling Up
I see three specific issues over and over.
First, there’s hiring. As you grow, you need experienced people like project managers, executives, and C-suite leaders. You look for talent from other companies, and that’s where things can get complicated. Some of those hires may have non-compete agreements. You’re taking a risk if you bring someone on without checking for a non-compete. Sometimes, the old employer surprises you with a previously unknown non-compete, and your new star hire has to leave. Other times, you get pulled into a legal dispute. It’s not just non-competes. New hires can bring client lists and old company documents, or even try to recruit a team from their former employer. That kind of baggage can create serious legal problems. The safest approach is simple — make sure anyone you hire leaves their old job clean. They should finish their last day, leave everything behind, and walk out the door. Only after that can they reach out to former clients or colleagues. They can’t take files or contacts, and they can’t start planning before they move if it interferes in any way with their old employment. Another risk comes when companies grow into new states. Every state has its own licensing rules, and they don’t all work the same. Virginia, for example, requires contractors to pass an exam. Getting licensed there can take months. I’ve also seen clients take on work in new states only to find out later they didn’t have the proper license. That can lead to fines, tax issues, and problems with payment. You don’t want to find yourself halfway through a project and unable to enforce your contract because you skipped a licensing step.
The third issue is financial strain, especially with larger projects. As the size of your projects grows, so does the need for capital. You have to be able to float costs for longer periods of time. If you’re used to doing $500,000 jobs and suddenly you’re handling $5 million jobs, you have to be prepared for payment delays. I’ve seen clients struggle when a project drags out, and they don’t have the cash or the credit to weather the storm. Bonding can also become a problem. Larger projects often require bonding, and your bonding capacity is limited. If you’re already tied up in a few big jobs, you may not have enough bonding left to take on the next project. That can stop growth in its tracks. The bottom line is this: Growth is exciting, but it comes with challenges you might not see coming. If you’re planning to expand, make sure you talk to your attorney, your accountant,
and your insurance agent. Get your team in place, know the rules in every state you work in, and understand the financial side of bigger jobs. With the right planning, you can grow smart and avoid the mistakes that sink too many businesses.
-Jeremy Wyatt
jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com | HarrisonLawGroup.com | 1
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THE VAST VALUE OF EDUCATED CONSUMERS TEACH, DON’T TELL
In today’s marketplace, being the best at what you do isn’t good enough. Whether you’re selling granite or grapefruit, persuading consumers to purchase your products is the only way you’ll thrive and survive in business. While this statement is far from revolutionary, capturing a consumer’s trust and loyalty is a constantly shifting goal more difficult to achieve today than at any other time. You may have the most outstanding product or service in your industry, but your marketing efforts will likely falter unless you accept two hard truths about selling in 2025: 1. Consumers are bombarded with marketing attempts virtually every moment of every day — including your competitors’ — and your costly campaign can be buried in a mountain of cyber clutter in a millisecond. 2. Nobody should ever be expected to remotely care about what you’re trying to sell them unless you educate them on why they should.
brief informational videos on YouTube offering expert tips on addressing their customer base’s areas of need. Don’t shy away from providing free expertise and advice before a sale, as giving an interested consumer a solution in advance may lead to greater sales — especially if your presentation leaves them with questions they’ll contact you to answer. In the current landscape, tomorrow’s sales often result from your ability to position yourself as a trusted resource today. Use pictures over paragraphs. When showcasing yourself to a potential sale, pictures will always speak louder than words. Studies have shown that including images in text increases a person’s ability to retain information by as much as 55%. If your current marketing is heavy on words, it’s time to refresh your approach in ways that open a person’s eyes and wallet. Remember who you are.
Above all, never neglect to acknowledge you’re a consumer yourself. What kind of marketing tends to attract your attention? Are you drawn to humor,
So, how do you maneuver through the mire and gain the attention of consumers? It’s time to skip traditional ads and transform your company into an educational resource for your customers! Here are three tips to help you turn your sales tactics into opportunities to train your customers to view you as the definitive go-to for their needs. Don’t resist giving away some of your store.
or do you react more to a serious or emotional message? When a salesperson contacts you, are you interested in learning about every facet of their company or services, or do you just want the most pertinent information that speaks to your immediate needs or interests?
Before launching a new campaign, consider how you’d explain what you’re selling to a neighbor or family member. Would you stuff your overview with eye-glazing industry jargon or make
Every product for sale is a solution in search of a problem. If you want a consumer to fully understand why your product is the best answer to their concerns, merely telling them about it is one of the worst things you can do. Instead, show them why your solution matters. Nowadays, it’s increasingly common for companies to post blogs, white papers, or webinars on their websites or upload
your words succinct and easily understood? Never forget you’re a customer selling to other customers. Genuine empathy and education will always win their trust — and money — better than any flashy gimmick or overblown explanation ever could.
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re:3D’s most celebrated creation, the Gigabot, is an aluminum-framed industrial printer designed to provide practical, cost-effective solutions for multiple industries. The product was an immediate success, with museums, hospitals, and educators among the company’s earliest customers. Care in Times of Crisis When the healthcare community struggled to meet the seemingly insurmountable demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, Snabes put her ingenuity to inspiring use. Her company 3D printed face shields donated to various hospitals and created ventilators for her former colleagues at NASA. Additionally, re:3D was instrumental in providing personal protective equipment to economically disadvantaged communities. Insight From an Innovator Naturally, forward-thinking minds worldwide have sought Snabes’ perspectives on building a leading tech enterprise. To her, thriving as a business owner and creator comes down to a willingness to put everything on the line to make the seemingly unattainable a fruitful reality. “It sounds cliché, but I would say really love what you do,” she shared in a 2017 interview with the job-search site Jobbio. “It’s deeper than that because if you really love
something, you don’t care if you’re living out of your car. You don’t care if you use your retirement or your savings. You don’t care that your friends heckle you about not having a real job. If you’re doing what you love, then every day is a journey, and it’s exciting and it’s worth it. It has to be more than a hobby. Think about something you want to commit your life to because your time is more valuable than anything else, and life is so short.”
HAVE A Laugh
When Monopoly Helped Win a War ALLIED POWERS OUTWITTED THE ENEMY, ONE GAME AT A TIME
Most people know Monopoly as the game that ruins friendships over Park Place. But during World War II, it played a far nobler role: helping Allied soldiers escape from German POW camps.
The British Secret Service turned Monopoly into a top-
secret escape kit. Smuggling noisy paper maps without tipping off the
guards was too risky, so they used strong and silent silk. The British turned to John Waddington Ltd., the licensed Monopoly manufacturer in the UK, who also happened to be an expert in silk printing.
Along with silk maps, rigged Monopoly sets also held metal files, compasses, and real currency hidden beneath the play money. Thanks to the Red Cross, these “games” were slipped into POW camps as humanitarian aid packages. Over 35,000 POWs escaped German camps — many with the help of these Monopoly sets. So, next time you pass “Go,” just remember Monopoly once helped people pass barbed wire.
jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com | HarrisonLawGroup.com | 3
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
Jeremy Wyatt jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com HarrisonLawGroup.com (410) 832-0000
40 West Chesapeake Avenue, Ste. 600 Towson, MD 21204
Inside This Edition
1.
3 Legal Mistakes That Stall Growth
2.
From Resource to Revenue
3. The Most Dangerous Game of Monopoly Ever Played 4. From NASA to Next-Gen Navigator Samantha Snabes’ 3D-Printed Pursuits
A Multilayered Innovation Mission
The Roots of a Tech Revolution Before diving into Snabes’ remarkable life and business acumen, a glimpse inside the ever-evolving world of 3D printing itself is in order. Otherwise known as “additive printing,” it is a process in which tangible items are created based on digital files used by specialized printing equipment to build real-world objects through successive layers of specific material. For example, a part for an automobile could be made from multiple layers of plastic based on a digital file of that product’s design. Already capable of producing everything from toys to homes, 3D printing is poised to have an even more significant impact on global manufacturing in the coming years. From EMT to 3D Considering Snabes’ place in technological progress, it’s no surprise that her résumé is as adventurous as it is jaw- dropping. Formerly a deputy strategist for NASA, the Texas- based entrepreneur has served in many other impressive roles throughout her adult life, including a training EMT, a volunteer firefighter, and a Mississippi Air National Guard captain. Never one to settle into a single professional space, she became an early pioneer in the development of 3D printing when she co-founded re:3D in 2013. Over the subsequent 12 years, her vision has resulted in astonishing advancements that have transformed 3D printing from a concept into a cultural and financial phenomenon.
The world of printing technology is moving at an unprecedented speed, and Samantha Snabes is setting the pace.
As the CEO of the innovative 3D printing hardware company re:3D, Snabes has been instrumental in expanding product development possibilities and how medical professionals save lives. Her eclectic life and career — which have literally seen her reach for the stars — serve as an intriguing example of how the desire to explore new frontiers can change the course of humanity.
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4 | (410) 832-0000 | jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com
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