Walsh is the owner and project director of Confluence Builders, a design-build and project-management consulting firm.
I wish I could say there are signs things are improving, but I’m not sure I see any.
The biggest thing we’ve realized is how important it is to stay focused on relationships with customers and on certain projects. I think the tendency is when things get tough, you get desperate and start trying to do everything and you lose focus.
We continue to work and stay focused with the developers for the Four Seasons project, the new Fairmont project up in Breckenridge and Mickey and Kyle Zeppelin’s Taxi project.
The (Four Seasons) is on schedule, and it’s turning out great. There is a lot of interest from buyers. Over half of the (102) units have sold, and a number are in contract negotiations right now.
With the Fairmont up in Breckenridge, the developer has been actively seeking financing. We’re hopeful that project will be in construction by early next year.
We cut back the hours for some employees a little bit and cut back some of the perks we were offering. That allowed us to bring on one additional employee. We secured a $500,000 small-business line of credit through the Bank of Choice. That helped us buffer our cash flow.
All the traditional payment terms are being redefined. You used to be able to buy from your suppliers on credit. Now most suppliers want deposits up front. On the other end, the owners are expecting to push payment terms out to 45 to 60 days. We’re stuck in the middle, so thank God for SBA loans.
