The concrete & masonry launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 47 steps in 8 phases, 23 of them specific to a concrete & masonry. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan47 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
A concrete and masonry contractor sells work, estimated one pour at a time.
Typical for one unit is $500,000 to $3,000,000 a year; the owner keeps 10 to 22% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. employer businesses are still operating after five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: buy an established shop with real commercial relationships and a retainable finishing crew when you want cash flow and lower risk; build from one crew when capital is tighter and you... Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
A concrete and masonry contractor needs more gear than most trades but no storefront: the money goes into crew trucks and dump trailers, finishing machines, forms and hand tools, the license and...
The itemized cost to open9 lines
- Crew trucks (lease down payments) & dump trailers: $22,600 to $34,400Two pickups and a 14,000 lb dump trailer per crew; buying both trucks new costs about $92,000 to $114,000 instead
- Finishing machines, saw, mixer, generator & skid steer: $15,100 to $43,400Power trowels, vibratory screeds and plate compactors; the skid steer is rented at the low end and leased (about $900 to $1,000 a month) above it
- Forms, finishing tools, laser & breakers: $8,400 to $31,200Lumber forms and stakes at the low end, reusable steel forms at the high end
- Safety gear, uniforms & office and yard setup: $3,900 to $11,900
- Tablets, logo, website & truck graphics: $2,500 to $24,700Door signs at the low end, full truck wraps at the high end
- Licensing, bonding & setup fees: $600 to $5,000State or city contractor license, right-of-way registration, contractor bond and entity setup
- Insurance (liability, auto, workers’ comp & tools): $4,500 to $12,400First premiums and deposits; workers’ comp follows your payroll, so get a quote on two full crews
- Launch marketing: $2,500 to $15,000Yard signs, door hangers, a builder mailer and the first 60 days of local ads
- Initial working capital: $60,000 to $150,000Payroll, ready-mix and fuel carried until customers and builders pay, through the first 3 to 6 months; your plan computes your own figure
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed5 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to $5M · 10 yr (25 with real estate) · 85% guaranteed up to $150k, 75% above)The workhorse for buying an existing concrete contractor or funding a startup’s equipment and working capital.
- SBA 504 loan (Up to 25 yr · owner-occupied real estate & major equipment)For buying the yard you work from or heavy, long-life equipment.
- Equipment & fleet financing (Secured by the trucks & equipment)Lease or finance the trucks, dump trailers and skid steer, secured by the equipment itself, so cash stays free for payroll and ready-mix.
- Seller financing (Often 5-20% of price · 3-7 yr)Common when buying a contractor.
- Working-capital line of credit (Revolving · secured by receivables)Builders and general contractors often pay weeks after the pour and hold back retainage, while ready-mix and payroll are due now.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/4Open
The territory and the vehiclea week or two
A concrete and masonry contractor's "location" is its service territory and how efficiently crews and ready-mix reach the work.
What decides it for this business: active construction & development market, aging hardscape & infrastructure, homeowner & developer base that invests, access to experienced finishers, reliable ready-mix supply & pricing.
Mobile businesses still answer to city rules: where the vehicle can be kept overnight, whether you can run the business from home, and what the state licenses.
The van or truck is the shop. Price it, outfit it, insure it, and brand it before the first job. The quotes go into the loan application.
Commercial auto for the vehicle, for the work. Customers and any lender will ask for the certificate.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the vehicle and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
The lender funds against the quotes and the insurance; the money goes to the vendors and the build.
After:
- 06Not started0/10Open
Permits and the vehicletwo to four weeks
Concrete and masonry work is licensed by many states and cities, inspected before the pour on structural work, and governed by job-site safety rules for silica dust.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:With the money in hand: the vehicle, the , the branding, and the state inspection most cities require before it can work.
After:Register your or corporation and obtain a city or county operating license.
With your state, before the first taxable sale. Usually free and online; check your state.
California has C-8 concrete and C-29 masonry specialty licenses, each needing four years of experience, exams and a $25,000 bond; other states cover foundations and slabs under a...
Pouring sidewalks, curbs and driveway approaches in the public right-of-way usually needs a city contractor registration, a bond and a permit for each job.
Many states and cities require a license bond and proof of to license a contractor or pull permits; builders will ask for certificates naming them as...
Every state requires a utility locate request a few days before excavation, so buried gas, electric and water lines are marked before the skid steer digs.
Cutting, grinding and breaking concrete makes silica dust; OSHA’s construction silica standard calls for water or vacuum dust control on saws and grinders and a written exposure...
A pickup pulling a loaded 14,000 lb dump trailer is a commercial combination: plate and inspect the trailer, check whether your state requires a USDOT number, and keep the...
- 07Not started0/10Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
Accurate concrete and masonry takeoffs (cubic yards, block counts, rebar) are the core profit skill; a tight estimate is the difference between and a...
Scheduling pours around the weather and ready-mix delivery, and keeping crews on billable jobs, drives finisher utilization: the whole game.
Builder relationships, reviews, and local SEO are the bid pipeline; managing cost per won job is a core profit lever.
Finisher pay, prevailing wage on public work, and overtime get complex; you need this the moment you have a crew.
Per-job and per-crew visibility and clean books are essential for managing the business and financing growth.
, workers' comp, surety bonding, and commercial auto: non-negotiable for a licensed construction trade.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Daily: Walk and estimate jobs, follow up on bids, schedule pours around the... Weekly: Review the bid pipeline and close rate, finisher utilization and job... Monthly: Review per-job margins vs the bid, tear-out and callback rate,...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/6Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Underbidding and overruns; Bad pours and tear-out; Weather and idle crews.
Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Register as an employer and carry workers’ comp before the first payday.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
Concrete contractors sell to owner-operators, SBA buyers and larger site and building contractors who want crews and builder relationships.