Seminar Style

• All seminars feature live demonstrations of QuickBooks, Excel or PowerPoint presented on a large screen using a state-of-the-art computer projector.
• Seating is classroom style with tables.
• Coffee will be served in the morning.
• The Seminar Handouts include the speaker's complete outline used during the seminar to allow you to focus on the presentation without being distracted by taking notes.

• The PowerBooks Seminar begins with a discussion about how QuickBooks is a great program that does a terrible job of advising you how to set it up for a construction business, how the accounting industry focuses on setting up books to look like tax returns, and how you as the owner need to "step up" and insist that your bookkeeping serves you first by providing management information as the top priority.
• The seminar next examines every part of QuickBooks (preferences, lists, chart of accounts) and discusses the little details that make the program produce the information you need.
• The presentation continues by carefully illustrating how to create reports specific to the construction industry, including Job Costs, Job Cost Variance, Job Transactions, Unpaid Bills by Project, Vendor Insurance Expiration Dates and many more.
• The seminar concludes with it's final segment with a review of specific strategies for issues such as customer statements, cost-plus projects, retainage, taking discounts, using purchase orders and anything else the audience wants to discuss.
• QuickBooks Seminar Outline | Sample QuickBooks Reports

• The Speed Estimating Seminar is about using the entire estimating process as a method of demonstrating your professionalism with the specific goal of convincing potential customers that they should pay you a higher price.
• The seminar begins by discussing the role of cost code systems in coordinating specification writing, estimating and job cost accounting with the strategy of having these different tasks supporting each other.
• The seminar continues by addressing the art of quickly writing thorough specifications to everyone's benefit, developing the budget, and presenting the proposal in a manner that leads to negotiating, not "bidding", a contract. There is much discussion on customer psychology and identifying trouble customers before you sign a contract.
• The seminar includes a free copy of my Labor Productivity Study that is a research report on the manpower production rates for many standard construction tasks (digging footers, pouring concrete, laying plywood, installing mouldings, etc. The report identifies these tasks in eight major national construction cost references, converts them to a common factor, compares them side-by-side on graphs, and then identifies a reliable average that can be used for accurately calculating man-hours.
• The seminar also includes a free copy of my UnitCost Excel spreadsheet that contains over 100 construction models of typical construction components (footers, slabs, masonry walls, truss roofs, etc.). The spreadsheet is designed to allow the individual user to enter their own material costs from their suppliers from which the spreadsheet will calculate the unit costs for each of the components. The user may review and adjust the takeoffs and otherwise modify the models as may be desired.
• The seminar does not expend time reviewing math and takeoff procedures simply because we assume that you already know how to count 2x4's and concrete or you wouldn't be in business.
• Speed Estimating Seminar Outline

• The Internet for Builders Seminar is a new seminar for ProBuilder Seminars. The seminar is relatively short at 2 hours, and will cover a wide variety of subjects all related to understanding the practical uses of the using the web, email, and having your own website.
• The seminar begins by discussing the role of the internet as a communication tool in today and in the future. From there we will procedure a series of relevant subjects intended to cut through the "clutter" and provide some plain advice for getting real use out of the system.
• The seminar will discuss the general mechanics of the internet, including web servers, internet service providers, the domain name system and web hosting providers. From there we will move into specific tips for selecting a service provider (NOT AOL!!!), using a browser, searching the internet, using search engines, using email, etc. with the focus on practical information you can use.
• The seminar's final segment discusses how to get your own domain name for $15.00 per year, how to get your own email address that you own (joe@mycompany.com), how to get a simple website together, and how to get you site hosted for less than $100.00 per year. The course materials will include with web addresses and phone numbers of suggested domain name and web hosting providers.
• The last segment of the seminar will be a discussion of the advantages of having your own website, how to hire a web designer, and how you can get it done for a lot less than you've been hearing about.

• The Building Code Course is a 4 hour course on Florida's new state-wide building code. Attendance at this course has been made mandatory by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for all licensed contractors in the state of Florida. Fortunately, the course qualifies for CILB Continuing Education Credit.
• This course was written by the DCA and includes a PowerPoint presentation and written materials that essentially describe many aspects of the new state-wide Building Code. This material is about as "dry" as anyone could imagine, although we will be injecting some levity into the presentation where ever possible.
• In addition to a prohibition against deviating from the specified course outline, the DCA charges a per-person licensing fee for each attendee, said fee to be paid by the seminar provider, which results in a slightly higher fee being charged for attending this seminar.
• The good news is that the seminar does have some valuable information to impart, and it's a one-time only requirement, so after this year we can go back to presenting seminars on how to improve your business and ake more money.

• The Job Site Safety Seminar is a PowerPoint presentation about OSHA. This seminar fulfills the CILB requirement for 1 hour of Job Site Safety.
• The seminar begins by discussing the creation of OSHA and it's specific regulatory functions.
• The seminar continues by discussing OSHA inspections, including when OSHA performs inspections, the inspection procedure, the various penalties that OSHA can assess, the appeals process and the Employers rights under the law.
• The seminar's final segment discusses the main categories of safety violations, followed by a detailed list of what the contractor should be looking out for and what steps can be taken to reduce the potential for injuries.

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