A new WorkMand
When Joel and I launched, WorkMand last year, we first launched a project management for residential contractors. In short, we went through a ton of ups and downs and honestly couldn’t get the platform to stick with users. We believe this happened for two main reasons. Residential GCs don’t need (yet) a full end-to-end system yet to manage their projects. Most of them have projects they complete in 1–2 days and involve little planning. They still use paper and pen and for the most part that gets’s the job done for them at the moment.
Project management was meant for mid-large size firms (mostly in commercial — were delays are costly, change orders are frequent and budgets play a huge role). And well we saw some opportunity here, we also know there are respected players in the space (Procore, Bluebeam, plangrid, etc) and it wasn’t best for us to tackle the issue.
But as we pushed along, we kept learning about the market and from users. There was a ton we noticed we could help with but the biggest issue we noticed was the labor shortage. Construction is currently facing a major labor shortage. Construction has been doing well since it got over the financial crisis in ’08 and is currently not able to keep up with projects due to the shortage of workers. There are two issues — GC’s not finding quality Subs who are available and not attracting enough people to the trades/construction industry.
Kare11 recently covered the issue as well.
“The latest numbers from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development show the industry will be short nearly 20,000 workers over the next decade.”
http://www.kare11.com/article/news/mn-construction-industry-dealing-with-worker-shortage/527940486
Which is why we relaunched WorkMand, an online marketplace network for GCs and Subs. Our goal is to build the platform for construction contractors and builders to connect and build relationships. We aim to solve the shortage by connecting builders to General Contractors on their construction projects. Our goal is also to make the trades a viable career option. We need more people to enter the industry and realize the benefits to go along with it. Construction can be a great career!
We’re excited to be launching in beta now. To go along with this launch we also got a new look — Thanks, Ilya!
We believe this is the issue for us to be solving. If you’re a General Contractor looking to find and hire subcontractors, then you should sign up. It’s free to post your projects! If you are a Subcontractor looking to grow your business and build relationships, then we believe WorkMand is the platform to help you grow your business. It’s free to sign up and get your online profile! You only pay on projects you win. We charge a small commission to make sure it’s a Win-Win. We look forward to hearing from you. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Salute!
— The WorkMand Team
