Do you want to use the power of the Internet to promote your construction business, but your website, well, is crap, or maybe doesn’t even exist. Everyone you talk to tells you the same thing – you really need to make your site look better or get one in the first place.

For most small businesses, finding the time and budget to get the right kind of website help is pretty tough. You have enough to do just keeping your day-to-day business concerns rolling, never mind shopping for and then shelling out big bucks for a website designer and marketer.

You know you need to use the Internet to get more customers, you know it will help your bottom line without having to spend lots of advertising money, and you know your competition is already doing it and leaving you behind.

Is it really possible to effectively use the Internet for marketing with a good website?  Absolutely. Here are some great ideas on how to do exactly that:

If you don’t already have a website, GET ONE RIGHT NOW.
Have a totally professional looking website working for you and helping you to achieve a new way to be seen out there and bringing you new clients for a small outlay. Try Xaymaca Media for a fresh construction website. They work with JA Projects to keep your cost low and will help you to produce a website that works for your construction business.

Your website Homepage.
The homepage is like the showroom for your company, or the foyer or living room in your home – it is the first place visitors see, and where they form their first impression.

Sprucing up your homepage is a great investment. It can improve the experience of your visitors and even send them to pages such as your Photo Album to show your past work or a Map to show your clients your location.

Make use of direct communication.
With your website you will also get email, use this to gain a close relationship with your clients and to effectively meet your new customers.

Using an email with your own name can get you more respect with your clients, you will never see an establish company with Hotmail or Yahoo mail, this would make prospective clients see you as Spam or a Fake construction company.

Start with a basic website, a few pages is all you need.

• Home Page:
  As stated above, this is your first page of entry and you must make it count. When you make contact with a new customer, send them here, let them see you and know you before you meet.
• Contact Page:
  Your email contact or support page. This is where your clients can contact you and keep in touch when need be.
• Form Page:
  Your new and existing customers can give you a good idea of a new project by filling out this form and answering questions.

Add pages as you go and keep your cost low when you start your new website. Too many people tend to do it all at once not knowing what they really need yet, so if next month you need to show or write something about your company you will have time to think, the website designer at Xaymaca Media should be able to give you an idea of cost to produce and upload your new page/pages for you.

With your new email account you will be able to email the text you want and produce and send your own pictures, saving you even more money.

Brochures and Business Cards.
If you have Brochures and Business Cards you will need to add your website and email account. When you produce your website advertise it, local newspaper or Magazine

You can use the Internet to increase your customer base and allow more people to see you.

Xaymaca Media is a Web Designing company based in Jamaica and is happy to work with local Jamaican companies whose main work is the construction industry.

• A FREE BLOG with FREE Hosting – Try this out, it’s FREE
• Add your Construction Business Free - Click here

Why not learn Internet Marketing and earn some extra cash. I have started a new FREE course showing how you can do just that using the Internet, but this is for the serious marketer who is willing to to learn a little HTML and Host is/her site, if you already have a Hosting service all the better. You will be getting a bunch of FREE software to help you.

GO HERE Go on, learn Internet marketing it’s FREE.

Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica!

Because some of us care about our clients in the construction industry we make an effort to help them often without respect from the clients themselves. Spending time helping clients was always the main aim of JA Projects from the start of our venture in construction. Speaking to other contractors in the area we find the same problem confronting them, lack of respect from clients.

An electrical contractor was accused of collecting money from the building contractor when he had collected none, why, the main constructor had suddenly died. He was cleared when the family and other workers had made it clear he never got a penny, yet he had ordered materials and paid for it himself. He was reimbursed and left the work feeling cheated and used after he had put himself out to help his clients, Surely they should have found out the truth before they started to accuse the electrician and his team of wrong doing.

Just because some people are silly enough to throw their money away by choosing unqualified, unprofessional constructors to do the work it seems all constructors are all to blame.

Keeping a good relationship
Communication between clients and contractors is poor especially from the clients who feel because they have the money the contractors should be open to mistrust that is not the way to go to keep a good relationship, it dose not work, even in marriage.

Show some respect!
I was recently asked to look at a Villa by a client who was interested in buying the property. I took photograph, emailed the client and set it all up for the client to see what she was buying. Suddenly all communication stopped, why? I stood to make no money. I made the effort to help yet was show no respect or given any form of thanks and yet you have to carry on. Jamaican contractors are fed up with the treatment given to them especially from overseas clients.

Another case was the electrical contractor who had rewired a Villa for a client only to be accused of leaving the Villa in a mess. “I wanted to stay in my Villa when I came down to Jamaica” stated the client; I stayed there before when I came down to Jamaica before. That was a lie! The Villa was not used for years because it was not kept up, the bedding, curtains etc was never cleaned for over 4 years. An email was sent to the client letting them know the problems and that the Villa was in need of redecorating and cleaning. Yet for some reason the client chooses to lie about the whole situation, why, did they expect the electricians to pay for the redecorating and cleaning of the Villa!

Stuck in an uncomfortable Position!
At a time when the worldwide economy is suffering the Jamaican construction industry is feeling it hard. Material cost is high and labour cost is still low so a little respect for the workers would go a long way towards having a good sound working relationship which in the long run would benefit both the clients and the workers.

For most small businesses you have enough to do just keeping your day-to-day business concerns rolling, never mind being stuck in an uncomfortable position, without any truly useful advice about what’s needed to be done.

Do you have a website?
Is it really possible to effectively use the Internet for marketing, even without a good website?  Absolutely. Learn exactly what it is they want. Understand how they want to hear from you. Match your promotional efforts to those expectations and be seen on the net, it helps.

If you want help to start or wish to setup a website click here. We will be dealing with this issue in more detail in the near future.

Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica!

We have upgraded our Blog to a newer concept which will give us more space to show our thoughts about the construction industry here in Jamaica. For those of you who have registered with our old site please re-register if you wish.

Register Here…

We are able to give advice but more so to get good advise from expert to share about building in Jamaica. With the use of the Internet we are now able to have a far more reaching effect on people overseas looking to come to Jamaica and build.

Parish Council building rules
The whole world is looking at our buildings so we have to show them what we can do. Parish Council building rules and regulations is of vast importance for the contractors and the building investor, Home Build or Business Build, they must keep to the rules.

Correcting these mistakes
I recently gave an estimate for the finishing of a job and walked away feeling sorry for the owners, as the Parish Council would not pass the work carried out. Correcting these mistakes would also cost the client a lot of money due to bad work. It is also in the interest of the investor, home builder etc… to visit the Parish Council to get a costing of the work being carried out and does it meet the regulations, yes most Parish Council will help, free of cost.

Below is an article written over a year ago regarding
Falmouth’s Mayor Councilor Colin Gager

Source:
Government of Jamaica
Jamaica Information Services

Ministry of Local Government & Environment

All Investors Must Obey Building Regulations – Mayor of Falmouth

MONTEGO BAY(JIS):
Sunday, March 01, 2009

Mayor of Falmouth, Councilor Colin Gager, has urged investors to adhere to all Parish Council building rules and regulations in the parish, as these will be enforced, irrespective of the magnitude of such investments.

Speaking at the official opening ceremony of the Icy Allen Care Centre, on the grounds of the Trelawny Infirmary recently, Mayor Gager emphasized that,

“I don’t intend to allow individuals or companies, to run afoul of the regulations laid down by the Parish Council.I can assure you that there will be no partisanship or bias, in the observation of our building regulations. The strictest sanctions will be imposed”.

The Mayor made reference to the recent issue of a stop order by the Council on work being carried out on the multi-million dollar development of a cruise ship pier in Falmouth. The situation has subsequently been resolved and work on the project has resumed.

Meanwhile, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Local Government Reform, Robert Montague expressed his full support for the stance of the Trelawny Parish Council. He said that a clear message must be sent to all investors, large or small, that all Local Government regulations should be observed

The above statement was placed on the Internet for all to see, so if you are someone coming to Jamaica to build, using the Internet could prove to be a very useful tool to have on your side. Put ‘Jamaica Government” in Google and you have a whole lot of information at your fingertips.

Try this: Government Website

The way it should be
As long as the Contractors in Jamaica sticks to the rules we should have no problem with Government Regulations and that’s the way it should be.

We hope you will continue to read our Blog and hope you will register and let us know what you wish for us to say, be part of our team and make your point.

Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica!

Have you heard this before “in the last 10 years you will find that Jamaica has changed significantly” I am sure you have? I am a returning resident and lived here for over 7 years and I can tell you Jamaica has not changed in over 50 years. Sure most Rasta’s have a cell phone and cable TV but can we call that changes.

Jamaica’s new Highways are still being built but can we also call that a change or is the Government getting outside people to help build these roads and amazing Hotels. I have to face the truth and so too have a lot of returning residents here in Jamaica, where is the change.

Third World Country!
The real problem is the fact that we are still considered a third world country and until we can get away from that fact we can never change, so why am I saying all this. My aim is to let you all know that Jamaica is still one of the most beautiful countries in the world with some of the best beaches and views you can find anywhere with sunshine all the year round, that I hope will never change.

But candles are still sold here by the bucket load and the significant change you will find is mainly on the North Coast of Jamaica, where the Tourists visit and mainly stay and that is not always good for Jamaica and it’s people.

Don’t think you are going to come to Jamaica and get into Internet Marketing because PayPal, the most used money transfer on the Internet do not recognize Jamaica. We have no Zip Code here so P.O. Box has to do and you have to travel to the Post Office and stand in the queue to get your mail, just as it was 50 years ago.

As for local shops to get your groceries, no, use them for bits to see you through the week and usually at a much higher cost, you have to travel to the supermarket in the main town, no change there. You need to have transport if you are going to live here, so think hard about the swimming pool you were going to build as this could get you your transport. And also keep in mind that Jamaica is the only country that the value of a second hand motorcar goes up in value, else where in the world the moment you buy a car it goes down in value!

Do I sound Negative?
Good! You need to know the truth about Jamaica and it’s problems that will never change. (Let’s face it that is what makes Jamaica!)

In most case the Chinese and the Asian Indians are making a good living here, why?

Because they know poverty in there own countries and know what is needed to fight it here and do well in Jamaica. Japanese cars are everywhere, in fact Japanese cars account for 95 percent or more of cars on the Jamaican road, so the Japanese are doing well here in Jamaica. Even the Irish with Digicel phones are making more money than the Jamaican government, so where is the change?

If you are a labourer working in the sunshine all day you can expect to earn $1500 Jamaican Dollars a day, that’s less than £11.50 pounds – US$17.00 a day and if you have traveled to Jamaica the first thing you will say is “Jamaica is very expensive”, yes it is!

The imagination of Jamaicans!
I could go on and on about the Jamaican way of life but I do not wish to prolong the ‘where is the change’ discussion any more, I just want you to see some of the ‘real Jamaican problems’ that all Jamaican has to face each month. Yet we come to Jamaica and build these amazing Villas with all the money you have and get some of the cheapest workers around, no change there!

Without the imagination of Jamaicans trying to stay alive and ‘eat a little bread’ each day you would not have your Villa. How many Americans, British, Chinese and Asian Indians do you see building homes in Jamaica, very little if at all, you could not afford them. I remember going to Florida and visiting a food hall in the shopping center, I have never eaten so cheap in my life, try doing that in Jamaica!

Now, put all this together and you will find that building your home in Jamaica can be cheaper than America or the UK and the main reason for this is labour cost, material is costly here, just like anything else.

Now I am not saying you should pay more for the work, that is for the government to make that change, not you, but maybe you can buy some of the tools for the workers to use giving you a faster turn round, tools you can keep after the work is completed or sell some of the items. Small Cement mixers are cheap aboard and can easily be fitted in a container and shipped down with your other items, that alone can save you a vast amount of cost. A Gas Cooker for the workers to make a ‘pot’ of food instead of them spending what amounts to a fortune on food each week. That is what I call changes in Jamaica, believe me just those simple items will not only save you money but also give you some of the most loyal workers around.

Your work friend!
We need changes in Jamaica and Returning Resident and Overseas Owners are the people who will change Jamaica for the better, not the Government, the people are still crying out for help and changes will never come in the next 20 or 50 years unless you take responsible measures to do so. Be part of the build and do not use the workers as indispensable items but your work friend. Trust in each other ideas and you will both learn from the experience and as you know Jamaicans can be some of the most helpful people around, that will never change!

For JA Projects Website GO HERE

Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica.

I am would like to make a point about a matter that is, I think, very important to both the contractor and the client. This matter, it appear, is a long going problem that we all need to be aware of and can be a benefit to all concerned in the construction industry as well as some very frightened and worried clients.

A complete disorder and confusion caused by overseas client sending money to Jamaican contractors to construct or repair their property. A state of order and reassurance is needed to put things right as soon as possible! The contractor and the client working as a team is all you need to do.

Do we need a Judicator?
I mean someone to watch over the funds. No, I do not think so! Contractors need to help the clients as much as they can and keep an accurate account of all transactions and the Clients need to do the same, after all it’s in everyone’s interest to get it right. Being worried about how your money is being spent has and will always be a problem here in Jamaica, why, because Jamaican contractors are not trusted by a vast amount of overseas clients. “I know someone who was ripped off by Jamaican constructors and I do not want that to happen to me”, that is the usual story. Yet some of the most beautiful Villas are built here without any problems. I do not wish to pass the blame on any one group, contractors or client, but I myself working as a Project Manager, still have problems in this area with clients and I give them pictures!

Have a little trust!
I recently got involved in a repair project that has turned out to be a nightmare, why, because even though I broke the project into different stages, supply photographs etc, the client still insists on sending the money in three sometimes four payments for each stage, this cannot work! By the time the project is over you end up collecting twelve lots of payment for a simple repair job, can you imagine if I was building a Villa for this client. And if a problem occurs else where you are ask to use some of the funds from the project to do other work, crap! I am sorry to say but the contractor is put off from the work, interest in the project starts to wilt, and all confidence and enthusiasm goes out the window. Please have a little trust and follow the money, insists on pictures, evidence of the work being done and make sure your contractor can provide this before you start.

Easer said than done!
Well that sounds simple; easer said than done I hear you say! Well I have to agree that it is easer said than done, but never the less it has to be done and only the Contractor or Project Manager can do it. In the real world we don’t always have trust, so funds for projects can be a nightmare to get right. The smaller builders and contractors who do not have the skills to use a computer cannot enjoy the use of programs that does it all for you. Yes, for those of you in the construction trade who did not know this you should also know that everything you could possible think of, a computer program can do it, from estimating to sourcing materials.

So, you don’t have a computer, if you can write you can do the same thing, it just takes longer.

The Clients position!
The client just wants to know that they will not be ripped off! OK I do not know how to stop the ‘contractor thieves’. But I know how to make it harder for them, follow your money.

Keep a Running Total…
Before work even starts you should have an idea of each stage of the construction, a cost for each stage and a plan of action. With this you send the money to the Contractor; keeping in mind we have not discussed why we are using this Contractor, which is a whole different chapter, who should make a record of it straight away. Anything taken from that amount must be written down and deducted from the full amount, in fact a ‘running total’. At any time you discuss with your Contractor about your project you can check how the money is being spent, simple! As long as you are getting what you paid for, to the highest standard, then you should not have a problem with your funds.

The Chaos has to stop!
Sending bits of the money will not work, how can the Project Manager function with less funds, that’s how the chaos starts! It changes the plan of action for a start so the client cannot keep up, more money comes, its more than was needed for the last stage but less than the funds needed for the next stage. Chaos starts!

The Project Manager position!
Keep it flowing with your Clients and it becomes easer. The long and short of it, most Contractors would very much like to have there names passed on to the clients friends so it’s not in the interest of any Contractor to mess up. By quickly filling out a simple small job tracking sheet every day (even if the job only took you a half an hour!), and at the end of the job comparing your tracking sheet expenses with your original estimate, you can quickly spot areas or trends that may be sucking dollars out of your pocket and fix them.

It’s easy to lose sight when you are juggling many small jobs – all those balls in the air at once can be exhausting. But with just a simple small job tracking form, you can streamline your operations and increase your profit margins.

The wise Contractor will set up a ‘Project Fund’, where the remainder of the funds reside, but this is rare, so be careful how you send the money.

Sending Funds
As the client you have a good choice of how you send the funds, from Bank Transfer to Western Union so the sending of funds is not a problem. How you allow the Project Manager to use your funds is of utmost important to the client, so allow the Project Manager to explain the process at each stage of the work.

Tip – Use JA Projects
If your Project Manager has a computer and can use a camera then you can register with us and we will give you a password and username that only YOU and your Project Manager knows. You can use the system anywhere in Jamaica, the world! Your Project Manager can upload photographs at each stage; you can both make comments etc… Try the System, click here – [DEMO]

Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica.

A few questions that keeps being asked, you can see I have not entered anything to our BLOG in a long time. So I hope to answer this in one go. Here in Jamaica JA Projects is doing what they can to bring back the trust to Jamaican Construction. By implementing the Photographic Database to our construction we hope the clients will have more trust in our builders.

“Do you have specific builders you work with that we can trust? Also, Is it best to sit down with you to discuss our vision/idea? If so we will be in Jamaica in August.

Can you also explain how your service where you watch over the building works and what those costs are. Because we won’t be there we would need to know everything is going according to plan.

Thank you,”

Various other workers are bought in!
JA Projects works with a young team of Architects and Builders to create your construction. We find them trusting and hardworking. Various other workers are brought onto the construction site to complete the build such as, Electrician, Plumbers, Labourers etc. Keeping the Team small gives you and JA Projects, your Project Manager, more control over the work.

You do not have to wait!
You do not have to wait until you come to Jamaica! As long as you have a computer and a cheap scanner we can start right away, JA Projects uses experience in drawing to achieve your 3D view of your Villa, wherever you are in the world. Simply sketch an idea of what you want, scan it and email it to JA Projects, we will start from there. Once we have the sketch we will be able to start putting your ideas to work giving you accurate 3D perspective drawings to scale.

It gives you an idea of the LOT size!
You will then see them in stages, e.g.. floor plans, floor areas, balcony if you have any etc. In no time you will have a complete drawing of your *Villa to scale. With that you will be able to use our Architect to give you an accurate cost to build your Villa. Also space, it gives you an idea of the LOT size you need to purchase. So already you can see producing the drawing before you come here is very worthwhile.
*A deposit after the first stage would be expected.

A PHOTOGRAPH MAKES THE DIFFERENCE!
The service that JA Projects gives as a user of our database is to keep you in touch and in control of your construction. You can log into our DEMO and see for yourself:

Username: user
Password: demo

GO HERE for DEMO

YOUR VERY OWN DATABASE
JA Projects upload photos to your very own database with username and password access. You comment on each picture and we follow your instructions, it’s that simple and our client’s loves it! It cuts the cost of you paying to travel to Jamaica by over 80%; you can carry on building and not just when you are in Jamaica and with zero chance of you loosing your money as you can see the work being done. JA Projects is new to Jamaica and is a well-needed assurance that all is OK with your construction.

For JA Projects Website GO HERE

Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica.

Jamaica is such a green and fertile land that many of us think that going green in Jamaican construction and home ideas is a joke, it’s not. We need to start thinking about being green and start the process now! In the USA and Europe going green is maybe the biggest factor in construction, food waste, water usage and many other areas of life. Recycling is still one of the best-known words in going green.

The benefits of a Green Home
How are we going to achieve our green home and what can the construction industry do about it? A home can be built green, or you can make it green later. A green makeover can happen all at once, or it can be a gradual process. But what it all comes down to is a new way of thinking – and a new way of living. The benefits of a green home becomes more apparent when you think about it and often far more cost-effective than the normal home.

Solar Energy
Remember solar energy that provides hot water for your home, an idea that we take for granted here in Jamaica. I have a friend that gets is hot water from the solar panels located on his roof in St Ann, Jamaica, for the last 8 years he has FREE hot water and the cost of fitting the system was paid for years ago, yet how many of us are using this system!

An idea that could be used here in Jamaica is the Solar Oven. Have you seen them yet? We have all this sunshine and yet we are not using it.

Solar Cooking
A Solar Panel cooker can be built in less than an hour from a single cardboard box and some aluminum foil. This very powerful cooker is a true breakthrough. Here in Jamaica a cooker/oven such as this is a true greener solution and is aimed at all Jamaicans and not only the poor. Chopping down trees or burning gas and electric to cook your meals could be a thing of the past if we could all develop these simple ways of going green in our community.

Get the FREE blue-print for this Solar Cooker - click folder

What is Going Green?
A Green Home uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste and is healthier for the people living inside compared to a standard home. It’s as simple as that! Making your home a greener place is a commitment – to yourself, your family, your community and Jamaica. But more than that, it is a learning process. As exciting new technologies, products and scientific breakthroughs constantly emerge, maintaining a green home is the best way to ensure your efforts are as effective and beneficial as possible.

We should consider using wood instead of concrete where possible in our construction. One of the problems we have here in Jamaica is the lack of resources to help us such as Recycling Plants and Governing Bodies that offers incentives for adding eco-friendly elements to your homes. Jamaicans are known for their ideas and positive vibes when it comes to the local environment so a little knowledge and encouragement from the government would be a great help to move us forward.

Useful Tips

Use compact fluorescent lamps in your lights.

Wash your clothes in cool rather than hot water.

Unplug the “secret energy addicts” in your home: TVs, VCRs, DVD players, cable TV boxes, computers and printers, video game consoles, microwave ovens and AC adapters for cell phones, digital cameras and other electronics. Most electronic equipment, including anything that uses a remote control, is designed to consume energy when it is turned off. That “off” setting is actually a “standby” or “idling” mode.

Use non-toxic, environmentally safe, biodegradable cleaning products, including laundry products, which you can find at any natural grocery and even many mainstream stores. Just read the labels carefully.

Buy locally produced items, including produce and other goods. It reduces the amount of fossil fuels required to transport the things you buy from other parts of the country. It also reduces the amount of plastic and paper products consumed in the packaging of such far-traveling products. Buying local reduces the consumption of valuable natural resources and encourages local farming and business in the area.

Instead of using grocery stores’ disposable plastic or paper bags, bring your own reusable shopping bags, which are available for sale at many grocers and other retailers. The bags are sturdier than disposable bags, making the trip home easier, and they don’t waste resources or end up in landfills.

USEFUL GOING GREEN WEBSITES

Recycle Works

153 Ways to Go Green

A 14-point Plan for Healthy House Construction

Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica.

I am still hearing from people all over the world that they are being ripped off and I am still wondering why! Is it the fault of the Project Managers, Contractors, Builders or the Property Owners?

A lot of questions yet we are still not finding the answers to this old problem that is making Jamaican contractors look like a bunch of crooks.

A few days ago I was told of another story that made me put pen to paper, well, word processor, in the hope I can find some answer as to who is causing the problems. The story was that a lady from the States had come down to buy land and build her dream Villa here in Trelawny along the North Coast of Jamaica. She found and bought her land and was ready to build.

WHY USE A CARPENTER?
Now, the builders she used or should I say, the Carpenter she used to build her concrete Villa was a bad choice. Why is she using a Carpenter ? Where was the Architect or Project Manager ? I had to blame this person for her bad choice. The reason is I know the Carpenter in question and I would not have even considered him in the build at all.

I will try to explain without upsetting any Carpenter out there.

The Carpenter in question was well known in the area and had trained many of the young Carpenters around, he was said to be very good at his job; that was over five years ago when I first came to Jamaica. He was a furniture maker and his skills were well sought after a few years ago. Then things changed, work was getting less and quality was falling fast and the client did not know, why should she?

As far as she was told this guy was a known person in the area and that was enough to make her mind up to use him. Bad move!

The Carpenter used the wrong builders because he had no idea about building a house; sawing timber was his trade and not supervising people on a construction site, it cost the client a lot of wasted time and a lot of money to put things right, and he paid himself a lot of money for his own mistake, he ripped her off and kept the money. Her fault I have to say and I will say it out loud.

THE CHEAT BOUGHT PROPERTY
In another case the client was robbed so much the Contractor bought land and started to build before he was caught by chance. Where did that money go? Why did the client allow so much money to go missing and what about the workers, were they paid, no, and whom did they blame, the property owner because the Contractor was on hand to lie and the Property Owner just kept sending him money.

Use a Project Manager and keep close to him if you are building, ask for pictures at all times and pay for the work completed. Don’t just send money. Your Project Manager will know the work and the workers to make your project work. He will also find the Architect for you to work with and be on your side at all times instructing you about payments to the construction team.

JA Projects created a program just for your needs see the DEMO here:

Check it out – Go Here

WE KNOW ARCHITECTS
Acting as your Project Manager we can help you to maintain control of your construction and keep you ahead of the work. You will have the full backing of our program getting pictures to you within hours of the work being carried out. Want to see a close-up of the fittings or any part of the construction and we will place you there. We know Architects, Builders, Carpenters and Plumbers to make the job straight forward as possible saving you the stress and of course a lot of money. We leave ourselves open to our clients and have the right people around us to give the right advice; now in its fourth year JA Projects has proven to be ahead of the game.

Jamaicans do not wish to be called thieves, especially in the Construction industry and the clients are becoming more careful and frightened to spend money here in Jamaica so please lets get it right and we can all benefit from a healthy Construction Industry.

Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica.

If you have noticed or paying close attention, which I’m sure you have, the economic changes has gone to the extreme here in Jamaica. The ‘go-go’ days of Construction Workers are fading into the background as the ‘LOT’ buyers are looking to improve what they have rather than spending on a new Villa in the sun. The residential owners who are willing to invest their dollars need to be sure they’ll get what they pay for in the end.

Are you discouraged, you do not have to be; some do and want to stop trying. The customers are there, waiting for you, they’ve simply changed their perspective on the whole idea. If you wish to continue and get the work you have to feel what the clients feel, hear what they hear and understand what these clients want. If you can talk their language and fill their need, they will hire you for their jobs.

JA Projects saw these problems a few years ago, created a program to deal with it and are still at the forefront of the Construction game in Jamaica.

Here are the concerns, in the order, that seriously make them consider hiring a Contractor here in Jamaica.

Risk • Quality • Price • Communication • Time • Guarantees

The clients want to make sure they will not get screwed in any way. They don’t trust contractors. Sadly, due to the ‘go-go’ mentality of the construction industry in the last few years, there have been many ‘fly-by-night’ scammers posing as construction professionals. They’ve done nothing but tarnish the industry reputation, and as a result, it is this fear of being taken advantage of that the clients are getting wiser and far more careful.

Risk
Give the clients photographs of the work, daily or weekly; keep them from feeling at risk with your company or workers. A picture is worth a thousand words. Pack your website with good photographs of your work and the clients will love you for it.

Quality
Good quality construction begins with a strong, sturdy foundation. Whether building from scratch or doing major renovations and repairs, they’ll want expert advice on foundations and concrete work to get the job done right. Use quality materials at all times. Buying materials in Jamaica can be a risk in itself so check before you buy especially timber, ply, 2” x 2”, 2” x 6” etc… Make sure your hardware shop store the materials in a dry place such as a purpose build shed and not just covered at times from the weather as this can cause damage not clearly seen at construction stage. Use quality windows, doors and fittings where you can as the Jamaican weather ask for strength in the materials and good workmanship in the fitting.

Quality means more pictures. Too often we hear of block holes not being filled and the clients paying for work not done at an even greater cost. Every 4 to 5 blocks start filling and ramming, not more than that or the holes can get ‘ chocked-up’ and cause problems, these are the hidden problems the clients need to have addressed by you as the contractor.

Price
Provide high, medium and low estimates where you can, and point out that the quality of the materials, not your workmanship, impacts the job most. Giving your customers the choice of materials quality directly addresses concerns of risk, job quality, and price. Assure them that your workmanship is the highest quality regardless of the materials used.

Communication
Good communications with your client is more about listening and less about talking, although there is a certain amount of talking you should be doing too. Talk honestly to your client and let them tell you what they want, not what you want because you are the builder.

Change Orders are crucial in keeping communications clean and clear. If there is ANY change in the job, track it and get it approved in writing first.

Time
Be realistic with your time-frames, and then add 25% more time on top of that. The client would be a lot happier if you stick to the time-frame given so cover yourself well. Get to know your suppliers and make sure he delivers on time. Know you builders or subcontractors, know the guys who are working for you and make sure they can do the job right. As Project Managers, JA Projects are good at this and will always get the job done on time so make sure you do too otherwise the client will drop you and move on.

Guarantees
Customers NEED to feel safe. They are about to give you lots of money. You need to give them the feeling of security they crave, and the best way to do that is through your guarantees. The best way to guarantee your work is to put it in writing, and the best way to do that is to have a contract that spells everything out in black and white for the customer to see. Position yourself as the competent reliable professional they seek, and you will get the job, we need it in Jamaica so go and get it.

Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica.

Jamaica has felt the damage of the outside world in many ways, not just through tourism but Construction. Don’t get me wrong, Tourist are coming here like crazy, the Tourist Trap is set here in Jamaica and it’s hard to change that. If you drive along the North Coast of Jamaica from Negril to Ocho Rios you will see some of the largest hotels being built at this very moment, hotels large enough for thousands of guest. The Highway is also finished between these towns so getting to your hotel from Montego Bay Airport is no problem these days.

The problem is the shortage of money for everyone else.

The Construction of private Villas is getting worst each month along the North Coast. The days of coming to Jamaica and buying a piece of land and building your dream Villa has slowed down. The Sterling and the US Dollar has stopped the flow of private building here in Jamaica. We need to see more private building going on. The large companies are having all the fun and employing a large amount of skilled overseas workers and managers, the local workers have the skills also and are often cheaper that the larger companies. The Jamaican building force are suffering as is the rest of the world and Construction is at a low.

One of the things we can do here in Jamaica is to advertise our service to the world. We know money is tight for everyone but maybe we can get to the people who are willing to invest in a little sunshine here in Jamaica. We have to use our skills in other areas other than building.

Advertising and Promotion
Now, it’s time to talk about how and where to put your name out so you get the biggest bang for your money. As a Contractor, you are primarily in a service industry, so your Advertising and Promotion activities will differ in some key ways from businesses that are in product oriented industries, such as retail stores or wholesalers.

Furthermore, because your service niche is the Construction and Building Trades (an industry influenced by seasonal and economic cycles), you need to clearly identify your target market, focusing your efforts directly to pursue that market aggressively, rather than sitting back waiting for the phone to ring.

Consistency
The first thing you need to keep in mind is that any Advertising and Promotion effort needs to be consistent. Many businesses make the amateur mistake of trying out an advert or technique one time, and then deciding for whatever reason that it didn’t work and dropping it altogether. That’s like handing out a single business card and then deciding that business cards don’t work because the person you handed the one card to didn’t call. You need to try out every advert or activity a few times at the very least, and track the results closely, before deciding whether or not it produces enough leads to be cost effective.

Running a good advert and putting it where your ideal customers can see it practically guarantees you will make sales. You may not hit the centre of the target the first time, but by applying consistent effort you will be able to refine your approach and obtain good results. And once you know where your target market’s spot is, you can really work on that area.

It is important to remember that future customers, unless they need emergency service, often need to see a business advert several times or more before they call. When a customer sees your company advertising in the same place over a period of time, two things happen, assuming you have an effective advert, customers starts to feel like they know your company and begin to feel comfortable with your business, and your business takes on the appearance of being a solid, permanent fixture in your community. Both of these help to establish a trust base between you and your future customers – before you ever see them face-to-face.

Be a Big Fish in a Small Pond
Paradoxically, you can use the most global of all mediums, the Internet. You can actually target your online Advertising and Promotion activities so that you get a lot of local exposure. Having a website is also important here, a page or two is all you may need to get your point across. Xaymaca Media ( Email them here ) can be of help here and are offering low rates for the Construction websites.

Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica.