r/Concrete

Seriously. Fuck off

No one wants your unoriginal app or website. We know the scripts you use for "market research". You are all selling the same thing.

I don't care how helpful you think you are or if its for "free". It is not welcome here and app developers will be permanently banned without warning.

Dont come crying in the modmail because you chose to bother the members of this sub. I'll just mute you and move on with my day.

I’m not a concrete contractor myself, but I work in operations and have become really interested in how blue-collar businesses manage estimating, leads, scheduling, quoting, etc.

One thing I’ve noticed from the outside is that a lot of contractors seem to still juggle:

• texts
• phone calls
• paper notes
• spreadsheets
• memory

I’m curious how true that actually is in the real world.

I’d genuinely love to hear from actual concrete guys here:

1. What’s the MOST annoying part of running the business side of concrete work?
2. How are you currently handling estimates and quotes?
3. What causes the most wasted time during the bidding process?
4. Do leads ever slip through the cracks or go cold because you’re too busy on jobs?
5. Have you tried any CRM or contractor software? If so, what did you hate about it?
6. If you could wave a magic wand and automate ONE part of your business tomorrow, what would it be?
7. Would photo-based estimating/AI-assisted quoting actually be useful, or is that unrealistic for concrete work?

Not trying to sell anything — I’m honestly trying to learn where the real pain points are from the people actually doing the work every day.

I’d appreciate any insight you guys are willing to share.

Hello,

I’m making this post hoping to get some advice or guidance from people who have experience starting a business in the concrete industry. For some background, I’m 19 years old and have been working in concrete since I was 14. I’ve been with the same company for the past 5 years and have gotten pretty close with the owner. Because of that, I’ve been given more responsibilities over time, like coordinating trucks and workers, dealing with customers, and helping manage job sites.
I feel like I have a solid amount of knowledge and experience when it comes to concrete work and how sites operate, but I also know running a business is a completely different field. I’m mainly trying to avoid getting blindsided by things I’m not prepared for. I know mistakes are part of learning, but I’d still rather learn from people who’ve already been through it.

Over the last year I’ve also started experimenting a bit with doing small jobs on my own while still working for the company. So far I’ve done a few 11x11 greenhouse pads and some stair jobs through word of mouth and local posts from people looking for concrete work. Everything went well, customers were happy, and the jobs turned out good. Nothing huge yet, mostly solo work but it’s definitely motivated me more.

I’ve also been saving money since I started working, so I do have enough put away to start small. I’ve always wanted to work for myself, and I’m pretty ambitious about it. At the same time, I know I’m still young and probably have a lot left to learn.
I’m really just looking for feedback from people who’ve started businesses, currently own one, or have been in the concrete industry for a long time. What should I expect? What should I prepare for? Any advice, lessons, should I wait before trying anything, or things you wish you knew earlier would be appreciated.

Thank you.