Labor shortage-Start a construction/development firm

What are you guy's thoughts on this? I know traditionally construction is low margin with a big team so it makes no sense really to have a firm bigger than necessary but now with labor shortages going on indefinitely would it be advantageous to have in-house construction/gc now?

And what's the best way to even learn that industry? Building a house and going bigger each time?

5 Comments
 
I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 
Most Helpful
Champagne Sipping

What are you guy's thoughts on this? I know traditionally construction is low margin with a big team so it makes no sense really to have a firm bigger than necessary but now with labor shortages going on indefinitely would it be advantageous to have in-house construction/gc now?

And what's the best way to even learn that industry? Building a house and going bigger each time?

Most GCs I know of make a ton of money.  Margins can be high and you can pass a ton of cost overrun on to your owner.

The larger issue is that construction is really risky, and really technical.  You need to be good at it or it'll be a nightmare, it's not something where you walk onto a site with a hammer and say "lets get started".

Besides, labor shortages will still hurt you.  No construction firm has all the personnel to build an asset - they hire subs, and the subs are the ones having the labor shortage.  In house construction has a lot of advantages but not one which helps this particular issue; in fact, having a team to feed will make it worse in a lot of ways.

 

I own a GC/development company and have definitely thought about if it was worth it.

For us it’s worthwhile as a support for the development company as you can support development overhead costs (if need be) with cash flow from the GC and it’s nice to have knowledge of what other projects cost if you are also doing 3rd party work in the area you are developing.

Staffing is always difficult, but if you can put together a large enough backlog and offer enough comp it’s not too difficult to hire. I’ve also found it can be devastating if a PM or Superintendent quits mid project, so have a plan in place to prevent the repercussions if this happens.

Good GC’s generally have a lot of overhead so be sure you watch your cash flow and working capital if you start one.

 

Suscipit esse quia rerum aperiam debitis aut. Architecto nostrum vero adipisci et sit. Sunt quo sit asperiores sit.

Ut quidem architecto sapiente iste. Repudiandae id eum ut. Provident qui provident qui cupiditate.

Alias hic exercitationem ipsa voluptatibus voluptates. Dignissimos aut et recusandae laboriosam quis asperiores nobis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (82) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”