Your construction company is thriving. You’ve got steady work, reliable crews, and a growing reputation. But when a subcontractor gets injured on your job site and sues you personally, you discover your business structure offers no protection. Your house, savings, kids’ college funds, and everything else are at risk because you never properly incorporate them.
Or maybe you lost a major government contract because you didn’t have the right minority business certification. The work was perfect for your company, but you couldn’t even bid.
Successful construction companies experience these disasters every day. The good news is that they’re completely preventable with proper business planning that understands the industry’s unique challenges and opportunities.
Generic business attorneys handle coffee shops and consulting firms. Construction businesses face liability exposures, certification opportunities, and regulatory challenges that office-based businesses never encounter.
The problem: Many construction companies operate as sole proprietorships or general partnerships because it’s simple and cheap. However, construction is an inherently high-liability business where accidents, defects, and disputes can create massive personal exposure.
Why it’s dangerous: When your business structure doesn’t protect you, every mechanic’s lien, job site accident, and contract dispute puts your personal assets at risk. We’ve seen contractors lose their homes because a subcontractor’s injury became their personal liability.
The construction difference: Construction companies need business structures that protect against job site liability, mechanic’s lien exposure, and the unique risks of working with dangerous equipment and materials. Generic incorporation doesn’t address these industry-specific risks.
The hidden opportunity: Government agencies and large private companies must use minority-owned, women-owned, and historically underutilized businesses for significant percentages of their construction work. These certifications can unlock substantial additional contract opportunities.
What most contractors don’t know: Getting certified isn’t just about filling out forms. Your business structure, ownership percentages, and operational control must be properly documented to qualify and maintain certification.
The business impact: HUB certification alone opens access to billions in Texas government contracts annually. DBE certification provides similar opportunities for federal and state transportation projects.
The scenario: You and your partner built the business together, but now you disagree about taking on a large project that requires significant equipment purchases. Without proper partnership agreements, this disagreement could destroy everything you’ve built.
The construction complications: Construction partnerships involve unique assets (equipment, client relationships, ongoing projects) and liabilities (bonding, warranty obligations, safety records) that generic partnership agreements don’t address.
What’s at stake: Partnership disputes in construction often result in business closure because the partners can’t agree on how to divide ongoing projects, equipment ownership, or client relationships. Proper planning prevents these disasters.
After 17+ years working exclusively with construction companies, I’ve seen how business law mistakes can destroy successful contractors. The construction industry has unique risks that put personal assets in jeopardy and unique opportunities that can multiply your revenue. Generic business attorneys don’t understand either.
– Karalynn Cromeens, Managing Partner
Personal Asset Exposure. Operating without proper business protection means every job site accident, contract dispute, and mechanic’s lien risks your personal assets. Your house, retirement accounts, and family savings become targets for creditors and accident victims.
Lost Contract Opportunities. You’re automatically excluded from billions in government contract opportunities without proper certifications. Many private companies also have diversity requirements that certified businesses can fulfill.
Partnership Disasters. Many construction businesses with partners eventually face partnership disputes. These disputes often destroy profitable businesses and valuable client relationships without proper agreements.
Regulatory Compliance Failures. Construction businesses must comply with licensing requirements in multiple states, maintain proper insurance and bonding, and meet industry-specific regulatory requirements. Non-compliance can shut down operations and void existing contracts.
Your challenge: Choosing the proper business structure when you face high liability risks, need flexibility for project-based work, and want to take advantage of certification opportunities.
Our solution: We structure construction businesses to provide maximum liability protection while preserving operational flexibility and certification eligibility. We understand how construction liability insurance, bonding, and multi-state operations affect entity selection.
What you get: Business structures explicitly designed for construction operations, with proper documentation to protect your personal assets and position you for growth opportunities.
Your challenge: Navigating the complex requirements for HUB, DBE, MBE, WBE, and other certifications that can dramatically increase your contract opportunities.
Our solution: We help you structure your business to qualify for relevant certifications, guide you through the application process, and ensure you maintain compliance for ongoing eligibility.
What you get: Access to government contract opportunities worth potentially millions annually, plus the competitive advantages that certified status provides in private contracts.
Certification types we handle:
Your challenge: Protecting your business when partners disagree, planning for retirement or exit, and ensuring business continuity when key people leave.
Our solution: We create partnership agreements, buy-sell agreements, and succession plans that address construction-specific assets like equipment, client relationships, bonding capacity, and ongoing project obligations.
What you get: Legal protection that prevents partnership disputes from destroying your business, plus clear exit strategies that preserve the value you’ve built.
Your challenge: Growing your construction business across state lines while maintaining proper licensing, insurance, and business registration in each jurisdiction.
Our solution: We handle the legal requirements for multi-state construction operations, ensuring you’re properly licensed and compliant in each state where you work.
What you get: The ability to pursue opportunities anywhere without worrying about regulatory compliance issues that could jeopardize your projects or business operations.
When opportunities arise to acquire competitors, merge with complementary businesses, or sell your company, we provide guidance that protects your interests and maximizes value.
Our approach: We understand how construction business valuations work, including the value of client relationships, equipment, bonding capacity, and certification status.
Beyond basic incorporation, we implement advanced asset protection strategies that protect your wealth from the high-liability risks inherent in construction operations.
What we protect: Personal assets, business equipment, real estate investments, and retirement accounts from potential construction-related liability.
Construction businesses have unique tax planning opportunities and challenges. We work with your accountants to ensure your business structure optimizes tax efficiency while maintaining liability protection.
Contract Review for GC Agreements. We review GC contracts from your perspective, not theirs. We identify clauses that put you at unfair risk and explain precisely what you’re being asked to agree to in plain English.
Custom Contract Creation When You Need Your Own. We draft custom subcontracts designed to protect your business for direct owner work, specialty trades, or when you want to take control of contract terms. Instead of constantly working under someone else’s terms, you get contracts written specifically for your operations.
Strategic Redlining and Direct Negotiation. We provide specific language changes that protect your interests while maintaining your relationship with the GC. We can negotiate directly with the GC on your behalf when needed; our redlines are reasonable and defensible, not deal-killers.
Lien Rights Protection. We ensure that payment and waiver language preserves your lien rights throughout the project. Your lien rights are often your only real leverage for collection.
Professional Construction Contract Creation. When you want to control the terms instead of always reacting to someone else’s contract, we create custom agreements explicitly designed for your business. From direct owner relationships to specialty trade work, proper construction contract creation gives you the protection and leverage that working under others’ terms never will.
48-Hour Turnaround. We understand that GCs want signed contracts back immediately. We offer guaranteed 48-hour turnaround on contract reviews under 30 pages because we know you can’t afford to lose work while waiting for legal review.
Your construction business represents years of hard work, financial investment, and personal sacrifice. Operating without proper business protection and missing growth opportunities because of poor planning puts everything at risk.
The cost of proper business planning is a fraction of what you could lose. Proper business formation can protect substantial personal assets. Certifications can unlock significant additional revenue opportunities.
Business Structure Review and Protection. We’ll review your current business structure and identify vulnerabilities that put your personal assets at risk. Comprehensive reviews completed efficiently.
Certification Opportunity Analysis. We’ll analyze which certifications your business qualifies for and estimate the additional contract opportunities they could provide.
Partnership Protection Planning. If you have business partners, we’ll create agreements that protect everyone’s interests and prevent disputes from destroying your business.
Rapid Response for Urgent Business Issues. When business crises arise, waiting can cost you opportunities or increase your exposure. We respond quickly with immediate guidance.
Contact The Cromeens Law Firm today: (713) 715-7334
Don’t let business law mistakes destroy the construction company you’ve worked so hard to build.
Especially if it’s small. Small construction companies often have the most personal asset exposure because owners haven’t separated business and personal finances. One job site accident can cost everything you own.
Basic incorporation can be completed relatively quickly, while comprehensive structures with proper planning and documentation take longer and are essential for real protection.
Absolutely. Many certification programs are designed specifically to help smaller companies compete for contracts they couldn’t otherwise access. The additional revenue often pays for certification costs within the first contract.
Generic business attorneys don’t understand construction industry risks and opportunities. You need someone who knows how job site liability, bonding requirements, and certification programs affect your business structure decisions.
Business formation and comprehensive planning services are available at various investment levels. Compare the cost to the potential loss of your personal assets or missing substantial contract opportunities.
Ready to protect and grow your construction business? Call (713) 715-7334 now for immediate consultation.
