Construction company simulator
See what your construction company would turn over, how many clients you'd win and who you'd lose them to — month by month for two years — before you spend real money.
Bids, subcontractors, a materials bill and the job that runs over. This one opens as Keystone Builders: A small general contractor remodelling homes, building additions and fitting out small commercial spaces, with its own lead carpenters and the trades subcontracted. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own construction company and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady contractor ends up with
Played steadily for all two years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady contractor here ends its last year on $2.1m of revenue and $35k of profit, with 31 clients and 2.5% of the market (#5 of 5).
It starts from nothing: $60k in the bank and you, 55 hours a week, with no clients yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $2.1m
Profit in the last year: $35k
Clients at the end: 31
Share of the market: From nothing to 2.5%
Where it finishes: #5 of 5
Years and decisions: 2 years, monthly
What you'll decide each month
Each month you set your rates, how many people are on the books and how many clients each can look after, what you spend on being found, and which areas you cover.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your clients are
A local service is booked on trust and lost on a missed project. Every client needs somebody's time, so the people you can put on the work are the limit, and word of mouth is the cheapest marketing there is.
1,200 clients in all, across your town, the next town over, the villages around, the county town and out by the ring road.
Homeowners remodelling: A kitchen, a bathroom or a basement, a fixed quote and a family living through it. About 600 of them, worth $32k a year each.
Additions and new homes: Months on site, an architect's drawings and a bank's draw schedule. About 240 of them, worth $180k a year each.
Small commercial fit-outs: A shop, an office or a restaurant opening on a date that will not move. About 120 of them, worth $135k a year each.
Repairs and insurance jobs: Storm and water damage, paid by an adjuster, found on a search. About 240 of them, worth $6.8k a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The established builder with a waiting list: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 25% of the market.
The handyman who undercuts every quote: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 20% of the market.
The design-build firm with the showroom: Clever and quick, but stretched thin and hard to get hold of. Holds about 10% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of client, three rivals and five areas.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your construction company in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady contractor ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it month by month for two years.
Also for
construction · construction firm · general contractor · remodeling · remodelling · remodeler · renovation · renovations · home improvement · builder · building contractor · fit-out · framing · kitchen remodel · bathroom remodel · home additions
How much does the construction company simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this construction company market, change anything in it and see what a steady contractor ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own construction company?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the clients and what they pay, the rivals, the areas, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your construction company in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers, starting from where your business stands today.
Are the numbers realistic for a construction company?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year two turning over between $250k and $2.5m, with between 6 and 80 clients. This one's preview comes to about $2.1m and 31. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Can I use it to test a construction company business plan?
That is what it is for. Put your plan's prices, costs and starting cash in, play it forward month by month, and see whether the money lasts, how many clients you would need and what a rival's price cut does to you — before you put real money in.
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