As the end of this column suggests, one contractor has discovered the secret of success! He quickly learned how knowledge of license law can be a significant ‘tool’ itself. Another wants to find out how to keep their business ‘all in the family’. They also help us all remember why we go to experts when we…
This may be known in the future as the Summer of Smoke. While some areas have been stricken with devastating fires, nearly all Californians experienced the fallout as ash and smoke blanket our state. We have also literally ‘sweated out’ this last week in California and the West as temperatures reached highs well beyond 100 in…
As a highly mobile society keeping in touch with everyone is often difficult. However, you should always remember to update your address with the CSLB or expect to pay a price. Another contractor discovers that while you may be forgiven, government computers never forget. I hear from a lot of people about getting their contractor’s license,…
As a contractor, do you know what you must file with the city or county where your business is licensed? With an increasing urgency to verify people working in the U.S. are here legally, how do contractors actually know when you’ve been given the person’s ‘vital’ numbers that they’re real? Those answers and more as we…
The balance between a contractor’s worksite and the surrounding community can sometimes become strained. Often it’s because of noise created by the work. Can a contractor be fined by the CSLB when the decibels rise and tempers flare? Why should a Responsible Managing Officer always file to disassociate from the company when he leaves? One contractor…
For contractors a customer referral is the best form of ‘advertising’. It costs nothing and is based on work you have accomplished successfully. When a contractor pays for advertising are you aware of the rules that must be followed? Can a cabinetmaker paint and plumb too? Does the Contractors Board have your picture on their wall?…
Can a specialty contractor work outside his licensed trade to complete a specific project? You might be surprised by my answer. Did you know that in some cases, a contractor must replace himself on the same California license? That is just one reason why contractors may be surprised by the rules that govern the use of…
No matter how carefully the Legislature crafts the law that governs contractor licensing, someone can always get ‘buried’ in the bid process. Our first contractor has ‘dug up’ a problem in a recent public bid. As you might expect a protest followed. Does a college degree count as ‘work experience’ when applying for a contractor’s license?…
Alphabet soup has fewer letters than the classifications for contractor licenses. While some of those ‘letters’ are fixed in purpose, others give a licensee some leeway in handing similar trade work. Another contractor gives us reason to review why public agencies can ignore the ‘alphabet’. Our final task is to help a corporate licensee figure out…