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Small Firms Check In

by Laurie A. Shuster, Managing Editor; Civil Engineering Magazine, ASCE World Headquarters, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA.,


Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 2000, Vol. 70, Issue 8, Pg. 66-67


Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

Civil Engineering surveyed small business owners and employees to provide baseline information about who these entrepreneurs are, how their businesses have fared in the past year, and what challenges they face in the future. Many of their responses came as no surprise�their businesses have increased recently on the strength of the economy in general, the engineering field in particular, and their own efforts to improve their reputations with clients and better market their skills. The difficulty these firms have in finding and keeping qualified engineers is the one greatest obstacle to their future growth, but many have learned a great deal in the past year about how to manage their firms for success, including the importance of bill-collecting, customer service, and good communications skills.

Subject Headings: Client relationships | Surveys (non-geomatic) | Small business | Professional development | Owners | Engineering profession | Engineering firms

Services: Buy this book/Buy this article

 

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