u/Vreoz

I'm a licensed General Contractor and I'm having a tough time finding my niche and breaking into the market. I'll share my skills and background in a comment, but I'm stuck between two business plans and could use some honest input from people who've actually done it.

Plan A — Design-build residential remodeler. This was my original plan. I've got experience in architectural software, I can make realistic renders, execute the project, and guide the client through the whole process start to finish. The problem: I don't have the portfolio or social proof yet to land these leads, and on paper this is a medium-to-high-end clientele that buys on trust and referrals. Chicken and egg I need completed jobs to get clients, and clients to get completed jobs. As this was my original Idea i built some very solid traction making some nice branding and marketing but i'm still at a standpoint. I unfortunately don't have anyone in my currently network/Family that I can do that "First Project" which i've seen alot of GC's start with, I've also thought about reaching out to Real Estate agents or Home Owners that are Selling homes to create renovation "ROI" packages, just detailing high ROI remodel investments that can add value to their home before sale or to sell their home quicker.

Plan B — "Mini GC" under prime GCs. Bid to small commercial GCs and pick up multiple interior non-licensed scopes (flooring, drywall, framing, ceilings, paint) and run them under a prime. I can handle takeoffs, estimating, and project management myself. The problem: capital to float materials and labor. Commercial cash flow is rough, especially starting out, and floating costs for 30–60+ days before getting paid scares me.

Both have their pros and cons. Plan A uses all my skills but I can't break in without a portfolio. Plan B gets me working and building relationships now but the float could sink me if I'm not careful.

Just looking for some General Advice from Successful GC's and how they got their first Project and Scaled.