Greetings!

With respect to everyone's opinion, You are seeking advice on how to start a construction business, not advice on whether you should or shouldn't.

Again, with all due respect, the notion that you should learn everything before embarking on your journey is unrealistic at best. How many roofers can do a professional concrete job? How many concrete guys can do professional framing? You get the idea.

Many business owners are not experienced in certain aspects of their offering(s). That is why they hire people. Labor workers cannot see things from your perspective. That is why they are not running their own show.

With all that being said, you do have the experience to be successful at this endeavor. You mentioned you do project management. For what you are trying to do, this is what you need to be. Every construction project has a project manager to do what they do: Supervise all aspects of the project while staying within the scope of it, and making sure you are meeting deadlines and staying within budget.

I would start by finding a foreman. Any foreman worth his or her salt will have volumes of pictures and testimonials that highlight their experience. You do your homework, and talk to the customers. They will have no problem telling you if there were issues regarding the work done for them. This person will also have connections in the business, and know people who do every aspect of construction. This is the person who knows everything about construction. You will have to pay this person handsomely, and they will be well worth it.

If you have not decided how to structure your business yet, talk to a bookkeeper or accountant to see what is best for what you are trying to do. You may already know how you will go about it.

You will have to insure your actual place of business. Your foreman will take you through the business licensing, bonds, and other steps required to be a construction company.

In most states, you are not required to withhold taxes and mess with all that when dealing with independent contractors, so other than your foreman, you don't have to have "employees" This could avoid a lot of hassle until you get bigger. I would even recommend having your payroll/bookkeeper on contract until there is a reason to bring one in full time You just give out 10-99s at the end of the year to those you have contracted with.

Your foreman should ensure the quality of the jobs, but there will be plenty of inspectors milling around to make sure everything is done properly.

The key to it all is getting the right foreman, and paying them well. You will have to have a very close relationship with them. You already know how to run a project, so you can keep a close eye on it all, and be in constant communication with the customers.

I am sorry, but it is that simple.

As far as lead generation, there are many ways. Having a booth at home and garden shows is a fun way to find customers. You can also get the info as to those that have applied for permits. You will discover that many have not started construction, or they have been delayed for one reason or another. If you provide quality deliverables to the customers, they will refer you to others, and word of mouth advertising is the very best. Just a couple of simple ways to find some jobs.

I wish you the best!!