Business Background
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Conduct a background investigation on the person with whom you intend
doing business. Make sure they're not fly-by-night, that the people and the
company you are dealing with are legitimate.
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First thing, call occupational licensing in that county to see if the
business is licensed. Are there any complaints? Call the state agency that
governs licensing of professionals and contractors. See if they have any
complaints. Call the Better Business Bureau. Do a little investigating. Check
all the references. Ask the builder or the contractor or the sub - whoever is
doing the work for you - to tell you about other houses he's built or done
work on. How many pools has he built? Who are his suppliers? Call the
suppliers; see if he's paying his bills.
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A corporation is an entity with a Federal Government assigned number,
just like a person, except it's called 'FEIN,' or Federal Employer
Identification Number. It can be easily traced. Start at the local company
level; large corporations are a vast storehouse of public information.
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There's a wonderful book called 'Competitor Intelligence,' written
for CEO's. It includes some wonderful stories on how to check out corporations
and how you can get the information you need. The author breaks it down into
electronic industries, investment manuals, corporate filings, the wood and
lumber industry, foreign consulates and embassies . . . It's an abundant
storehouse of information. These are all publicly available databases.
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