In the state of California, there are more than 235,000 licensed contractors according to the California State License Board (CSLB, Ph: 1-800-321-2752) 80 percent of the contractors who fail in business do so because of a lack of business experience. To be sure you don't become a statistic yourself, make sure you know plenty about the contractor you intend to hire. Have him fill out a standard bank credit application and make sure he is who he says he is. The bank will ask you to fill out volumes of documents to give you a home-improvement loan. Why should you give that same money to someone you don't know? And that's the On The House tip for today.