If you ask most remodelers where their best jobs come from, the answer is nearly universal: referrals. But when I ask what they’re doing to generate referrals, I usually get one of two responses—a vague mention of a newsletter, or a blank stare. Referrals don’t have to be random. They can be one of the
Succession planning is one of those things that most business owners know they need to do at some point and yet it is often delayed, ignored or not addressed at all. Why? In many cases, what gets in the way is the number of “unknowns” when we start the planning process and the lack of
The following article was written by Doug Howard and published in Remodeling Magazine. Each year, every business owner should take a hard look at their company’s performance: Look back at where you’ve come in the last five, three and one year. And look ahead at where they want the company to be in the future
-The following is an article written by Doug Howard When it comes to marketing your remodeling company, how well do you tell its story? Some companies do this very well, yet most struggle to tell a compelling story that resonates with customers. If you’re not telling your story well, you’re leaving only one way for
The ability to successfully grow a company long-term is based largely on the ability of the owner to manage the critical resources of time, people and money. In this article, I’ll focus on the people, and specifically the first step: making good hires. One key to getting very good at hiring is to understand what
Business owners know that one of the most important factors in the success or failure of a company is making good hires. The ability to grow a company over the long-term and successfully navigate growth is based largely on the ability of the owner to manage the critical resources of time, people and money. So
In any Nascar race, there are several times during the race when full speed racing has been interrupted or slowed down due to an obstruction on the track, usually caused by an accident or track conditions. A yellow caution flag is presented, requiring slower speeds, no passing, etc. The pace car emerges from pit row
Wouldn’t it be great to have the time to really step back, think about your business and make sure that you’re clear on your goals, using the right strategies, and making sure that your team is well-informed and motivated? But we all know that a successful business has too much going on to have time
It’s 4:15 on Wednesday afternoon. Your production manager, who’s been with you for more than 18 years, walks into your office and gives you notice that he’s retiring at the end of the month. While it’s not a complete surprise, the timing was much sooner than you expected. However, he says concerns about his health
I can’t tell you how many times I hear people decide that the best way to implement continuous process improvement is to meticulously document all of their processes — from end to end, in order, starting with the incoming lead and ending with the final punch list and payment. On the surface, it’s a logical