Do you have a plan in place for when it’s time to retire? Will you be able to sell your remodeling business or pass it on to a family member? Since you’re probably the most valuable player in your company it can be impossible just to take a vacation, attend a conference, or even take
A myth exists in the remodeling world that repeat business and referral leads will come to you without you lifting a finger. Too many remodelers believe this myth and spend all their effort and money trying to look outside of this valuable community for business. The sad thing is that these outside sources typically deliver
When I think about great leaders, instinctively I think of people who are fearlessly driven and inspire greatness in others. Leadership can show itself in different forms and span a variety of industries. Fortunately for me, working with residential construction professionals, I’m surrounded by leaders who focus on service excellence. All the remodelers I work
Again and again as I consult with remodeling companies, I recommend the same action to cure many of their ills. And again and again, they report major improvements when they follow this relatively simple advice. The problem is that many of the companies have outgrown their management structure and yet have staff on board –
“It’s useless to be a good craftsperson . . . unless you can also sell what you create. Your customers cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesperson.” This was a paraphrase of a quote by David Ogilvy, one of America’s advertising legends and the
Time means money. Remodelers wear many hats in order to run a successful business, so effective time management is crucial. One of the most common ways that remodelers find themselves wasting time is attending no-hope appointments with totally unqualified prospects. These appointments add hours to already long work weeks, take your resources away from more
We are lucky enough to work with some of the smartest people in the industry — and I love it because they, like everyone here, believes in sharing their expertise and knowledge to help everyone in the community succeed. One of my favorites is Tim Faller, president of Field Training Services. Tim is a master
One of the toughest parts of managing for many people happens when they have to talk to an employee, sub, or client about an unpleasant topic — whether it’s underperformance, a disagreement about a bill, or a misunderstanding about a project. Many people don’t know the best strategies for dealing with these tough conversations so
We all say that we want our people to be accountable and responsible for their actions, but are we doing what it takes to achieve these results? Here are my suggestions for building this culture within your remodeling company. Communicate to everyone that accountability and commitment are important! Then model it! If you’ve made a
[divider style=”hr-dotted”] Being the savvy business people that we are, we all know that our money is made in the planning stage of a remodeling project, not in the production. By this I mean, that the more organized and complete our planning process, the more quickly we complete high quality projects for delighted clients–and the
