We’re two full months into 2013 and of course you’ve got a plan in place for maximizing your company’s success this year. Hopefully that plan is on paper. Hopefully it was designed with the help of your staff. Hopefully you rolled it out before the year began, in an all-company meeting with action points developed for how
To make money consistently in remodeling, you need accurate estimating. In order to have accurate estimating, you need accurate job costing to give you constant feedback on your estimating system. As you prepare a project estimate, you are setting many goals. Your goals are the material cost you hope to meet or beat, the labor
Good cash flow and profitability are two different entities and often do not coincide. Let me give you an example. Months of heavy construction volume mean you have the need for lots of cash to pay your labor and job costs. Often, draws do not keep up so while you may be earning profit you
Every remodeling company has a production manager who oversees all of the projects going on in the company. Most of the administrative duties that accompany each individual project are the responsibility of the production manager. Budgeting, customer requests as well as complaints, and managing field personnel are only a few major functions. Essentially, a production
Obviously, your company’s success in producing the job has a huge impact on the entire company. Yes, the jobs have to be sold, designed, estimated – but if they aren’t produced on time and on budget with a delighted client, all of your previous efforts are for naught. During my 20-plus years in this business,
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
Even though we have several weeks still in October, it’s time to begin planning for 2012. We believe strongly that the companies who plan are the companies who are most successful. Just like planning and preparation are the keys to bringing a job in on time and on budget, so are they the keys to
Over the years of working with remodeling contractors, some simple patterns have become apparent. One remodeler’s strong interest in people leads to success in sales. Another’s love for design produces award-winning projects. Both companies can enjoy a certain level of success and stability over time. But to develop a larger company complete with beautiful office
I’ve worked with one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. Linda Case, for over 20 years and it’s been an unbelievable pleasure. You’ve been reading her column in Remodeling magazine for even longer and if the notes that we receive from readers are true, Linda’s changed many lives with her words of wisdom.
For the last 25 years or so, Linda Case and I have worked with owners of remodeling companies and have had the wonderful opportunity to get to know many of them very well. From time to time, we work with someone who has a hard time accepting that the ideas we are presenting can make
