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Features

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    Web Site 101

    When it comes to remodeling and the Internet, consumers are leading the way. Remodelers may be slow to realize the importance of a Web site to their company's success — about 40% of respondents to this month's Reader Panel survey said they didn't have a Web site — but today's consumers are becoming...

     
  • The Seven Essential Systems

    From financial files to project warranties, a look at procedures that facilitate best remodeling practices.

     

Reader Panel

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    Remodeling Companies on the Web

    This month's Reader Panel shows that remodelers are still on the on-ramp to the information superhighway. Only slightly more than half of respondents who took our e-mailed survey said their company has a Web site.

     

Other Articles

  • Production

    Production goes from sales through the last check or warranty item.

     
  • Design

    Todd Jackson of Jackson Design & Remodeling, in San Diego, developed a design process that starts with sales. “If you just turn a client over to a designer, they'll fall in love with a beautiful design that's over budget and can't be built,” Jackson says.

     
  • Sales

    At Kustom Kitchen Designs, in Delavan, Wis., one salesperson returns lead calls within 24 hours, asks a few qualifying questions, and, if the fit seems good, schedules a meeting at the home in five to seven days. Red flags are subjective but might include the prospect saying he or she is getting...

     
  • Marketing

    Eric and Leif Jackson hadn't created their mission statement when they formed Jackson Remodeling in 1999, but the Seattle brothers knew from the start that they wanted “to differentiate ourselves from that guy with a dog and a truck,” Leif says. To establish their legitimacy, the Jacksons initially...

     
  • Personnel

    A personnel system should define a company's needs, find the best person to fulfill each of those needs, and retain those employees. David Crane, owner of Crane Builders in Nashville, Tenn., uses the DISC personality profiling system to make sure new hires fit the company culture.

     
  • Communications

    For company-wide success, good communication must occur within each system and among all the systems, as well as with subs, suppliers, and clients. But the actual devices used to communicate can be seen as a system itself.

     
  • Financial

    Consultant Steve Maltzman says that a financial system without a plan is like a race without a finish line. “Having an understanding of where you want to go is critical for even a small remodeler. At a minimum, decide how much money you want to make, how many jobs you need to do that, and what your...

     

View Point

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    Local Forecast: No Problems for Houston

    One year after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast, the region is still very much in the early stages of recovery. C. Roy Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, said in early July that just 225,000 of the pre-storm population of 484,000 were currently living in the city.

     
  • Raise the Floor

    FEMA guidelines released in April recommend that houses in New Orleans be built at least three feet off the ground. It was a contentious decision. Some criticized it as being cost-prohibitive, while others pointed out that flood waters reached much higher than that during Katrina.

     
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    New Orleans: One Year Later

    At the end of the month, a year will have passed since Hurricane Katrina hammered the Gulf Coast. Although people have slowly filtered back into the city, the Big Easy is still very much a shell of her former self.

     
  • Learn From the Experts

    With more than 80 courses, including CAPS, CGR, workshops, and seminars, offered in this year's Remodeling Show conference program, there are more opportunities than ever for remodelers to learn from the experts.

     
  • Two Plus Two

    Focusing on a single type of project or client might not work as well in a slower economy. Setting a high minimum target for job size, for example, excludes a portion of the market in small projects that might just serve to pull a company through a downturn. Declining handyman work or referring it...

     

Commentary

Linda Case

  • A Job Well Done

    I apologized for something I did. Word traveled the grapevine, and soon a card arrived in the mail from Craig Durosko of Sun Design Remodeling Specialists, in Burke, Va.

     

Mark Richardson

  • Leadership Ingredients

    As we grow, both as individuals and with respect to our organizations, we move through stages. Early on we pursue what interests us — without much analysis.

     

Shawn McCadden

  • Be the Boss

    If you're married to your business, take my advice: Get a divorce. Your business doesn't need a husband; it needs someone to be the boss.

     

Guest Columnist

  • Responsibility as Opportunity

    Remodeling is inherently a sustainable business: existing homes are repaired, expanded, and upgraded rather than demolished and rebuilt. Reusing structural and finish materials reduces the impact on limited landfills.

     

Your Business

Ways + Means

  • People + Skills: Employees: Love 'em or Leave 'em as Your Company Grows?

    You may find that the people who were perfect for your company when you started often aren't the right people today.

     
  • Work + Life: Partner Talks

    The number of hours my business partner puts in appears to be taking a toll on him personally, and is affecting his behavior. How can I bring this up without him taking offense?

     
  • Safety Pays

    D.G. Liu Contractor has found a way to make safety profitable for both the company and its individual employees.

     
  • Code Talkers

    If an inspector fails an item during inspection, he might continue looking for other issues. He also might remember your company the next time it submits plans in his jurisdiction.

     
  • Make It Official

    For the past six years, Jon Vogel, owner of New Outlooks Construction, Robbinsville, N.J., has held his inspectors license, and for two years he was a part-time building inspector.

     

Bottom Line

  • Moving Into the Office

    It's an old adage in the industry: Work on the business, not in it. Sounds great, but how to do it when you have six sites to visit and a dozen fires to put out? For Jeff Titus of Titus Built in Wilton, Conn., the answer was to delegate.

     
  • Break Time

    One day during break time, remodeler Geoff Martin watched as two members of his crew got into a truck to drive to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee. He determined that they spent 15 minutes driving, 10 minutes at the doughnut shop, 15 minutes driving back, and a few more minutes finishing their coffee.

     

Sales + Marketing

  • Sales School 101: No Objections, But No Sale

    I work in an area with a large Filipino population. I have spoken with several Filipino families about remodeling their homes, and although the conversations always seem to go well, I never hear from them again. What am I missing?

     
  • This Old Show House

    Of the prospects who visit Cook-Dahl's showroom, between 80% and 90% go on to remodel with the 30-year-old company, of Brockport, N.Y. What's unusual is that the showroom is a working kitchen in owner George Dahl's home, and prospects visit by appointment only, after Dahl has already pre-screened...

     
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    Marketing Workshop/Before+After

    As companies evolve, their marketing should as well. Ray Wiese has presided over a remodeling company that began on a lark in 1992 and grew to $3.5 million in revenue in 2005, with an average job size of $300,000.

     

Field Notes

  • Product Specs at the Ready

    Manufacturers claim their new steam showers, convection ovens, and other high-end appliances are easy to use, but installing and maintaining them can be more complicated than ever.

     
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    Time Management, Part I

    Wasted time accounts for 2% to 3% of annual sales at most remodeling companies. Do the math, and you'll see how poor time management can erode your net profit.

     

By Design

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    SketchPad

    Whether it's for a spec remodeling project or a private commission, adding the right emphasis to the windows of a house can be a relatively simple way to add curb appeal, increase resale value, and satisfy your clients.

     

Tech@Work

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    Go Mobile

    Today's remodeling industry exists on jobsites and in-home sales calls, doing business from work trucks and home offices. The days of being tethered to a desk computer are over, so get mobile.

     

Good Form

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    First Contact on the Web

    Here you'll find our Web site primer. In that story, we briefly mention an inquiry form that you can post on your Web site as one way prospective clients can initially contact your company.

     

Big50

Close Up

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    Profile: Jack Anderson

    Diversification keeps Jack Anderson (Big50 1991) busy. To his original company, Insurance Reconstruction Services, he has added Tech Design/Build & Remodeling, which does non-insurance work —kitchens, baths, and additions —and a subsidiary of that called Greenville Kitchens & Baths, a showroom and...

     

Second Look

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    Second Look: Max Isley

    Max Isley, named Big50 in 2000, can remember the exact moment he knew he had burned out.

     

Solutions

K+B

Design Clinic

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    Secret Storage

    Cabinetmaker and remodeler Byron Clinkingbeard of Custom Woodworks in Baton Rouge, La., says that although this hidden pantry was not originally his idea, he liked it so much that he now offers this option to clients who prefer not to have a standard interior door in the middle of a line of...

     

Products

Reader's Choice

Other Articles

  • Salary Equivalent

    To measure one company against others, you must compare apples to apples. One obstacle to that comparison is owner's compensation, because each remodeling company tends to account for it differently.

     
 
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