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Recent Blog Posts

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How To Have a Difficult Conversation with an Employee

I was talking to one of our sons about a work situation he was dealing with. He’s a manager at an online retail company that is not too big but has grown over the last few years. There had been an ongoing issue with the shipping manager. Both our son and one of the owners were going to have a reset...

4 Ways to Exceed Expectations

Many years ago, I began thinking about the subject of exceeding expectations. I would field phone calls from upset clients or listen to team members’ frustrations and I found that most of the time the root of the problem lay in expectations that were set but not met. Because of this dynamic, I...

Who Is Liable for Injured Subcontractors?

Here’s the scenario: A homeowner looking to replace his roof solicits estimates from several roofing companies. The company he hires is the least expensive one and uses subcontractors to do the labor. The salesperson for that company shows him the company’s state license and current certificates of...

Using Strategic Relationships To Grow Your Business

Eighty percent of your success in business today and in the future will come from your business acumen — not your product or service knowledge. This is probably counter to why you went into business in the first place. Like many custom home builders, your passion likely still lies in the sawdust in...

Are You Doing Enough to Build Your Brand?

Building a brand is as essential to a business as building character is to a person. As with character, the process involves balancing nature and nurture, reality and perception, planning and improvisation. It requires self-awareness, commitment to growth, and patience. Design/build remodelers have...

Where To Start When Redoing your Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen remodels are always interesting as they encompass so many moving parts and different materials. Kitchens themselves are unique in that it’s the one place in your home where the spaces tend to become as old as the appliances within it over time. It’s easy to tell the difference between a new...

Winter Home Improvement Tips to Help Save you Money and Energy

Just because every year there’s always talks about Global Warming, the warmest winter in years, and the sweaty hot summer we just had doesn’t mean winter is going to be some cake walk where no one slips, steps in the black slush, and wakes up in the middle of night to crank up the heat. When I look...

Seven Reasons Why Your Next Truck Should Not Be a Pickup Truck

Tradespeople are relentlessly hit with higher prices, but find it hard to raise their own pricing structure. Thus it becomes imperative to find ways to save money so as to preserve your profitability. By the time that you are finished reading this article, I believe that you will agree with me that...

What Sales + Marketing Problem Are You Trying to Solve?

In any given week, plenty of marketing problems need your attention. You’re stretched thin by numerous demands on your energy and focus, and it’s tempting to seek an easy solution. But easy solutions rarely turn out as we expect. They run over budget, extend past deadline, or cause added chaos and...

Homeowners Splurge on Primary Bath Shower Features, Study Finds

Although primary bathrooms continue to be one of the most popular rooms to renovate, the features within the spaces have evolved over the years. According to the 2017 Houzz Bathroom Trends Study, released today, statement showers with more square footage, high-end features, such as rainfall...

20-Year-Old Decks: Repair or Replace?

The rails jiggle, the nails are popping, and Dad just limped in with a splinter. Softwood decks can last a long time, depending on how well they’re built, but it’s not uncommon for decks of cedar, pine, or redwood to hold up for 10 to 20 years, at which point they begin to disintegrate in ways that...

Must-Haves for a Comprehensive Contract

Unless you have someone on staff who can do a Vulcan mind-meld with your customer, odds are you and your potential client will clash about something you thought you had agreed on. When that happens, you’re almost certain to refer to the contract, so the better it is, the greater the likelihood that...

This Is How You Have a Budget Conversation With Homeowners

Homeowners rarely have an accurate sense of how much their project will cost when they first speak with a remodeler. So you can imagine how important it is to get some information about the homeowner’s willingness and ability to spend before investing 20-plus hours working on designs or estimates....

Should Radios Be Banned on the Jobsite?

A recent survey polled 730 builders and found more than 80% of them had no policy prohibiting workers from enjoying their favorite tunes while on the job. Among the 18% that do ban radios, some cited basic safety as a reason while other said radios interfered with communication and made it harder...

How to Approach a Project Started By Another Contractor

Sometimes homeowners will contact you about a particular project that is half way completed. Usually the owner is unhappy with the work their current designer or contractor is doing and will ask you to take over and complete the project. In order to start construction again, most firms will...

How Quickly Should You Grow Your Company?

A booming business is great, but it will only be profitable and worthwhile if you're able to handle the rapid expansion. If you're ill-equipped to handle the growth, you could kill your business. James Sudakow, writing for Inc.com, nearly killed his business by letting it grow too quickly. His...

Inspect Your Roof and Get Ahead of Problems

High winds, water, and age can take a toll on your roof. Therefore, it makes sense that regular inspections are essential for preventative maintenance. Doing so can save you a lot of money, time and frustration down the road. Typically, roofing experts say that a roof should be inspected at least...

Some "Sound" Installing Advice

Increasing the mass of partitions in light construction is neither aesthetically pleasing nor cost-effective as a method of sound control. Discontinuous construction methods, however, reduce sound transmission by as much as 6 to 10 dB, with little added cost. A further reduction of 5 to 15 dB is...

The Perfect Marketing Budget For 2017

Working with different-size builders across the nation has taught me many things. The first is that every builder is convinced that both they and their marketplace are unique. Every once in a while, it’s actually true. The second is that asking marketing or business leaders for specific budget...

5 Ways the House Tax Reform Plan Could Affect Remodelers

The impact of legislation as comprehensive and complicated as the House tax reform bill unveiled Nov. 2 will vary dramatically depending on what kind of business you run. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has a nice summary of the bill. Here are five proposals most likely to affect...

Sales Strategies For Custom Builders

The strengths of a home builder’s skill set typically include being adept at assessing risk, entitling land, securing permits, negotiating with finance people, and, of course, managing construction. But selling tends to be the weak link. Sales consultant and author Jeff Shore says that the advice...

Why "Good" Isn't Good Enough to Meet Client Expectations

Every business owner will tell you that it’s important to meet, and do your best to exceed, client expectations. Yet, what does that really mean or entail? There is a major difference between good and great when it comes to meeting those expectations, and it often comes with a hard case of...

21 Things You Can Do TODAY to Improve Your Remodeling Business

Running a successful remodeling company isn’t easy. And trying to build one that can run without your day-to-day involvement is even harder. If you want to take your company to the upper levels of success, you must first acknowledge that it’s a long road. There’s no magic elixir. It takes time. It...

Tips for Taking Down Walls and Creating an Open Layout

Removing walls and opening up the layout in your home can create a truly remarkable transformation. It is often done on television home improvement shows, because the impact can be so dramatic. A lot of care and thought should be made before making this decision, since it can change so much in the...

How to Market Your Small Contractor Company

Without a doubt, the best marketing for a small contractor company starts with a job well done. That alone can showcase your company’s dedication to quality, professionalism and reliability. Quality work is the foundation that word-of-mouth is built upon. In many cases, that alone is enough to...