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Throw a Month-long Party for National Remodeling Month
By Kacey Larsen - Friday May 3, 2013
This is my first time celebrating National Remodeling Month (you’ll have to imagine me blowing a noise maker). And while I wish I have a really insightful answer to the question of how to celebrate, I’m instead going to defer to the industry associations, who have thrown many more National Remodeling Month parties than I have. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) each have promoted a variety of tips that will help you and your business spread the word. I’ve picked out a few of my favorite tips to include here for your consideration. Embrace both the new and the old: Social media can help you and your business reach a whole new audience, while yard signs... -
Building a Company Culture that Inspires Stellar Customer Service
By Asher Raphael - Wednesday May 1, 2013
Every business owner, no matter the industry, can agree that good customer service is an essential element to success. Treating customers with respect and learning how to anticipate their wants and needs are basic principles that should be at the core of every business. In the home remodeling industry, especially, our customers put a high value on customer service – for good reason. Homeowners are often planning remodeling projects during their increasingly limited free time, and therefore demonstrate less patience for miscommunication and poor service than they might when dealing with a service professional in another industry. In addition, since a home is most likely the largest purchase he or she may ever make, emotions often run... -
Your Most Important Number: The Missing Link Between Where You Are Now and Where You Want To Be
By Rich Harshaw - Friday April 26, 2013
Let’s talk about goal setting for a minute. If I ask 100 remodeling contractor business owners to tell me their goals for their business, 100 of them will respond in terms of an annual dollar figure: $1 million in sales. $3 million in sales. $10 million in sales. Whatever their number is. While these goals are commendable, they’re also big, vague, and hard to wrap your brain around. If you’re currently doing $1 million in sales and you’d like to get to $2 million, it’s nearly impossible to see how to get from point A to point B. These kinds of goals are stillborn; they lack power to motivate because they’re too hard to conceptualize. Which is why I encourage remodelers to figure out their MOST IMPORTANT NUMBER... -
Make Tax Season Your Season
By Kacey Larsen - Tuesday April 9, 2013
Tax season will soon come to an end, so many people are just itching to spend their refund checks. Well, how about if those people spend their refund checks with you? Here are five ways to reinvest a tax refund into a home Landscape and yard work –A home’s value can increase by up to 11 percent when it has good landscaping, according to a study by Clemson University and Michigan University (more information about that study can be found here). Mowing, watering, feeding and weeding can be tedious tasks for homeowners, but that important first impression made by a lawn may be worth them seeking out landscaping services. Maybe offering a special on services for people putting their homes on the market would bring in some new business... -
Kitchen Remodeling Helps Contractors Boost Revenue Year-round
By Gerry Henley - Monday April 8, 2013
One of the biggest challenges general contractors face is the intermittent nature of remodeling work. Weather is one challenge. Rain can scuttle and delay jobs and wreak havoc on schedules, and when winter rolls around, jobs can vanish completely for months at a time. Managing your sales pipeline is another challenge. How do you avoid a boom and bust cycle of job-job-job-job-job, followed by nothing-nothing-nothing-nothing? How do you develop a year-round business so that you don’t cycle through feast and famine? There are two ways: Diversify. General contractors can grow their companies by adding a reliable indoor specialty to their repertoire. If you specialize in window installation, fences and decks, exterior siding or... -
Indoor Pool Daydreams
By Kacey Larsen - Tuesday April 2, 2013
As I look out the window here in Wisconsin and still see snow, it’s easy to get caught up in daydreams of lying somewhere warm, poolside with a drink in hand. Since outdoor pools are currently still buried under snow for most of us here in the Midwest, I’m transferring my daydreams to lying somewhere by an indoor pool with a drink in hand. I found some inspiration for my indoor pool daydreams, which I’ve posted on the ForResidentialPros Pinterest page for your viewing pleasure and can be found here . The inspiration board features stunning pools that blend the characteristics and style of the home with often family-friendly nature of indoor pools. The extra details, like mosaics, lighting and murals on the walls or ceilings... -
Why Making Local Connections Makes a Difference
By Asher Raphael - Wednesday March 27, 2013
On March 26th, we celebrated the opening of our latest Power Home Remodeling Group location in Chicago with a ribbon-cutting event where elected officials and notable members of the business community gathered to hear our plan to bring jobs and revenue to the area. At Power, the nation’s sixth largest home remodeling company, we’ve experienced significant expansion over the past five years and now have locations in eight markets, from the East Coast to the Midwest. For a company like ours, which was started in 1992 by two cousins in their post-college apartment in Pennsylvania, being an active part of a local community is an essential element of our growth and success. When we open a new location, our first step is to introduce... -
2013 Spring Predictions: What Remodeling Projects Will Be Most Popular With Homeowners?
By Asher Raphael - Wednesday February 20, 2013
Next month marks the start of the spring season, a time when many homeowners across the country will dig out of the winter weather with a renewed interest in refreshing and remodeling their homes. While this increased interest in home improvement during the warmer months may be nothing new, the most recent Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University forecasts a significant increase in activity through the third quarter of 2013. This prediction of growth in the double-digits is a promising sign that the industry is on the rebound and slowly, but surely, recovering. Coupled with the typical spring upswing, this could prove to be a very busy spring for many remodeling... -
IBS 2013: Editor Perspective
Rob Heselbarth, editorial director Another successful International Builders’ Show is finished, but not before plenty of activity took place. Small manufacturers continue to be absorbed by larger companies, while larger manufacturers continue to broaden their horizons, in the quest to become one-stop product shops for home builders. A decking manufacturer purchased a trim company, a brick maker purchased a manufactured stone siding company, a window company now offers exterior trim and siding. Even products themselves can do more than ever, as an appliance company now has a refrigerator that dispenses hot water from the door. It no longer seems acceptable for a manufacturer to offer only one type of product. Of course I generalize...