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In a negotiated team, everyone wins
By Bonnie Pickartz - Thursday July 19, 2012
In the good old days...before the fall of 2008...most contractors were working with either cost-plus or hard-bid contracts. You did your homework, calculated your costs, overhead, profit, and you bid the job. You were either high bidder, low bidder or maybe in the middle of the bidding field. The chips fell where they would and you moved forward as the successful bidder or went on to bid another job. Fast-forward almost four years and you'll find clients more wary, loans harder to get and fewer projects to bid. To add to the conundrum, competitors are hungrier, and costs and labor haven't gone down. So, what do we do? We work smarter and become more client-centric. We work with clients early in the process, becoming part of... -
Making Charitable Outreach a Priority Among Employees
By Jeff Kaliner - Monday July 16, 2012
Like so many businesses, one of our major priorities is identifying philanthropic and community relations opportunities that are not only in line with our overall mission, but that strike a chord with our employees, inspiring them to get involved. Incorporating a corporate social responsibility strategy into your annual plan means much more than just aligning yourself with a cause and writing a check—and a successful CSR strategy can achieve much more for your business than the expected warm and fuzzy reaction elicited by doing a good deed. Finding ways to give back to the community has been a priority for us since we founded the company 20 years ago, and in the past few years we’ve contributed time and money to organizations such... -
Scalding Your Brand On Your Market
By Daniel Wolt - Monday July 9, 2012
Naming your company is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. Unfortunately, most of you probably already have your brand name and possibly a logo, and the idea and cost of changing it isn’t high on your list of priorities. When I started Zen Windows, I knew I needed something that would be so different it would stand out from all the standard names—AAA, Able, Affordable, you know the ones still hoping to get the first call in the phone book. Zen, as you’ve probably noticed, comes at the end of the alphabet, so had we still been in the yellow pages era, some would think I had committed certain naming suicide. Of course, Google has changed all that. Now, memorable, easy to spell, unique names can help, as can building your... -
People are talking about you. Are you listening?
By Todd Vendituoli - Thursday July 5, 2012
Being in the construction field, I am aware of the amount of time it takes to work on a project. There are meetings with clients to discuss the various aspects of the project, and going over their expectations. Then there are meetings and planning times to arrange for materials and subcontractors so everything runs smoothly. And, let’s not forget the actual time involved to physically complete a project. Now here I come telling you that there is more to be done to keep your business moving forward. Yet, the world is changing daily and new ways of business are constantly evolving. You could ignore them and hope it goes away but I find that impractical. Today, the internet and smartphones have changed how almost everything works, and... -
Moving the Party Outdoors
By Christina Koch - Monday July 2, 2012
Independence Day is probably my favorite holiday. Not only does it take place during the beautiful summer months—I prefer the heat to cold—but there’s also no pressure to give someone the perfect gift. July 4 is all about sun, fun, barbecuing, and celebrating our nation’s independence with family and friends. This year I’ll be heading back to my hometown in Iowa to share in the annual festivities with my family, which has grown a bit since my two brothers and I lived in my parents’ house. I now have a sister-in-law and an adorable almost-two-year-old niece. My parents’ kitchen, which is where we all seem to gather, quickly becomes chaotic, and my mom finds it easier to order us out than accept our assistance. And when... -
Minor tweaks to materials create multiple uses
By Todd Mather - Thursday June 28, 2012
While “six degrees of separation” is the modern phrase for a 1929 social connectivity theory in our modern world, I like to promote something similar in my custom homes. Because familiarity in design concepts, materials and products is often where our clients find great satisfaction, it is often a challenge to be as creative as we architects and builders would like to be. I find that to be the case in nearly every project; almost every client. Due to this, I have developed several systems for explaining simple design ideas that perhaps are very new to my clients. One such idea that I promote and have found success in promulgating, I term One Degree of Separation . One Degree of Separation includes modifying one... -
A Businesswoman in the Remodeling Industry
By Trish Schroeder - Monday June 25, 2012
In 1986, I formed an equal business partnership with my husband when we opened our remodeling business. With our backgrounds, we decided that I would run the office and he would run the sales and production sides of the house. We operated this way for many years, while shifting duties to the staff we hired to support our clients and our growing company. The model worked well and, in January 2012, our son took over the helm. My husband and I continue work full-time in the business and will eventually transition to part-time. Looking back on the passages I traveled, one element is clear: my career as a woman in the male-dominated remodeling industry has been both successful and enjoyable and, upon reflection, I’ve found a few elements... -
It’s All About People
By Bonnie Pickartz - Wednesday June 20, 2012
All business is about people. While we sometimes get sidetracked and think it’s about the work we do, the products we sell and the service we provide, we need to remember that it’s really about the people we work with ... clients, employees and suppliers. When you step back and look at the big picture, you will see someone else selling windows and siding, someone else doing remodels and building new homes, someone else who works with the same suppliers and can provide the same products and services. What sets you apart? What can you do to build relationships with prospective clients? What can you do to ensure that your employees are treating people well and building those same relationships? Are you committed to helping your suppliers... -
The Bridge
By Andrea Girolamo - Monday June 18, 2012Hi all, your faithful ForResidentialPros.com editor Andrea here, posting for the first time on The New Blog. ForResidentialPros.com (or, FRP as we shorthand it around these parts) is beginning phase two of its mission to bring together the closely allied audiences of Kitchen & Bath Design News , Qualified Remodeler and Residential Design+Build magazines. We're the bridge, so to speak, between builders, remodelers, architects and designers. FRP has been up and running since the middle of October 2011 and, in that time, our staff has put together a host of online exclusives: from Q&A's featuring prominent remodelers, to covering National Home Remodeling Month and live on-the-scene coverage of industry events, FRP's gained a vocal... -
Reinventing Window Sales
By Daniel Wolt - Monday June 18, 2012
Fifteen years ago, I was burned out. My partner and I had built a replacement window business into a regional powerhouse. We had appointment setters, a sales force, installers and a payroll to meet every week. If owning a Porsche that could go faster than I’d ever drive meant I’d arrived, I was there. I was also stressed and miserable. After seven years in the window business I had come to realize I could quote a job in five minutes and be out the door. It wasn’t that I didn’t like talking to customers; it was that I couldn’t stand wasting their time and mine in a lengthy sales pitch that involved a choreographed dance that had become too familiar. I walked away knowing there had to be a better way. I started over, solo. I...