Top Stories

  • Now That We’re Booming

    Kathy Shertzer writes about the importance of not allowing yourself to get into debt: "[B]usinesses fail because of debt. Don’t fall prey to that temptation again. Plan ahead because the pendulum always swings back."

     
  • Don't Compete -- Differentiate

    Competing on price is not the long-term answer for winning jobs and seeing your company thrive. Shawn McCadden describes a better way.

     
  • ‘Sales Hunter’ Tells RMLC 2013 Attendees: Sales Is Leadership

    Selling well requires using what you know – building and design – to take charge of that sales conversation. Speaker Mark Hunter shows how leadership engenders confidence and leads to sales success.

     
  • RMLC Panelists Share Social Media Success Stories

    Paul Hamtil, David Merrick, and Chris Wright share their candid insight into how to make social media work for relationship building, lead generation, and brand awareness.

     
  • Chew on This: Breaking Old Habits for the Better

    Industry consultant Paul Winans uses his own experience of getting a dental crown made to show readers how they can change existing habits.

     
  • Kitchen and Bath Products for the Frugal-Fatigued

    After years of restraint, new-home buyers are looking for a little bling. These splurges offer just that.

     
  • Illinois Remodeler Wins Fred Case Entrepreneurship Award

    Nick Richmond of Illinois-based Matrix Basement Systems has won the 2013 Fred Case Entrepreneur of the Year Award in honor of achievements in both manufacturing and marketing that propelled his remodeling company.

     

Chris Marentis: On Social Media & Internet Marketing

 

The 2013 Cost vs. Value Report is Here!

2013 Cost vs. Value Report

The big news is a bump up in the cost-value ratio due to lower costs and stabilizing house prices.


 
 
 

May Issue

May 2013

This issue: Big50 Clas of 2013—Looking for best practices? We have 187 of them from this year's Big50
 
 
 

Remodeling Blogs

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How to Avoid Value Engineering a Remodeling Project

Paul Winans' career runs parallel to the changes in the remodeling industry over the last 40 years. From beginnings as a carpenter who didn't want to run a business, Paul teamed with his wife, Nina, to build a highly successful remodeling company. After almost three decades, Paul and Nina sold the business to someone outside the company, a rare event in the industry.

I hate value engineering. It occurs after a project has more or less been completely planned and priced, and the cost of the project turns out to be more than anyone involved anticipated. It doesn't just happen when an architect is involved before a contractor is on board, but that is one common cause of the need for value engineering. Why is this so common?
 
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5 Surefire Ways To Attract More Referrals

Kyle Hunt is the owner of Remodel Your Marketing and creator of The Excellence Club. After years of experience in the remodeling industry, Kyle now installs his proven and practical Marketing System for remodelers throughout the United States. Kyle resides in Michigan with his wife, Sarah, and their three children, Thomas, Piper, and Calvin. Contact Hunt at 517-548-7140 or email him at kyle@remodelyourmarketing.com. Follow Kyle on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/KyleHunt

“Hi – my name is ______ and I was referred to you by one of your happy clients.” Does it get any better than this? Isn’t that sweet music to our ears? Somebody who has taken their "know, like, and trust" with you – and transferred it over to a friend, family member, or colleague. That's as good as it gets!
 
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On Sale! Cheap!!!

Ed Voytovich, a 40-year remodeling veteran, is BPI-certified, a HERS Rater, a licensed home inspector in N.Y. state, and has a Ph.D. in English literature. Most recently he has served as the executive director of the Building Performance Contractors Association of NYS and as a consulting adviser to Building Efficiency Resources. He now works with Home Energy Performance by Halco, in central New York. Reach him at ed@TheBER.com.

No one can doubt that cheap sells; all we need to do is to walk into a Big Box retailer, the destination of choice for screw-it-up-yourselfers and low-bid contractors. "Cheap" corrodes the system, puts the providers of good products and technology at a disadvantage, and often drives them out of business.
 
 
 

Improving on the Past

Sal Alfano, editorial director of REMODELING, and Dave Merrill, owner of Merrill Contracting and Remodeling, tour a beautifully renovated home in historic Alexandria, Va. The project includes a complete revamp of the kitchen, an insulated sunroom, and the creation of a basement-level master bedroom and bath with a walk-in closet.