Guest Commentary

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    Green builder proves to be good business

    We recently did something we rarely do: A previous contractor walked off a high-end project run by an architect/construction manager, so we sent a crew to complete the exterior framing, trim work, and siding. Bob Chew, CGR, CKD, is head of the R.W. Chew Group, a company that owns RemodelWright....

     
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    Develop plan to build great company: Let staff take over day-to-day operations

    For several years, I've wanted to become the full-time president of my company. I've also improved my ability to measure staff performance, so people can be more accountable and receive more feedback.When I look at what our company's achieved, I'm humbled because I know our success is the result of...

     
  • Working through the spanish-speaking language barrier

    Five years ago, my company, Waller Construction, bought a roofing operation and set it up as an in-house division. At the time, almost all the roofing installers were Hispanic, and they spoke only Spanish.

     
  • Remodeling Packages Favors the Client, Not the Remodeler

    We decided at Case Design/Remodeling that package projects are not the business we're in. We're in one-of-a-kind remodels.For Case to offer package remodels would be like a French restaurant offering value meals. It's not what we're about

     
  • Using spreadsheets for organized record keeping

    Over the years, I've tried to find a method of looking at my company's records that could render an accurate picture of our financial profile. Ultimately, with a good analysis of accurate data, I hoped we could make changes in how the company did business that might significantly improve our bottom...

     
  • Jury of Your Peers

    When my husband and I started our remodeling business in 1978, he was a craftsman and I knew some bookkeeping. I remember Paul working all day on a site, then estimating and meeting with potential clients at night.

     
  • Double Trouble

    For years we've been located in Phoenix, and from there we serve the entire metro area for jobs of every size. We set up the computer network system so that all processing was done at our Phoenix location.

     
  • Eye on the Ball

    By REMODELING Magazine Staff. Last year, our company grossed $5.7 million. The year before last, we generated $6.5 million worth of work.

     
  • Find Your Style

    We all know there are differences in the way each of us runs his business, but I'm not sure we could easily identify what type of business is best or most appropriate for ourselves. Understanding the distinctions between a practice and an enterprise has helped me stay in tune with the systems I...

     
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    Adding commercial construction your services

    In 1988 the New England economy started its free fall. Necessity bred invention. We took on any kind of work, including our first commercial jobs. We broke into commercial with small projects, like $20,000 office remodels for clients we already knew.