Commentary: Linda Case

Linda Case, CRA, is founder of Remodelers Advantage Inc. in Laurel, Md., a company providing business solutions through a network of experts and peers. 301.490.5620; linda@remodelersadvantage.com; www.remodelersadvantage.com.

  • Creating a good marketing plan

    Here's your five-step guide to developing, funding, and implementing a good marketing plan.

  • Hold the right kind of meetings

    How could you not be compelled to read a book called Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable … About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business? We've all experienced the mind- and body-numbing sensation of sitting, listening, and desperately awaiting release so we can get back to work.

  • Peeks into the world beyond your company's growth

    It doesn't take a fortune-teller to predict that change will be the one constant as your company grows. Change never stops. Here are some peeks into that world beyond.

  • The Year Ahead

    Resist the slowdown with your best people, their best ideas, and these four key elements of an annual plan.

  • Shout It Out

    It's the annual planning season, and if you haven't created your 2007 business plan — or your business plan, period —I propose a fun, creative way to get started: brainstorming.

  • The Circle of Appreciation

    Giving praise doesn't come naturally to everyone. Remodeler Jay Van Deusen grew up in a household where doing things right was the expectation and deserved no praise. So when he started Van Deusen Construction, Bel Air, Md., he paid well, expected a lot, and considered that the end of the...

  • Intangible Benefits, Tangible Rewards

    At the heart of every great remodeling company is a great workforce: productive, resourceful, accountable, and loyal. From what I'm hearing, it's the loyalty part that can be the hardest to nail down.

  • Rewarding Your Staff for Good Work

    I apologized for something I did. Word traveled the grapevine, and soon a card arrived in the mail from Craig Durosko of Sun Design Remodeling Specialists, in Burke, Va.

  • Best practices in the remodeling industry

    Research in our industry is scarce and should be taken seriously — especially when it reveals how super-successful remodelers use certain business practices to achieve dramatic results.

  • Tips on keeping your remodeling staff educated

    Twenty years ago, whenever I told a group of remodelers to budget for staff education, a hand would invariably rise, followed by this objection: “But if you educate your employees, they'll just use it to compete against you when they leave.” I am happy that I have not heard that refrain for years.