Contributions from Victoria Downing

Victoria Downing, President, Remodelers Advantage Inc., co-author of Mastering the Business of Remodeling. Home of Remodelers Advantage Roundtables with over 200 members nationwide.

  • 6 Steps to Effective Delegation

    It isn't always easy, but to grow your business, you need to delegate responsibility. Follow these six steps to delegate effectively.

  • Managing Change

    Jeff Rainey, president of Home Equity Builders, in Great Falls, Va., is a technology nut. He strongly believes that the correct use of technology can help a company dramatically improve its processes and systems, and he’s constantly on the lookout for new software and hardware that can ratchet up...

  • A conversation on open management structure

    There are two major benefits to having employees deeply involved in company operations: They have fresh ideas that have been developed from their own experiences and this involvement can breed a sense of ownership and loyalty.

  • Are bonuses good motivators?

    Seth Godin, author of Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends, and Friends Into Customers, believes that monetary bonuses are demotivators.

  • Triggering Change in Your Company

    As mechanical engineers by education, David and Doug Bengtson, owners of Lighthouse Construction of North Carolina, in Greensboro, are detail-oriented by nature.

  • Changing Your Marketing Approach

    As the market softened in the second half of 2007, Jerry Liu, president of D.G. Liu Contractor, in Dickerson, Md., saw the company's leads slow dramatically. Liu knew the company had to change its marketing approach to pump up the lead flow, which would feed production needs.

  • People + Skills: Group Effort

    Jeff Titus, president of Titus Built in Wilton, Conn., had two key positions to fill: office manager and production manager. He knew the importance of hiring right and was determined not to rush the process. But he also knew that if he followed the traditional route, he'd have to invest a lot of...

  • Finding the right people

    One of the most difficult aspects of building a business is finding the right people. So when a slow marketplace threatens the need for layoffs, most savvy businesspeople fight it tooth and nail.

  • People + Skills: Meetings Make it Stick

    It used to be that when Ben Morey, president of Morey Construction in Long Beach, Calif., wanted to share information with his staff, he'd do what many of us do: He'd write a memo.

  • Making subcontractors or employees work for your business

    A few years ago, Rob Mathews, president of Curb Appeal Remodeling in Dallas, had an awakening moment — he realized he couldn't meet payroll.