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.

  • Employee interactions are as important as business basics

    Basic business functions must be kept in balance to ensure profitability and success. But the working interactions between employees also must be kept in balance for an enjoyable, productive environment.

  • Making the annual performance review an effective tool

    Having a plan for a face-to-face encounter benefits the whole team.

  • Passing credit to the team

    One production manager's experience in the military shaped his way of successfully managing teams.

  • Team approach to hiring

    Round-robin interviews save time and promote teamwork.

  • People + Skills: A Tale of Reward and Profit

    Developing an effective compensation program that fits your business' needs.

  • Employee goal planning goes beyond work

    Tim Shigley, president of Shigley Construction Co., in Wichita, Kan., believes that positive things in our lives don't just happen. We have to plan for them. He helps his employees reach their goals by asking each to complete a goal-planning form at the beginning of each year.

  • Hiring strategies

    Finding and hiring the right people is a challenge. Many owners are resigned to hiring and firing four to five people before finding the right one for any particular position.

  • Set an ethics standard

    Jake Schloegel and his team in Kansas City, Mo., have worked hard to put ethical behavior at the top of their list of core values. These efforts were recently acknowledged by the Society of Financial Service Professionals, which awarded Schloegel the American Business Ethics Award, a national award...

  • People + Skills: Reaching Out

    Sometimes it pays to work with a headhunter to find highly qualified employees.

  • People + Skills: Partner Tips

    Growing up, brothers Joel and Neil Kristianson couldn't have been more different. “We were four years apart … enough to make sure that all we did was bug each other and fight,” Joel says. Yet, years later, they're in business together as owners of Crimson Design & Construction, Naperville, Ill. —...