Other stories by Alice Bumgarner

  • Recycling opportunities are growing

    After a recent demolition, though, the remodeler found himself with huge steel girders and other scrap metal that he knew he had no use for. He called 20 different people to offer it for free, before he found someone willing to salvage it.

  • Getting green into the field

    Change is never easy, especially when employees feel they're suddenly being asked to turn away from familiar practices.

  • Spread the green word

    Once you've challenged yourself to be the greenest remodeler you can be, the next challenge is: How do you sell efficient, sustainable projects to customers? To remodelers making a foray into this niche, we advise leaving the green-wash mentality at the door.

  • Green remodeling is going mainstream

    As This Old House producer Deborah Hood says, people no longer need view green as experimental or expensive. "We're learning that green is basically just good planning and smart building." And green remodelers echo that sentiment. They're as likely to use words such as "high-performance" when...

  • Training a salesperson to take your place

    One of the most difficult parts of moving a remodeling business forward is stepping back from being its primary salesperson. From a desire to grow the business to the wish to put a succession plan in motion, any number of reasons can compel remodeling business owners to train others to step into...

  • Balancing business and personal relationships in a family-owned company

    Tips on balancing business and personal relationships in a family-owned company.

  • Tuning in to body language

    You're talking to the client sitting before you when you notice his head is down and he has angled his chest away from you. The client's body language is saying he's “closed.” He can no longer hear what you're saying, so you may as well stop talking.

  • The Road to Good Meetings

    Who wants to sit in a room and hear someone drone on while their own pressing work is put on hold? No one. Yet week in and week out, this is what happens in many production meetings. Follow these simple rules for more effective production meetings. Not only will your company run more smoothly, your...

  • Turn meetings from time-wasters into productive sessions

    Since long before PDAs and PowerPoint presentations became conference room staples, meetings have had a reputation for dragging on, wasting time, and allowing attendees to get away with bad behavior.

  • Keeping schedules on track

    Here's a look at the scheduling strategies that three remodelers use to keep their projects on track.